Adventures in a Messy Life

Hands on learning for active learners

Jack and the Beanstalk Unit (Poppins Book Nook)

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Jack and the Beanstalk unit study

I love fairy tales, I think fairy tales are a lot of fun to read.  I currently on MY bookshelves, not the kid one, have 3 bookshelves dedicated to fractured fairy tales.  When I heard this was one of the themes I got so excited, and then the summer of crazy business happened, and it just was not good.  Thus leading to my recent organization obsession.

I love fractured fairy tales, and have 3 different picture books of Jack and the Beanstalk (and 2 novelizations, and 2 graphic novels, “but that’s another story, never mind moving on,” in my defense “Jack and the Beanstalk” always makes me think of “Into the Woods”).  Too many of my other fairy tales would have gotten into crazy depth (I have 20 different Beauty and the Beast versions, 3 novelizations).  So, I designed a Jack and the Beanstalk unit study.

Books we’re gonna use for our Jack in the Beanstalk Unit Study {these are affiliate links}:

Kate and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Giant: A Story Full of Beans(might be out of print)

Jack and the Beanstalk(okay, I don’t have this one, but it’s STEVEN KELLOGG, and I LOVE his books and illustrations, someday when I grow up I want to draw like him)

The Golden Book of Fairy Tales (Golden Classics) (side note, I have a different fairy tales colection, okay I have several different ones, but this was the best of the ones that came up)

Math

Draw a giant on a sheet of posterboard.  My favorite way to do this is give each kid a sheet of paper and assign them a body part (left leg, right arm, etc), then tape it all together.
Then draw Jack on a piece of index card, and cut him out.
Measure how many “Jacks” tall is the giant, how long is his arm, leg, etc….  Then measure both Jack and the giant with a ruler.  How tall is Jack?

Reading

After reading several different versions, compare the different Jack and the Beanstalk books to see how they are similar and different.  Create a Venn diagram to compare them.
Fairy tales are a great way to study story elements because they are exaggerated, and easy to figure out.  Go through and figure out, “who are the characters?  what is the setting?  what is the problem? how is the problem solved?”  A common element for most fairy tales is a magical element, what is the magical element in this story?

Georgraphy

Jack and the Beanstalk is an English fairy tale.  Find England on a map, find the capital of England.  “Jack and the Giant: A Story full of Beans” occurs in Texas, find Texas on a map.

Science

This is a great opportunity to have a bean study.  I especially like this bean experiment, because it not only shows how plants grow towards the sun, but it also imitates how the beanstalk grew.
So, that’s my Jack and the Beanstalk unit study.  I’m sorry to say I have no pictures for you, I somehow didn’t realize it was the last Monday of the month until Sunday night as I looked at my calendar and realized it was tomorrow.  Not good planning on my part.
And in case you don’t have your own fairy tales collection, here’s your chance to win one.  I’m a big fan of fairy tales, and have several million versions and collections.  Okay, it may only be 100 or so.  I do not think that number is an exaggeration.

a Rafflecopter giveawayJack and the Giant: A Story Full of Beans

I’m joining with several other great bloggers to share our takes on a different theme each month, check out how the other bloggers approached this theme and then create your own version: Enchanted Homeschooling Mom – 3 Dinosaurs – Monsters Ed – Chestnut Grove Academy – Growing in God’s Grace – Royal Little Lambs – Life with Moore Babies – Teach Beside Me – The Usual Mayhem – Mum Central – Fantastic Fun and Learning – Kathys Cluttered Mind – Toddler Approved – Growing Book by Book – Adventures in Mommydom – B-Inspired Mama – The Fairy and The Frog – Edventures with Kids – Learning & Growing the Piwi way – A Gluten Free Journey – No Doubt Learning – Preschool Powol Packets – To The Moon and Back – Our Craft ~N~ Things  – Fresh Farm Adventures  – Are We There Yet?

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