Jack and the Beanstalk – Dreamworld and Class Storytelling activity

Tell the students the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. There are two versions. One is a teacher version, the other is the simplified version that appears in the booklet that we are going to make.

Draw a cline (scale on the whiteboard and elicit the ‘Giant words’. Instead of a scale you could draw a Beanstalk to match the theme. There are 10 words in the word search on the last page of the book. Teach all 10 to the more advanced levels and few words to the lower levels. You can also recap later by eliciting and getting your students to predict which ‘Giant word” or words will be used in the story.

You can change the story too if you like depending on the age group or level that you are teaching. The story must be taught before the students arrive at Dreamworld. Ideally, this would happen in the classroom, but you could also do it on the bus.

Explain the meaning of the words ‘strange’ and ‘exchange’.

Jack and the Beanstalk – Teacher version

This is a story about a boy called Jack. He lives with his mother. They are very poor so his mother decides to sell their cow. She tells Jack to take the cow to the market to sell it.

On the road Jack meets a strange man who offers him some magic beans in exchange for the cow. (What would you do? Sell the cow at the market or take the magic beans? Why? What do you think Jack does?)

Jack exchanges the cow for the beans.(What do you think his mother is going to say? What do you think jack’s mother is going to do?)

Jacks mother is very angry and throws the beans out the window.(What do you think is going to happen to the beans?)

During the night the beans grow and grow and grow into a huge beanstalk. When Jack wakes up he sees the beanstalk out of his window.(What happens next?)

Well the beanstalk grows some more. Now it’s enormous!

Jack climbs up the beanstalk(Do you think he’s brave or stupid? What do you think he will find at the top?)He finds …. A gigantic castle at the top!(Who do you think lives in the castle?)

Jack is very hungry and goes into the castle and eats some food in the kitchen. Suddenly he hears a loud noise, ‘Fee, fi, fo, fum,’ and sees the colossal Giant.(Do you think the giant is going to see Jack?)

Jack hides and watches the Giant eat his breakfast and count his gold. The magical harp plays a beautiful song and the Giant falls asleep. (What do you think Jack is going to do?)

Jack takes the gold and starts to run. At this moment the Giant wakes up!(Do you think the Giant is going to catch Jack?)

Jack runs out of the castle and the Giant follows him. Jack climbs down the beanstalk and cuts it down and the Giant falls down.

Jack and his mother are rich and live happily ever after.

Jack and the Beanstalk – Student version

This is a story about a boy called Jack. He lives with his mother. They are very poor so his mother decides to sell their cow. She tells Jack to take the cow to the market to sell it.

On the road Jack meets a strange man who offers him some magic beans in exchange for the cow.

Jack exchanges the cow for the beans.

Jacks mother is very angry and throws the beans out the window.

During the night the beans grow and grow and grow into a huge beanstalk. When Jack wakes up he sees the beanstalk out of his window.

Well the beanstalk grows some more. Now it’s enormous!

Jack climbs up the beanstalkHe finds …. A gigantic castle at the top!

Jack is very hungry and goes into the castle and eats some food in the kitchen. Suddenly he hears a loud noise, ‘Fee, fi, fo, fum,’ and sees the colossal Giant.

Jack hides and watches the Giant eat his breakfast and count his gold. The Giant falls asleep. Jack takes the gold and starts to run. At this moment the Giant wakes up!

Jack runs out of the castle and the Giant follows him. Jack climbs down the beanstalk and cuts it down and the Giant falls down.

Jack and his mother are rich and live happily ever after.

It would be a good idea to show the students what the finished book will look like. I have created the book and taken pics for you to show them so that they can get an idea of what they are working towards.

Arrange your students into groups of 4. Each student receives a copy of the A3 page below, fold in half and back and forth to create a booklet.

Cover pageHopefully at least one person in each of group will have a mobile phone. The students need to have a picture taken of themselves in front of the Giant’s Castle (pic below). The students can print the pictures at home and past them in the space provided on the cover page. They can also write their name.

Page 1A strange manThe students use their imagination to draw a picture of the strange man that sold Jack the magic beans. They can also stick real beans on the page, use wool or string for his hair, etc. if they like.

Page 2Drawing dictationThis is a drawing dictation. Use the ‘Giant Words’ to describe the flashcard with the beanstalk and castle. With higher levels, add a house and prepositions of place to your description. Let the students compare one another’s drawings. Whose picture most resembles the picture on the card? The picture is drawn in the space provided.

Page 3Some of my favourite thingsStudents add their favourite foods to the top circle. They add foods that they are OK with or don’t mind to the smaller middle section. In the bottom section they add foods that they don’t like.

At higher levels, students can categorise the 3 sections into vegetables, dairy and meats or carbohydrates, proteins and fats. You could also ask the students to only add foods to these categories that they see on their trip to Dreamworld.

Students decorate and colour the page.

5. Page 4Design your own menuHaving seen for themselves just how big the sleeping giant in the castle is, students think of the kinds of food that the giant might like and add them to a menu. Teach students the words ‘dessert’ and ‘beverage’. With higher levels, add quantities to the menu too. How much would this ‘giant’ breakfast cost in reality? Students add pricing.

Students decorate and colour the page.

Page 5Fee, fi, fo, fum! What did the giant say?Thinking back to what the giant shouted in the story, students write down the words:

Fee, fi, fo, fum!I smell the blood of an Englishman!

Explain Jack’s nationality if you like. The students can also use their own imaginations and come up with their own words. The words are written in the space provided. Students decorate the page or add a picture.

Page 6What happens next?In the story, Jack chops down the beanstalk and that’s the end of the giant. Let students decide for themselves how the story should turn out. Students write their version on the scroll.

Page 7Happily ever afterStudents take ‘selfies’ or pictures with their friends inside the castle. They could also paste a pic of themselves with their mom in the space provided.

Page 8Quizz – refer to the location in the pic below:

Q1: Why did the giant fall asleep?A: The harp played music that made the giant sleepy. Accept any other good answer from the students if the harp did not play a part in your version of the story.

Q2: Where did the giant get the gold from?A: If the castle, the students will see a big basket of golden eggs.

Q3: How much gold was there?A: Students have to count the number of eggs. I think there are 7! Teachers must count the eggs in the castle.

Check the students’ answers and give them marks out of 3.

Page 9Word searchStudents look for the 10 Giant words. Praise students for finding at least 4.At home. Students can use a dictionary or the internet to discover more. Follow up in class and mark their work.

Let the students decorate their books and share pictures in the next lesson at ECC. Display the books in the branch or keep to give to their parents.

There are lots of follow up activities that you can do. I have included the individual pages in .doc format in case you would like to make changes for future use. The Word Search comes from the book ‘Tell it Again’. There are other activities and versions of the story including listening materials on the story.