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Jack and the Beanstalk: a book club kit
Where it comes from. People in England told this for hundreds of years before Joseph Jacobs wrote it down in 1890.
In short (for the leader; it gives the ending away). Poor Jack trades his family's cow for magic beans, and his mother throws them out of the window. A giant beanstalk grows overnight, and Jack climbs it to a giant's house in the clouds. He takes the giant's bag of gold, a hen that lays golden eggs and a singing harp. The giant chases him, but Jack chops down the beanstalk and the giant falls.
The lesson, in one line. Being brave and quick can turn bad luck into good luck.
Reading plan. Read it together at the meeting: about 7 minutes aloud, or ahead of time at home.
Questions to talk about
- What is the moral of Jack and the Beanstalk?
The story's answer: Being brave and quick can turn bad luck into good luck. Jack's silly trade for beans ends with his family never being hungry again. - Who wrote Jack and the Beanstalk?
The story's answer: It is an old English folk tale. Joseph Jacobs wrote down this version in 1890 in his book English Fairy Tales. - What does Jack take from the giant?
The story's answer: He takes a bag of gold, a hen that lays golden eggs and a golden harp that sings. He takes them one at a time on three trips up the beanstalk. - What does “Fee-fi-fo-fum” mean?
The story's answer: It is just the giant's growling rhyme before he says he smells a person. The words are a spooky sound, not a real language. - Who in the story was kind, and who was not? How do you know?
Listen for: Ask for the moment in the story that shows it. - Which part would you change, and how would the story end then?
Listen for: There is no wrong ending; ask what else would have to change.
Did you know?
- Joseph Jacobs wrote this version down in England in 1890. People had told the tale for hundreds of years before.
- The giant's rhyme, “Fee-fi-fo-fum”, is the most famous line.
- In the story the hen lays golden eggs and the harp sings by itself.
Activity: Draw the story as a map
On one big sheet, draw every place the story happens and the path between them. Mark the spot where things go wrong and the spot where they come right.
More to talk about
More facts for the leader
- In this telling the giant falls into a duck pond and goes away, grumbling.
Words to teach before you start
- widow: lost her husband
- beanstalk: bean plant stem
- politely: with good manners
- rattled: shook and clattered
- harp: a stringed instrument
- copper: a reddish metal
Questions leaders ask
How long does a Jack and the Beanstalk book club meeting take?
Reading it aloud takes about 7 minutes in all, so plan one meeting of 30 to 45 minutes, with time left for the questions. The reading plan on the sheet says where to stop.
What age is Jack and the Beanstalk for?
It is written at Peabody level 8, a grade 3 reading level, so most children at that level can read it alone. Younger children can listen to it read aloud.
Do the children need to read it before the meeting?
No. Each child can read it free on Peabody, before the meeting or together at it, and the questions work either way. The sheet's short version gives the ending away, so keep it for the leader.
How do I use the questions?
Start with the story's own questions, which have answers in the leader's notes, then move to the open ones and listen for reasons. There is no wrong answer to an open question. Stop when the group runs out of things to say.
Club kits for stories like this
- Stone Soup (level 8)
- The Bremen Town Musicians (level 8)
- The Elves and the Shoemaker (level 8)
- The Ugly Duckling (level 8)
- The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats (level 8)
- Tom Thumb (level 8)
How this kit is made
The short version, the facts and the first questions with their answers are the story's own, written for its page in Peabody's library and checked against the sources named there. The open questions, the activity and the plan are Peabody's, written for this kind of story. No part of it is written by a computer model.
Running the meeting: the meeting plans (30, 45 and 60 minutes) and the sign-up sheet.