Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
Background to the novel
Published in 1902 the Just So Stories are fantasy explanations for how animal characteristics ‘evolved’.
In his introduction to the Puffin edition, Jonathan Stroud says:
“Each tale is full of marvels, but the real magic in them is their language, which explodes like
fireworks in your ears. It thrums with a uniquely twirly dancing rhythm that sweeps you up like a
magic carpet; it is crammed with sensuous lists of remote, exotic places that conjure the wonders of
the wide, wide world.”
The story used for these activities is the first of twelve in the book which has been reprinted and
reproduced many times since its publication. These are very accessible stories of which you would hope
that the children might go on to read more. The intimate tone and repetition of the phrase “O my best
beloved’ help the reader to make a connection with the narrator. The language is florid and witty and it
would be hoped that experiencing it will enhance the children’s own writing.
1. The Whale (comprehension)
You will need:
• a copy of the text for each child
• copies of worksheet 1 – The Whale
Ensure that the meaning of stute and astute is understood. You can discuss at the end why/how the
‘stute fish is clever. There are 12 comprehension questions so you can either read the whole story out and
present children with them all at once or break the story at “…turned round three times on his tail.” and do
up to no. 7 first.
The object is to ensure that the story is understood thoroughly.
2. Tricky words (developing vocabulary)
You will need:
• copies of worksheet 2
• dictionaries (check first that they actually have the words in them)
Encourage children to be creative with their sentences, modelling some first.
3. Banging & Clanging (verbs & rhymes)
You will need:
• copies of worksheet 3 – Banging & Clanging
• highlighter pens
Kipling’s wonderful use of rhyme within the prose gives his writing a distinctive feel. Revise verbs from the
passage then highlight the rhyming pairs and write them out. Ensure that children understand why Kipling
took liberties with the language and encourage them to do so similarly in the next activity.
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Page 1 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
4. Other animals (creative writing)
You will need:
• copies of worksheet 4 – Other animals
• a copy per person of the story
• highlighter pens
Get children to highlight stylistic oddities in Kipling’s writing such as the repetition of the phrase “O my
Best Beloved..” and talk about how this helps to connect the reader to the writer.
Encourage wild ideas about animals by modelling some as a group. For instance How the scorpion got its
sting, share ideas first, reminding them that it need not be realistic. Draw attention to the repetition of key
things such as the suspenders that the Mariner is going to use on the Whale. Encourage use of rhyming
lists and making up words to fit.
5. Whose side are you on? (note taking & making a case)
Children use the work they did on Worksheet 4 to produce a piece of discursive writing. Discuss the
concept of discursive writing with the class and encourage them to generate their own examples. Children
then write a discursive piece on the Whale and the Mariner. They are also introduced to the concept of
drafting their work with specific ideas on how to make improvements, including peer assessment.
6. Latitude & Longitude battleships (co-ordinates)
You will need:
• copies of worksheet 5 – Latitude & Longitude
• coloured pens or pencils
• map or globe
• access to the internet for research
Explain the concept of Latitude & longitude and find the position on a globe or map of 50N 40 W (it is off
the coast of Newfoundland). Make the connection with plotting co-ordinates and either explain Battleship
rules or get children to read them from the instructions before playing the game.
Extension activity: Investigate the location of the places mentioned. Kipling talks of Albion, (the south
down cliffs in England); Scotland (Hibernia), and the other places are in North America.
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Page 2 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
7.Review
You will need:
• copies of worksheet 6 – Review
• the work that has been done so far to reference and share
Discuss what children have enjoyed about working on the Just So Stories and encourage them to continue
to read the rest of the book. Use the phrases that Kipling uses in other contexts so that they incorporate
them into their lexicon.
Curriculum links
Geography
• Latitude & longitude, you could find out the latitude & longitude of the school and other places the
children suggest.
• Work out the distance that the whale might have travelled.
Science/ICT
• The many sea creatures named could be investigated and pictures of them obtained with information
about their habitats recorded.
Art
• Make a collage of the sea creatures with the open mouth of the whale in the middle and the Mariner
and all his kit popping out.
Game
• Children make a pelmanism game of all the rhyming words (there are two sets).
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Page 3 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
For all worksheets
How the Whale got his Throat
In the sea, once upon a time, O my Best Beloved,
there was a Whale, and he ate fishes. He ate the
starfish and the garfish, and the crab and the dab,
and the plaice and the dace, and the skate and
his mate, and the mackereel and the pickereel,
and the really truly twirly-whirly eel. All the fishes
he could find in all the sea he ate with his mouth
– so! Till at last there was only one small fish left
in all the sea, and he was a small ‘Stute Fish, and
he swam a little behind the Whale’s right ear, so
as to be out of harm’s way. Then the Whale stood
up on his tail and said, ‘I’m hungry.’ And the small
‘Stute Fish said in a small ‘stute voice, ‘Noble and
generous Cetacean, have you ever tasted Man?’
‘No,’ said the Whale. ‘What is it like?’
‘Nice,’ said the small ‘Stute Fish. ‘Nice but
nubbly.’
‘Then fetch me some,’ said the Whale, and he
made the sea froth up with his tail.
‘One at a time is enough,’ said the ‘Stute Fish.
‘If you swim to latitude Fifty North, longitude
Forty West (that is magic), you will find, sitting
on a raft, in the middle of the sea, with nothing
on but a pair of blue canvas breeches, a pair of
suspenders (you must not forget the suspenders,
Best Beloved), and a jack-knife, one ship-wrecked
Mariner, who, it is only fair to tell you, is a man of
infinite-resource-and-sagacity.’
So the Whale swam and swam to latitude
Fifty North, longitude Forty West, as fast as he
could swim, and on a raft, in the middle of the
sea, with nothing to wear except a pair of blue
canvas breeches, a pair of suspenders (you must
particularly remember the suspenders, Best
Beloved), and a jack-knife, he found one single,
solitary shipwrecked Mariner, trailing his toes in
the water. (He had his Mummy’s leave to paddle,
or else he would never have done it, because he
© Puffin Books 2015
22096
was a man of infinite-resource-and-sagacity.)
Then the Whale opened his mouth back and
back and back till it nearly touched his tail, and he
swallowed the shipwrecked Mariner, and the raft
he was sitting on, and his blue canvas breeches,
and the suspenders (which you must not forget),
and the jack-knife. He swallowed them all down
into his warm, dark, inside cup-boards, and then
he smacked his lips – so, and turned round three
times on his tail.
But as soon as the Mariner, who was a man
of infinite-resource-and-sagacity, found himself
truly inside the Whale’s warm, dark, inside cupboards, he stumped and he jumped and he
thumped and he bumped, and he pranced and
he danced, and he banged and he clanged, and
he hit and he bit, and he leaped and he creeped,
and he prowled and he howled, and he hopped
and he dropped, and he cried and he sighed,
and he crawled and he bawled, and he stepped
and he lepped, and he danced hornpipes where
he shouldn’t, and the Whale felt most unhappy
indeed. (Have you forgotten the suspenders?)
So he said to the ‘Stute Fish, ‘This man is very
nubbly, and besides he is making me hiccup.
What shall I do?’
‘Tell him to come out,’ said the ‘Stute Fish.
So the Whale called down his own throat to
the shipwrecked Mariner, ‘Come out and behave
yourself. I’ve got the hiccups.’
‘Nay, nay!’ said the Mariner. ‘Not so, but far
otherwise. Take me to my natal-shore and the
white-cliffs-of-Albion, and I’ll think about it.’ And
he began to dance more than ever.
‘You had better take him home,’ said the
‘Stute Fish to the Whale. ‘I ought to have warned
you that he is a man of infinite-resource-andsagacity.’
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Page 4 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
So the Whale swam and swam and swam, with
both flippers and his tail, as hard as he could
for the hiccups; and at last he saw the Mariner’s
natal-shore and the white-cliffs-of-Albion, and
he rushed half-way up the beach, and opened
his mouth wide and wide and wide, and said,
‘Change here for Winchester, Ashuelot, Nashua,
Keene, and stations on the Fitchburg Road;’ and
just as he said ‘Fitch’ the Mariner walked out of his
mouth. But while the Whale had been swimming,
the Mariner, who was indeed a person of infiniteresource-and-sagacity, had taken his jack-knife
and cut up the raft into a little square grating all
running criss-cross, and he had tied it firm with
his suspenders (now, you know why you were not
to forget the suspenders!), and he dragged that
grating good and tight into the Whale’s throat,
and there it stuck! Then he recited the following
Sloka, which, as you have not heard it, I will now
proceed to relate –
By means of a grating
I have stopped your ating.
For the Mariner he was also an Hi-ber-ni-an. And
he stepped out on the shingle, and went home
to his mother, who had given him leave to trail
his toes in the water; and he married and lived
happily ever afterward. So did the Whale. But
© Puffin Books 2015
22096
from that day on, the grating in his throat, which
he could neither cough up nor swallow down,
prevented him eating anything except very, very
small fish; and that is the reason why whales
nowadays never eat men or boys or little girls.
The small ‘Stute Fish went and hid himself in the
mud under the Door-sills of the Equator. He was
afraid that the Whale might be angry with him.
The Sailor took the jack-knife home. He was
wearing the blue canvas breeches when he
walked out on the shingle. The suspenders were
left behind, you see, to tie the grating with; and
that is the end of that tale.
When the cabin port-holes are dark
and green
Because of the seas outside;
When the ship goes wop (with a
wiggle between)
And the steward falls into the soup-tureen,
And the trunks begin to slide;
When Nursey lies on the floor in a heap,
And Mummy tells you to let her sleep,
And you aren’t waked or washed
or dressed,
Why, then you will know (if you
haven’t guessed)
You’re ‘Fifty North and Forty West!’
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Page 5 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
The Whale
1. Name the things the whale eats when the story begins.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
2. How does the way the ‘Stute Fish uses the word cetacean help us to work out what
it refers to?
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
3. How does the ‘Stute Fish describe man?
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4. What do you think ‘nubbly’ means? Make up another word that describes man.
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Page 6 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
5. Where did the ‘Stute Fish tell the Whale to go to find the Mariner?
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
6. Write three of the things that Rudyard Kipling uses to identify the man that they are
looking for.
1. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
2. ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
3. ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
7.
What did the Whale do immediately after he had swallowed the Mariner?
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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8. Describe in your own words what the Mariner did when he was inside the Whale.
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...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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Page 7 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
9. What do you think he means by: Take me to my natal-shore and the
white-cliffs-of-Albion, and I’ll think about it?
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
10. What does the Mariner do to protect other people from being swallowed
by whales?
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...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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11. Why might the Whale be angry with the ‘Stute Fish?
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12. Is the ending of the story happy or sad, and why?.
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© Puffin Books 2015
22096
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Page 8 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
Tricky words.
Use a dictionary to find out (or check) the meanings of the words from the story and
write a sentence using them.
Meaning:
Sentence:
suspenders
Albion
sagacity
shipwrecked
breeches
grating
shingle
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Page 9 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
Banging & Clanging
Highlight all the verbs in this passage then copy them into the tables in rhyming pairs.
Two of the words are not the proper words, put rings around them and write the correct
one. Why do you think Kipling used these?
But as soon as the Mariner, who was a man of infinite-resource-and-sagacity, found himself
truly inside the Whale’s warm, dark, inside cupboards, he stumped and he jumped and
he thumped and he bumped, and he pranced and he danced, and he banged and he
clanged, and he hit and he bit, and he leaped and he creeped, and he prowled and he
howled, and he hopped and he dropped, and he cried and he sighed, and he crawled and
he bawled, and he stepped and he lepped, and he danced hornpipes where he shouldn’t,
and the Whale felt most unhappy indeed.
jumped
© Puffin Books 2015
thumped
22096
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Page 10 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
Other animals.
The titles of some of the other stories are below.
How the Camel got his Hump
How the Rhinoceros got his Skin
How the Leopard got his Spots
The Butterfly that Stamped
Choose one of them and invent what you think happened. Or if you prefer you can
choose a different animal such as an octopus, a rattlesnake or a seahorse and explain
how that became the way it is. Let your imagination go wild, nothing needs to be
possible! Write as much as you can in the style of Rudyard Kipling.
How the
got its
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Once upon a time, O my Best Beloved
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Page 11 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
Battleships
Secretly draw the outline (only) of your 5 characters on the lower grid. No character can
hang over the edge of the grid or touch another.
They can be in different orientations from those shown but must be the same shape.
Players take turns firing a shot to find opponent’s characters.
On your turn, call out a letter and a number of a row and column on the grid. Your
opponent checks that space on their lower grid, and says “miss” if there are no ships
there, or “hit” if you guessed a space that contained a part of a character. When a box
is hit put an X in that box, then when the whole is hit you tell your opponent that it is
complete and colour it in.
Mark the shots you make on your upper grid, with X for misses and coloured in boxes
for hits, to keep track of your guesses.
There is a winner when one person has found the whole of all the characters.
Battleship symbols:
whale
mariner
starfish
eel
crab
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Page 12 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
Your opponent’s grid
Q
P
O
L
A
T
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U
D
E
N
M
L
K
J
I
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G
F
E
D
C
B
A
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
LONGITUDE
Your grid
Q
P
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L
A
T
I
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U
D
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N
Fill in the
numbers
and letters
on the
edges of
the grids,
then
outline 5
characters
onto the
bottom
grid.
M
L
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I
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G
F
E
D
C
B
A
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
LONGITUDE
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Page 13 of 14
Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
T E AC H E R N OT E S
Reviewing what we have done
Good bits
Bad bits
Do you want to read the rest of the book? ...........................................................................................................................................
Why?
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What did you learn from working on this project?
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Page 14 of 14
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