Article
gary tyler/Getty Images (Silk);© Siedykholena | Dreamstime.com (Book)
Paired Texts,

The Myth of Arachne / Real Spiders

Why are spiders such great weavers? Read this myth from ancient Greece to find out!

By Molly Bradley
From the October/November 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will compare and contrast a fiction story with a nonfiction article.

Lexile® measure: 480L
Featured Skill: Compare Two Texts,
Vocabulary: weaving, Greece, prey
Common Core Standards
  • ELA Focus, Science Focus
    Myths, Spiders
  • Skill Focus
    Compare and contrast
  • Common Core Standards
    RL.2.1 Key details RL.2.3 Describe how characters respond to events RL.2.7 Use information from illustrations to understand characters, setting, and plot RL.2.10 Read grade-2-appropriate stories RI.2.1 Key details RI.2.4 Vocabulary RI.2.5 Nonfiction text features RI.2.7 Use visuals RI.2.9 Compare two texts on a similar topic RI.2.10 Read grade-2-appropriate informational texts SL.2 Participate in conversations about grade-2 texts
TEKS Standards
  • ELA
    (9) Multiple genres: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts--genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts. The student is expected to: (A) demonstrate knowledge of distinguishing characteristics of well-known children’s literature such as folktales, fables, and fairy tales
  • Science
    (13) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms have structures and undergo processes that help them interact and survive within their environments. The student is expected to: (B) record and compare how the structures and behaviors of animals help them find and take in food, water, and air

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Think and Read

As you read, think about how Arachne and real spiderwebs are alike and different.

Art by Laura Catrinella
 

The Myth of Arachne

Art by Laura Catrinella

Many years ago, there was a girl named Arachne (uh-RAK-nee). She was amazing at weaving. She made big, beautiful cloths. Everyone said she was the best weaver they knew!

But Arachne liked to show off. She bragged that she was the best weaver in town. She bragged that she was the best weaver in all of Greece. She even bragged that she was the best weaver in the world!

One day, Arachne was bragging in her garden. “I’m as good at weaving as the goddess Athena,” she said. “Maybe I’m even better than Athena!” 

Then a strange woman appeared. Her head was covered by a hood.

“Be careful,” she said. “You’ll make Athena angry.”

“So what? I’m right,” said Arachne. “I bet I could beat her in a weaving contest.”

The woman took off her hood. It was Athena! 

“Let the contest begin!” said Athena.


Art by Laura Catrinella

They started weaving. Athena wove a cloth with pictures of the gods. The pictures showed how great the gods were.

Arachne wove pictures of the gods too. But hers showed how mean the gods were. They showed how gods tricked humans.

Many hours later, they were done. Athena looked at Arachne’s cloth. It was beautiful! She was jealous.

Plus the pictures made her angry. Arachne had made the gods look so bad!

“I will teach you a lesson,” said Athena. “You are a great weaver. I’ll let you keep weaving. But you’ll never brag again.”

Athena waved her hand. Poof! She turned Arachne into a spider!

Arachne spent the rest of her days weaving. That’s why spiders are such good weavers today! But she never bragged again. 


Art by Laura Catrinella

Real Spiders

Real spiders weave with silk.

gary tyler/Getty Images

Spiders make it in their bodies. Spider silk is very strong and sticky.


Real spiders weave webs.

Shutterstock.com (Orb Web); blickwinkel/Alamy Stock Photo (Triangle Web); Rolf Nussbaumer/imageBROKER RF/Getty Images (Funnel Web)

From left: orb web, triangle web, tunnel web

Spiders make different kinds of webs. Here are a few kinds of spiderwebs.


Spiders weave webs for many reasons.

 Shutterstock.com

Some spiders weave webs as their home. The webs keep them safe from wind and rain. Other spiders use their webs to catch prey! Bugs fly into the sticky webs and get stuck. Then the spiders eat them. 


video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (4)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (4) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Small group; whole group; independent reading

1. Use the Before-Reading Resources

  • Read “What Is a Myth?” (5 minutes)
    Before reading the Paired Texts, read this issue’s Background Builder to introduce students to the elements of myths.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow (5 minutes)
    Help students become familiar with the vocabulary words they will see in the article.

2. Read the Articles

Reading focus: Compare and contrast (30 minutes)

  • Read “The Myth of Arachne.” Ask: How do Arachne and Athena weave their cloths?
  • Show students the Tricky Spiders video on our website to give them background information about real spiders.
  • Now read “Real Spiders.” Ask: How do spiders weave webs?

3. After-Reading Skills Practice

  • Do a T-Chart: (15 minutes)
    Once they’ve read “The Myth of Arachne” and “Real Spiders,” students can sort details about the stories into two different columns on the T-chart.

You can use these skills pages to practice other skills. (15 minutes each)

  • Quiz: Comprehension check
  • Myth Checklist: Once students have also read “What Is a Myth?,” they can use what they learned to identify what makes “The Myth of Arachne” a myth.
  • Thrills and Chills Chart: Compare the thrills-and-chills-themed texts in the issue.

Text-to-Speech