Reading Chapter 5

The theme was Webs, Wings, and Wiggly things. They told me this when I walked into the library a little before 8:00 on Monday morning. Unlike last time, this time I wasn't prepared. So the librarian showed me some props assembled by the RIF staff: creepy crawlers and plastic spiders and oversized bugs and lizards in cages -- things to pass around.

When the first class came in and sat down, I had two of them pull a creepy crawler from the bag and stick them on the velcro board under the category they thought was appropriate: webs, wings, wiggly things. Then we got down to business.

These were fourth graders. They are readers. So the book I was supposed to read wasn't a picture book of bugs with a poem. It was a real book, and there weren't many pictures. I warned them before we started.

They sat on the floor and I on a chair in front. I showed them the cover, read the title, read the author's name, and read the illustrator's name. (And I told them they should always remember these things after they read a book -- even the illustrator.) Then I started to read Chapter 5.

Chapter 5 of Charlotte's Web is not a bad chapter to read, if you can only read a little. And I only had about 15 minutes. It starts with a some pig antics in the barn.

So I was reading about Wilbur (the pig) and how he talked to the goose, and how he waited for morning to arrive. And I was reading about him eating all the slop in the trough.

I looked up and asked them, Do you know what slop is?

They didn't. Did they have pets? Some did. Did they have a dog? Some did. Did they feed them dry food or wet food? Some answered, but most didn't seem sure what I was asking. I explained how slop is kind of like wet pet food where you mix it with water to make soupy, slimy slop. They understood.

Do you know what a trough is? I asked.

They didn't. I explained how a trough is about this long by that wide, and I held my hands out. And it is made out of wood. And it's what you pour the slop into. I made a bubbly, goopy, slooping sound and motioned with my hands as if it was pouring into the trough. They understood.

Then we continued with Wilbur and how he rolled in the manure. I stopped again. I looked at them, wondering. They looked back, wondering, too.

Do you know what manure is? I asked in a whisper.

They didn't. I didn't say anything for a few seconds. I could see the librarians and teachers frozen in the back. I leaned forward in my chair, as if to share a secret.

It's ..., and I lowered my voice even more.

It's poo.

The kids smiled. Some giggled. Some winced. The teachers and librarians in the back laughed audibly (but not too loudly).

I held my hand to my mouth. Manure is animal poo, I explained in a normal voice now. After all, this is a farm!

We never did get to the end of the chapter. We only got to where Charlotte waves to Wilbur with one leg, holding on upside down with the other seven. And then the kids got to go pick their books.

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RIF day at Walnut Creek Elementary, Austin.

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