This story of Jack and the magic beanstalk is a variation of the classic but still tells the story of Jack’s adventure up the beanstalk.  It is told in both English and Spanish making it a good addition to any classroom.

Materials

•             Bean seeds and dirt
•             Rebus directions on planting beans
•             Journal of bean seeds growth-The bean is this tall, this tall
•             Pictures of top views-6 total

Vocabulary

•             Widow (a Mom whose husband has died)
•             Fortune( someone’s money and treasures)
•             Castle ( a home that is humungous)
•             Ferocious ( to be really, really angry)

Before Reading the Story

            Tell the children that our story today is about a boy who climbs a magic beanstalk.  It is magic because it grows all the way up into the sky.  Ask the children if they would be brave and climb up past the clouds?  Pretend to start climbing, look down what do you see?  Have the children pretend climb up the beanstalk and then back down.  When they are sitting draw pictures of things from a top view and see if they can guess what they are.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare and contrast objects, events, and experiences.

Reading the Story

            Use you voice to reflect the different emotions portrayed in the storey as you read.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

After Reading the Story

            Have the children help retell the story in sequential order.  What happened first, second, third?  List all the emotions that were described in the story and ask the children if they can remember who felt the emotion and why?(Jack was happy to get the beans, Mom was mad that Jack took beans instead of money, Jack was surprised to see the beanstalk, the giant’s wife was scared the giant would find Jack, etc) 

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences, to act out stories in dramatic play, and to predict what will happen next in a story. AND Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Discovery

            Have the children plant bean seeds and keep a journal of how they grow.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships. AND Literacy/Early Writing; develops understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes.

Music and Movement

            Teach the children a planting poem like, Dig a Little Hole by F Koch

You, dig a little hole

And you put the seed in.

And you cover it with dirt

And let the sun shine in.

Add a little water

And keep it fed,

Pretty soon a little plant

Will show it’s head (ask the children what kinds of plants they are)

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex. AND Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and activities.

                                                           

Blocks

            The giant lived in a castle; try to make a very large castle with the blocks. How tall can you build?

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads and using scissors.

Art

            Put a simple item on the floor and have the children draw it from a top view perspective (looking down on it).

Creative Arts/Art; begins to understand and share opinions about artistic products and experiences.

Sand and Water;

Put damp sand or dirt into the table with several spoons for the children to plant bean seeds.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Library and Writing

            Draw a leaf shape on pieces of paper about 6 inches long.  Let the children cut them out, decorate, and write their names on the leaves.  Make a beanstalk on the wall and let the children tape their leaves on the stalk from floor to ceiling.

Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from using scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas, to using letter like symbols, to copying and writing familiar words such as their own name. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads and using scissors.

Dramatic Play

            The children can act out the story.  Add a small handful of beans to the center.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences, to act out stories in dramatic play, and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Math and Manipulatives

            Bring in beans and a clean egg carton or muffin tin.  Put a number in the bottom of each cup 1-12.  Give the children plastic spoons and tweezers to move the beans from a small bowl to the cups.  Help them to name the number and then see if they can count the correct amount of beans for each cup.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Outdoor Play

            Play Mother May I?  Have all the children line up on one side of the yard.  The children take turns asking if they can take ____ giant steps.  The teacher either says “yes” or “no”, if the teacher says no then she says how many giant steps the child may take.  The child then counts out the steps aloud as they cross the yard. (Mother may I take 4 giant steps?  No but you may take 3.) For children that are familiar with numbers, hold up cards showing the number in written form.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Transitions

Play which is bigger/taller/longer/shorter/narrower/wider? Give a child a choice of two items and ask them which is… (Which is shorter-a house or a car? Which is longer-a worm or a paperclip? Which is taller-a leaf, a bush, or a tree? Etc.).

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; begins to make comparisons of several objects on a single attribute.

Resources