Article
Art by Asya Aizenstein
Fiction,

The Spider That Came Back to Life

Can Charlotte get over her biggest fear?

By Dusti Bowling| Art by Asya Aizenstein
From the October/November 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will read a realistic fiction story and identify what happens in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

Complexity Factors
  • Levels of Meaning
    The story is about a girl whose class brings a paralyzed tarantula inside as an experiment. On another level, the story is about learning to overcome your fears.
  • Structure
    The story is in the third person and is chronological.
  • Language
    The language is mostly conversational and includes a lot of dialogue.
  • Knowledge Demands
    Some familiarity with tarantulas or spiders may aid comprehension but is not necessary.
Lexiles: 500L-600L
Featured Skill: Plot,
Other Key Skills: compare and contrast, summarize, main idea, text features, cause and effect, character’s motivation, interpreting text, inference, how a character changes, theme, expressing an opinion, vocabulary, opinion writing, narrative writing, speaking, listening
Standards
  • Common Core
    RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RL.3.4, RL.3.7, W.3.1, W.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, L.3.6
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6e, 6f, 6i, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7f, 7g, 8a, 8b, 8c, 10a, 10c, 12a, 12b

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Think and Read: Plot

As you read, think about what happens in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

Charlotte couldn’t believe her eyes. Right at her feet lay the biggest, hairiest spider she’d ever seen! And recess had been going so well. Charlotte raised her foot and prepared to kick it away from the playground.

“Stop!” a boy called. Charlotte’s classmate Zach jumped in front of the spider. “That’s a desert blond tarantula! We should help it!”

Charlotte looked at the tarantula on the ground. “It looks dead.” 

“It’s not dead,” said Zach. “The legs aren’t curled inward.”

Charlotte sighed. Zach loved spiders just as much as Charlotte despised them. And in the Arizona desert where they lived, spiders like tarantulas were common. Too common.

Charlotte hadn’t always felt this way. But three years ago, on a camping trip with her family, Charlotte woke up in the middle of the night and felt something tickling her legs. She found hundreds of little brown spiders in her tent! Their creepy, crawly legs were everywhere. She screamed and ran away, almost jumping into the lake to get away from them. Ever since that night, even the thought of spiders sent shivers down her spine.

Charlotte and Zach’s teacher, Ms. Hernandez, walked over to them. “What have you kids found?”

“A desert blond tarantula!” exclaimed Zach. “But I think it’s injured. Can we bring it inside?”

Charlotte held her breath. Please say no, she thought.

PAUSE AND THINK: Why is Charlotte scared of spiders?

Into the Classroom

“Great idea,” replied Ms. Hernandez.

Charlotte groaned as more kids gathered around to check out the spider.

“Why is it frozen?” Carla asked.

“It looks like this spider is paralyzed,” Ms. Hernandez said. “That means—”

“The spider can’t move!” Zach cut in.

“Exactly,” said Ms. Hernandez. “The spider was likely stung by a wasp.”

Good, Charlotte thought to herself.

“It could be a cool experiment to see how long he stays paralyzed,” said Ms. Hernandez. “I have a special container he can live in.”

NOT good, thought Charlotte as fear crept in. Now it was Charlotte’s turn to cut in. “No way. I do not want that horrible creature in the classroom.”

Ms. Hernandez turned to Charlotte. “How come?” she asked.

“It’s so . . . scary!” Charlotte replied.

“It sounds like you have a phobia,” Ms. Hernandez said gently. “A lot of people have a fear of spiders. There’s even a name for it: arachnophobia.”

She scooped up the spider to carry it inside. “But it’s possible to overcome your fear. Until then, I’ll keep the spider far away from your desk.”

The class followed, everyone chatting excitedly. Everyone except Charlotte.

PAUSE AND THINK: Why wasn’t the spider moving?

The Creepy Creature

“What should we name him, class?” Ms. Hernandez asked the next day.

“Leggy McSpider!” shouted Sophie.

“Mr. Web-ster!” suggested Noah.

Charlotte wished the spider were named Gone for Good, but she didn’t say that. Instead, she said, “Why does he need a name? He has too many legs. And his body is all brown and fuzzy.”

“Fuzzy would be a great name for the spider,” said Ms. Hernandez, and the whole class agreed.

Day after day, Charlotte kept one eye on her schoolwork and one eye on Fuzzy. But the prickly pest just lay there.

Charlotte’s classmates became obsessed with Fuzzy. They took turns guessing when he would wake up. Zach even suggested holding a party to celebrate when that happened.

Everyone agreed. Everyone except Charlotte. She wished the creepy creature would just disappear!

PAUSE AND THINK: What did Charlotte want to name the spider and why?

Missing

The next day, Charlotte got her wish. 

Zach noticed it first. “Fuzzy is gone!” he cried out.

“He must have started moving again and escaped!” yelled Carla.

Charlotte’s classmates came up with ideas for how to find the missing spider. 

“Let’s call the fire department!” suggested Sophie.

“What about a search and rescue dog?” asked Noah.

“I say we go straight to the mayor!” shouted Zach.

But the fire department said they could help only if the tarantula was on fire. Search and rescue dogs aren’t trained to hunt for spiders. And the mayor didn’t have time in her schedule.

Everyone was devastated about Fuzzy’s disappearance. Everyone except Charlotte. She was finally free of Fuzzy! 

PAUSE AND THINK: How does Charlotte feel about Fuzzy’s disappearance?

Life Without Fuzzy

Except life without Fuzzy wasn’t as great as Charlotte had imagined. At lunch, everyone was too sad to talk. At recess, everyone was too busy looking for Fuzzy to play. And when Ms. Hernandez told the class about the Halloween party, nobody clapped. Not even Charlotte.

When the class made missing tarantula posters, Charlotte decided to join them. Some posters read “Have you seen Fuzzy?” and “Watch the ground!”

“What should I write?” she asked.

“You could add fun facts about tarantulas!” Carla said.

Zach chimed in. “Did you know that tarantulas are good for the world? They eat bugs that hurt crops and people.”

“And tarantulas rarely bite people,” added Sophie.

“They can live for months or even years without food or water!” Noah said.

Even Charlotte had to admit that was pretty cool. She hung her posters around the school. But no matter how hard the class looked, there was still no sign of the spider.

“I wish Fuzzy could come to the Halloween party tomorrow,” Zach said.

“I wish we could get the entire school to help us find Fuzzy,” Carla said.

That gave Charlotte an idea.

PAUSE AND THINK: How does the class try to find Fuzzy?

The Spider Search

The next day, Charlotte arrived at school dressed all in brown. She had four tubes sticking out of her sides. Together with her arms and legs, Charlotte had eight fuzzy spider legs.

“It’s Fuzzy!” called Zach excitedly. 

“Sweet costume!” said Carla.

“Welcome to class, Fuzzy!” Ms. Hernandez said.

“I figured I might motivate people to look for Fuzzy if I dressed up as the spider,” Charlotte said. 

Before long, the whole school was talking about Charlotte’s cool costume. And everyone joined in the spider search. Finally, at lunchtime, a fifth-grader called out, “I think I see him!” 

Charlotte and her classmates raced across the cafeteria. It was Fuzzy!

A kid ran forward to grab the spider, but Charlotte jumped in front of her. 

“Stay back,” she said. “You’ll scare him!” She held up her arms to keep the other kids away.  

“Charlotte, you saved Fuzzy!” exclaimed Ms. Hernandez, scooping up the spider. “Looks like you’ve overcome your phobia. Now that he’s moving, it’s time for Fuzzy to return to the desert.”

Charlotte was shocked. “But I finally got over my fear!” 

Ms. Hernandez smiled at her. “That’s why you can be the one to let him go.”

The class followed Ms. Hernandez as she carried Fuzzy outside. Then Charlotte gently placed Fuzzy in the yard and watched as he crawled away.  

“Go eat lots of bugs and take care of the world,” she whispered.

“I hope we can help another tarantula one day,” said Zach.

Everyone agreed. Especially Charlotte. 

THINK AND WRITE

Imagine you are Charlotte. Write a journal entry explaining what happened when you found Fuzzy.

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Can't Miss Teaching Extras

In this story, Charlotte learns the importance of not judging something—whether it’s a person or an animal!—before understanding it. Continue this lesson in two of our fiction stories, “Lost and Found” and “Carla’s Sandwich.”

Read the fiction story “Veena and the Variety Show” to meet Veena—a character who overcomes a fear just like Charlotte. Then students can flex their creative muscles during the interactive activities found on the Choice Board.

Changing your mind can be hard. Read “Those Shoes,” a story that will help students understand the importance of keeping an open mind. 

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. SEL Focus

4. Skill Building and Writing

5. Differentiate and Customize

Struggling Readers, Multilingual Learners, Advanced Readers, Creative Writing

1. Preparing to Read

Introduce the Text and Preview Text Features

  • Ask students to predict what this article will be about based on the headline, subhead, and illustrations on pages 10-11. Review the predictions after reading.

Set a Purpose for Reading

  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 11 and the Think and Write box on page 15.
  • Remind students to keep these prompts in mind while reading the story.

Introduce Featured Skill

  • Build on the Think and Read prompt by explaining this story’s featured skill: Plot. Encourage students to think about what Willa is like in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

Introduce Vocabulary

  • Show or assign the Vocabulary Slideshow to preview challenging words. Then assign the Vocabulary Skill Builder before or after reading.

2. Close Reading

Reading and Unpacking the Text

  • Read the story as a class or have students follow along as they listen to the Read-Aloud. 
  • Stop and use the Pause and Think questions at the end of each section for a comprehension check. Encourage students to go back to the text to support their answers.

  • Project or assign the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions. (Alternatively, use all or part of the Learning Journey Slide Deck.) 

Close-Reading Questions 

 

  • Read the first section. How do Charlotte and Zach feel about spiders? Charlotte and Zach have very different feelings about spiders. Charlotte despises them and Zach loves them. (compare and contrast)
  • Read “Into the Classroom.” What does Ms. Hernandez tell Charlotte about her fear of spiders? Ms. Hernandez tells Charlotte that her fear of spiders is called a phobia. Many people have this fear. She tells Charlotte that she can overcome it. (summarize)
  • Read “The Creepy Creature.” How does the illustration on page 13 help you understand what is happening in this part of the story? In the illustration, Charlotte’s classmates are watching Fuzzy. Fuzzy isn’t moving in his terrarium. Charlotte turns away from the group because she doesn’t like spiders. The picture shows what she is thinking: “I wish Fuzzy would just disappear!” (text features)
  • Read “Missing.” How do Charlotte’s classmates feel when they realize that Fuzzy is missing? What do they want to do? They are very upset that Fuzzy disappeared. They come up with different ideas to find him. Sophie wants to call the fire department. Noah wants to use a search and rescue dog. Zach wants to go to the mayor. (plot)
  • Read “Life Without Fuzzy.” Why isn’t life without Fuzzy as great as Charlotte had imagined? Life without Fuzzy isn’t as great as Charlotte imagined because at lunch, everyone is too sad to talk. At recess, everyone is too busy looking for Fuzzy to play. And when Ms. Hernandez tells the class about the Halloween party, nobody claps—not even Charlotte. (cause and effect)
  • Read “The Spider Search.” What does Charlotte wear to school the next day? Why does she wear this? Charlotte wears a spider costume to school. She wears it because she hopes this will get the students at her school to look for Fuzzy. (character’s motivation)
  • After Charlotte lets Fuzzy go in the schoolyard, why does she whisper “Go eat lots of bugs and take care of the world”? Charlotte whispers this to Fuzzy because she is no longer afraid of him. She is sad to see him go. But she cares about him and hopes that he has a good life eating bugs and helping the world. (interpreting text)

Critical-Thinking Questions 

 

  • How does Charlotte change from the beginning to the end of the story? At the beginning of the story, Charlotte is terrified of spiders and wishes that Fuzzy would disappear. But after he does disappear, her feelings about the spider change. She helps her classmates make missing-tarantula posters and wears a spider costume to school to motivate people to look for Fuzzy. By the end of the story Charlotte has overcome her spider phobia. She protects Fuzzy from the other kids and realizes how much spiders help the world. She’s sad when she lets Fuzzy go in the schoolyard. But she hopes the class can help another tarantula one day. (how a character changes)
  • How do you think Charlotte’s experience overcoming her fear of spiders will affect how she deals with other scary situations in the future? Answers will vary. (inference/predicting)

Class Discussion: Overcoming Fears

In this story, Charlotte learns a lesson about overcoming a fear. At first, Charlotte despises spiders because she found spiders in her tent while camping. She doesn’t want to save the spider she finds at recess and wishes it would disappear. But when the spider does disappear, Charlotte realizes she isn’t happy as she thought she would be. She learns how helpful spiders are for the world. By the end of the story, she overcomes her fear of spiders and hopes to help another spider one day. Ask students to think of a time when they overcame a fear. How did they overcome this fear? Was it difficult? What advice do they have for other people who maybe have this same fear? Have a conversation about overcoming fears with your students. (connecting to the text, theme)

3. Skill Building and Writing

Featured Skill: Plot

  • Distribute or digitally assign the Plot Skill Builder.

  • Ask students to write a response to the Think and Write prompt on page 15.

Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers

To help striving readers understand the plot, play the read-aloud audio of the story as students follow along in their magazines. Pause at the end of each section to discuss what happened, and write a one- or two-sentence summary together.

For Multilingual Learners

The descriptions of spiders and tarantulas in the story may be difficult for or unfamiliar to your multilingual learners. Show pictures of tarantulas on the board, and ask students to share words that describe the creatures. Create a list on the board. Then read through the story as a group, pausing whenever students come across a description of spiders. Add these descriptions to the list on the board. 

For Advanced Readers

Invite students to read “Lost and Found,” a delightful story about another student, named Justin, who has to overcome his fears. Have students compare and contrast Charlotte and Justin. How are these two characters similar and different? What did each of them learn?

Text-to-Speech