Jack and the Beanstalk retelling activity

Retell Jack’s climb in three moves

Prep: About 5 minutes with pieces ready · Play: About 10 minutes

Gather: A familiar version of the story and three cards. Sketch a trade, a planted bean, and a tall beanstalk. Use a Jack stick puppet or tape a paper drawing of Jack to a craft stick.

1. Pick the moments. After telling the story, name the three moments you’ll act out together: Jack trades for beans, the beans go into the ground, and Jack climbs.
2. Move and tell. Invite children to put the cards in story order. Have them pretend to trade, plant, and climb as they say what happens on each card.
3. Give Jack a voice. Hand one child the Jack stick puppet and let them tell the three moments in their own words. Ask another child to choose what happens next in your version of the story.

Try saying: “First Jack gets the beans. What does he do before he can climb?”

Make it easier: Put the first card in place and give two cards to choose from for the next event. Keep it going: Invite children to draw the next scene and explain how it connects to the climb.

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