Make Learning About James and the Giant Peach Fun and Easy!

 

Peach, Friends and Big Dreams

One of Roald Dahl's most beloved books is James and the Giant Peach. This classic story is full of rich vocabulary and interesting characters that can be used to teach a variety of topics. James and the giant peach is also a great story for teaching about character development and how to identify the main idea of a story.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Read the book aloud to the class
• Have students retell the story in their own words
• Draw illustrations of the story
• Have students create a giant peach out of construction paper or paper mache.
• Have students act out the story, using props and costumes if possible.
• Make a giant peach smoothie or other peach-themed treat for the class to enjoy.
• Use the story to teach new vocabulary words, such as "ladder," "insects," and "giant."
• Have students act out scenes from the book.
• Invite a guest speaker to talk about peach farming.
• Have students draw pictures of their favorite scenes.
• Learn about peaches life cycle
• Use the story as a starting point for a discussion about dreams and goals. What did James want to do with his life before the giant peach? What did he want to do after?
• Use the characters in the story to teach about different personality types.
• You can discuss the various foods that James and his friends eat, as well as the nutritional value of each one.
• Use games and activities to reinforce the key language points.
• Show a movie clip or trailer related to the book
• Have a dress-up day where everyone comes to school dressed as their favorite character from the book.
Use the book to teach about the different parts of a peach. This can be a great way to introduce or review vocabulary.
• Make a giant peach pie and serve it to the class.
• Write a story about what would happen if you found a giant peach.

After exploring all of these ideas for teaching about James and the Giant Peach in the ESL classroom, it's time for you to put them into action. Choose one or two activities from each category to use in your next lesson. By engage your students in active learning, you'll be sure to keep them engaged and excited about the material.