Year 1 Jack and the Beanstalk: reading and writing worksheet

“Magic in Fairy Tales” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 1 English unit “Jack and the Beanstalk: reading and writing”, for children aged 5 to 6, and takes about 21 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 31 to 33 of the year, 9 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Magic in Fairy Tales

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 1 · English · about 21 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can tell magic things in fairy tales from real things.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which line starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop? Circle it.
jack ran home.Jack ran homeJack ran home.
2.
Join these two sentences with the word and. Write the new sentence.
3.
Put these sentences in order. Write 1, 2 and 3 in the boxes.
1. Ali waters the seed.
2. Ali picks up the seed.
3. Ali plants the seed.

B Watch me, then you4 min

Mia reads a story about a harp that sings by itself. Is the harp real or made up?

A small old cottage with a cow in the field beside it

Watch me

A golden harp standing on a stone floor in a castle hall

A harp that sings by itself is magic.

Magic things do not happen in real life.

So the harp is made up.

Now you

1.
A cow can talk in the story. Real or made up? Circle the right word.
realmade up
2.
A bean seed grows into a small plant in a pot. Real or made up? Circle the right word.
realmade up

C Your turn6 min

Look at the picture. Think about what could really happen and what only happens in a fairy tale.

A tall green beanstalk rising up through white clouds

1.
Which one could only be in a fairy tale? Circle the right word.
a magic beana bag of flour
2.
Which one could only be in a fairy tale? Circle the right word.
a cow that gives milka hen that lays golden eggsa hen that lays brown eggs
3.
Write each card in the right column.
a giant in the cloudsa cow in a fielda talking harpa bean seed in a pot
Could happen in real life Only in a fairy tale
4.
Write one sentence about a magic thing from a fairy tale. Use a capital letter and a full stop.

Say it out loud: What was the same about all the magic things? What was different about the things that could happen in real life?

D Spot the mistake3 min

An old book open on a wooden table with a green beanstalk on the page

Kit says: “Jack and the Beanstalk is real, because it is in a book.”

1.
Is Kit right? Write why.

E Think deeper4 min

A castle sitting on a cloud high above green hills

1.
Jack took things from the giant. Was Jack a hero, a villain or both? Write one reason.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Magic in Fairy Tales · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. Jack ran home. The child may have picked a line with no full stop. Ask them to point to the first letter and then the last mark.

2. Look for: One sentence that joins Sam sat and Sam ate with the word and, for example: Sam sat and ate. Starts with a capital and ends with a full stop. The child may write two full sentences again. Ask them to read the new sentence aloud and listen for the word and in the middle.

3. 1 Ali picks up the seed. · 2 Ali plants the seed. · 3 Ali waters the seed. The child may have put the last step first. Ask: what has to happen before the seed can be watered?

B

1. made up The child says real. Ask: can a cow talk in a field at home?

2. real The child says made up. Ask: have you seen a bean seed grow in a pot?

C

1. a magic bean The child picks the bag of flour. Ask: could a bag of flour grow into a tall plant overnight?

2. a hen that lays golden eggs The child picks a hen that lays brown eggs. Ask: do real hens lay gold eggs or brown and white ones?

3. Only in a fairy tale: a talking harp, a giant in the clouds · Could happen in real life: a cow in a field, a bean seed in a pot The child may have put the giant with the cow. Ask: is there a real giant living in the clouds?

4. Look for: One sentence about a magic thing from a fairy tale, starting with a capital letter and ending with a full stop. The sentence has no capital or no full stop. Ask the child to read it aloud and point to the start and the end.

D

1. Look for: says Kit is wrong because a story in a book can be made up, so it is fiction and not real. The child agrees with Kit. Ask: can a beanstalk really grow up to the clouds? Does a book always tell true things?

E

1. Look for: Gives a choice (hero, villain or both) and one reason from the story, such as keeping his mum safe or taking things that were not his.

Words to use

Say“Tell me which part of the story could really happen, and which part is magic. How do you know?”

Instead of“Tell them the story is true because it is in a book.”

After the sheet

Find three objects at home, such as a cup, a spoon and a sock. For each one, say a real thing it does. Then make up a magic thing it could do in a fairy tale.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

8 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Describing the giant(with a plan)
Describing Jack with and(with a plan)
Same moment, different feelings(with a plan)
Sharing my opinion about Jack(with a plan)
Retelling Jack's story in order(with a plan)
Starting my own story(with a plan)
Writing the middle of Jack's story(with a plan)
Writing the ending(with a plan)

Every Year 1 English worksheet

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