This is an EFL Jack and the Beanstalk lesson plan for a class lasting about one hour and suitable for preschool children (3-6 years old). You could also easily adapt it to older classes. It is based on the fairy tale of Jack and the Beanstalk and is a great way of teaching or practicing counting numbers from 1 to 20 and talking about planting and growing seeds. There is a fun practical activity with a real magic bean seed to take home at the end of the class.
You will need:
- Dry beans (at least 1 or 2 per child for planting and more for counting) – you need to soak these for about 12 hours before your lesson
- Cotton wool or paper tissues
- Glass jam jars (1 per child)
- Drawing paper and coloring pens
Songs and videos:
- Number Song by The Singing Walrus
- Count and Move by Super Simple Songs
- Farmer Plants the Seeds by The Kiboomers
- Jack and the Beanstalk by Best Children’s Stories
Introduction: Counting from 1 to 20
Start with your normal Hello routine and then start introducing the numbers from 1 to 20. Unless the kids in your class are really tiny, they probably already know from 1 to 10 so go over these quickly and then concentrate on numbers from 11 to 20. Repeat the numbers together and sing along with the counting song linked above or your favorite counting song.
Play a counting game: Sit Down!
I love Sit Down! It’s a great game for counting practice and can be adapted for any age and any list of vocabulary. Very simply, the kids are in a circle and start counting from 1 to 20, one at a time. Whoever says 20 has to sit down and this goes on until only one child is left and wins the game. To make it harder, speed up the counting on each round.
Tell the story: Jack and the Beanstalk
You can tell the story of Jack and the Beanstalk by reading aloud from a book, acting out the story with puppets or toys or watching the video by Best Children’s Stories linked above. Make sure to make the children count objects such as magic beans and leaves on the giant beanstalk and introduce vocabulary for planting and growing.
Speaking Activity: What do beans need to grow?
On the board, you can now make a list with pictures of what you will need to grow beans. Ask the kids, “What do we need?” and let them reply. “We need beans”, “we need water”, “we need sun”, “we need a jar” etc. Don’t forget to use actions for each thing we need. You can adapt the song The Farmer Plants the Seeds linked above with your own vocabulary. E.g. The bean needs the sun, the bean needs the sun, hey ho for it to grow, the bean needs the sun.
Practical Activity: Growing magic beans
Now we’re going to plant our own magic beans to see if we can grow a magic beanstalk. First of all, we need to count all our beans. Give different amounts to each child and let them count them. Then get them to ask their companions how many beans they have. Then, give each child 1 jam jar, two beans and some damp cotton wool and show them how to plant their beans in the jar. If you’re not sure how to do this, you can find a tutorial here. Ask them to remind you what the bean needs to grow. Sing the song again while you’re doing the activity.
Drawing Activity: Make a care label for the magic bean plant
To finish off the lesson plan, give the kids some paper. Ask them to draw everything that the plant will need to grow. While doing this, get them to repeat the vocabulary and label their picture for them.
End with your Goodbye routine and count from 1 to 20 again. Give each child their jar with their magic bean and their care label to take home. Remind parents that the bean will need a sunny spot and some water to grow.
I hope this EFL Jack and the Beanstalk lesson plan will be useful to you. I’d love to hear of ways that you’ve used or adapted it in your classes so please leave a comment below. If you’re interested in other lesson plans , you can find them here. To stay up to date with new lesson plans and teaching ideas, you can follow the GoogooEnglish Facebook page. Alternatively, sign up for email updates below.