Text Reading and Comprehension: Character and Setting

Jack and the Beanstalk

Lesson Information

Book Information

Vocabulary: beanstalk, delicious, giant, greedy, magic, starving, thunderous

Build Background About the Text (5–10 minutes)

1. Preview the Text

Hold up a copy of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Mr. Say

We will read this book today. Point to the title as you read it aloud. Ask students to read aloud with you as you read it again. Can someone point to the author’s name? Read the name of the author aloud. How do we know Farah Farooqi is the author? (The cover says "By Farah Farooqi".) Who is the illustrator? (Ingrid Sundberg) What did Ingrid Sundberg do? (She drew the pictures on the cover and inside the book.)

Mr. Say

This book tells a folktale. Folktales are a special kind of story. People tell and retell folktales in different ways. Has anyone ever heard the story of Jack and the Beanstalk before? Allow time for student responses. Based on the title, who is the main character in Jack and the Beanstalk? (Jack) In real life, beanstalks grow to be about 10 feet tall. That’s about the length from the floor to the ceiling in our classroom. Now point to the cover. How tall do you think this beanstalk is? Students’ answers will vary. What does this tell you about the beanstalk in the book? (Sample answers: It isn’t real. It is magic. This couldn't really happen.)

2. Introduce the Vocabulary

Ask questions to help clarify the meaning of the vocabulary words. Write the word giant on the board or a chart. Say the word aloud and invite students to repeat it.

Mr. Say

Let's find this word in the story. Turn to page 6. Point to the word, and read the associated sentence. Turn to page 7. Point to the illustration. The woman in this picture is much larger than Jack. She is a giant woman. What does that tell us about the word giant? (It means "big.") Can someone give me an example of something you have seen that is giant?

Mr. Say

Now let’s look at some other words that you will find in this book. Write the words beanstalk, delicious, greedy, magic, starving, and thunderous on the board or a projector. Walk students through the meaning of each of these words as shown in the model above, including describing the meanings of words. Encourage students to think about how they can use their senses and feelings to understand the meanings of the words.

3. Introduce the Comprehension Strategy: Identifying Character and Setting

Introduce students to making inferences by using real examples.

Mr. Say

Before we read our book, let’s learn about something that will make you even better readers. Look at these questions. Write who, what, when, where,and how on the board or a projector. You can ask these questions about a story. Who did something? What did they do? When did they do it? Where did they do it? and How did they do it? Who asks about the characters. They are the people or animals that the story is about. Where asks about setting. This is where the story takes place. Who do you think the characters in this story are? What do you think the setting of this story is? Write students’ answers on the board or a projector.

Mr. Say

When we read our book, I want you to think about who the characters are and what the setting is. We will talk more about this later in our lesson.

Read the Text (20–25 minutes)

1a. First Read of the Text

Read the text aloud, using a different voice for each character when reading the dialogue. Briefly discuss if students’ predictions about the characters and setting came true. Guide students to think about the central message, lesson, or moral of the story. Explain that you will talk more about this after you read the book again.

1b. Second Read of the Text

Reread the story. Prompt students to ask and answer text-dependent questions about key details in the text and the illustrations.

Mr. Say

Now that I have read the text one time, let’s take a look through the book again. This time, we will talk about some of the really important sentences and illustrations. I will ask some questions along the way. Include the following examples in your discussion. Add others, depending on your students’ needs and the instructional time available to you.

Turn to page 3. Read the text.

Mr. Say

Who buys Barky the cow from Jack? (Mr. Bones) What does he give Jack for the cow? (five beans) Turn to page 4. What is special about the beans? (They are magic beans. Mr. Bones says they will grow to the sky.)

Turn to page 6. Direct students’ attention to the illustration.

Mr. Say

Something very surprising has happened. What is it? (A giant beanstalk has grown outside Jack’s window.) Who can show me the sentence that explains why Jack decided to climb the beanstalk? (“Maybe my good luck is at the top,” Jack thought.)

Turn to page 8.

Mr. Say

Who can point to the paragraph that tells us how big the giant is? Read with me as I read the third paragraph aloud.

Turn to page 10. Point to the illustration.

Mr. Say

What does Jack take from the giants? (a hen that lays golden eggs)

Turn to page 12. Read the page aloud. Direct students’ attention to the seventh paragraph.

Mr. Say

What does Jack mean when he says, “Now that was a piece of cake”? Guide students in understanding that Jack uses an expression that has a special meaning (an idiomatic expression). Invite students to discuss what the expression means and when they might have used or heard it.

Turn to page 14. Read the page aloud.

Mr. Say

How does this story end? (The giant decides to eat cake and not Jack. Jack says he’s sorry for taking the giant’s belongings.)

2. Model Application of the Reading Strategy to the Text

Prompt and support students to use key details in the story to describe its characters, settings, and major events.

Mr. Say

Earlier in this lesson, I told you that characters are who the story is about, and settings are where the story takes place. Let’s identify some of the characters and settings in our book.

Turn to page 1.

Mr. Say

Look at this picture. There are two people in the picture. Who are they? (They are Jack and his mother.) How do you know Jack is the main character in this book? (His name is in the title. His is the first name in the book.) Where does this scene take place? (in Jack and his mother’s house) What challenge do Jack and his mother face? (Their cow won't give milk. They have no way to make money.)

Turn to page 7.

Mr. Say

Look at this picture. Who are the characters in this picture? (They are Jack and the female giant.) What do you know about the female giant? (She is much larger than Jack.) Where does this scene take place? (in the giants' house) Why does the female giant give Jack cake? (She feels sorry for him because he is so hungry.)

Turn to page 13.

Mr. Say

Which characters are in this picture? (the male giant and Jack) Where are they? (on the ground at the bottom of the beanstalk)

Turn to page 14.

Mr. Say

What happens to the main characters at the end? (They agree to share the riches. They eat cake.) Why does the male giant agree to share with Jack? (He is happy because Jack helped him when he was injured.)

3. Focus on Vocabulary in the Text

Shuffle the vocabulary words

Mr. Say

I’m going to give each of you a card. Read the word on the card, but don’t let anyone else see it. We’ll take turns playing a game called Guess the Word. When it’s your turn, you have two choices. You can act out the word, or you can describe the word. Just be careful not to say the word, by mistake. Keep acting or describing the word until someone guesses your word correctly. Then show the word on your card. The person who guesses correctly gets to go next. Give students time to act out their words.

Assess Understanding (10 minutes)

Choose one or more assessment strategies to determine student comprehension.

1. Identify Main Topic and Retell Key Details to Show Understanding

Write Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?,and How? inside circles on the board or a projector.

Mr. Say

Now that we read the book more carefully, let’s use the words and pictures in our book to answer each of these questions. Ask students to respond to each question, supporting their understanding as they identify characters, setting, and events in the story. Record their answers in the circles. Use students’ explanations to determine individual understanding.

2. Explain Points of View to Show Understanding

Write the names Mother, Jack, Mrs. Giant, Mr. Giant on a board or chart.

Mr. Say

Let’s think about how each of these characters might retell the story in the order the events happened. I’ll start. I’ll pretend to be Jack’s mother. I will tell the story from my point of view: Our cow is old and cannot give milk anymore. We were going to starve unless we sold her for money to buy food. I sent Jack to the market, and do you know what he did? The boy traded our cow for five beans! Five beans! I couldn’t believe it. Jack promised the beans were magic, but I didn’t believe him. I thought he was just a silly boy. I couldn’t believe that a giant beanstalk actually grew! Jack climbed the beanstalk and came back with a hen that lays golden eggs and a pot that makes silver. We never had to be hungry again! But Jack cut the beanstalk after a giant chased him. Now the giant and his wife live with us. Invite students to tell the story from the point of view of the remaining characters. Then, ask students to write 1–2 sentences summarizing this story. If time allows, ask students to share their summaries.

Extend Reading Into Writing (5 minutes)

Mr. Say

Now we will write to share what we think about Jack in the story. Jack and his mother had no food. What did Jack do to solve this problem? (He traded his cow for magic beans, climbed a beanstalk, and took the giant’s hen and silver pot.) Give students time to respond. Do you agree with Jack’s decision to take the beans? Do you agree with Jack’s decision to take the hen and the silver pot? Write two paragraphs to tell what you think. Support students as they attempt to write sentences to explain their thinking. If time permits, encourage students to share their work.

Common Core State Standards: Reading Standards for Literature, Grade 2