Is there any such thing as a good or bad person?

‘Person’: The troll & the giant 

Place: Under the bridge & in the castle 

Problem: The troll being angry with the billy goats & Jack stealing 

Possibilities: That people have reasons for behaving the way that they do and that, if we are prepared to listen, we can understand each other better 

Synopsis 

This project will start with an angry troll who is frustrated by goats constantly ‘trip trapping’ over his bridge. The children will explore why he is feeling this way, and if we can find a solution to the problem. The children will read Billy Goats Fluff by Rachael Mortimer to see how the Billy Goat’s Grandma solves the problem by knitting the goats fluffy socks. The children will begin to discuss how the troll is feeling in relation to the ‘Zones of Regulation’ and relate this back to their own experiences of being in the ‘red zone’. After this, the children will take a similar approach to understanding how the giant is feeling in Jack and the Beanstalk. The children will seek to understanding why the Jack is so angry, and whether it was right for Jack to steal from the giant, even though he was poor. By the end of the project, the children will have a greater understanding of their own emotions, and the emotions of other people.  

Trips out/Visitors In 

A visit to the bridges in the local area. 

A visit to the Oxford Castle. 

 

Learning Exhibition 

The children performed a whole-class retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk to a huge audience of family and friends.

The children also shared their innovated alternative endings to Jack and the Beanstalk with their parents before they came to see the rest of their learning in class. 

December 2023