Title – Tall Tales

By – Carol A. Clarke

Primary Subject – Language Arts

Secondary Subjects – Social Studies

Grade Level – 3-5

Four Lessons – 45 minutes each

I. Subject

A. Area: Language Arts, Media, Social Studies

B. Aspect: Listening comprehension, oral language, research skills, creative writing

II. Objectives

A. SWBAT identify tall tale characters

B. SWBAT apply previously learned research skills to research a geographical landmark in the United States

C. SWBAT work in a group to answer questions and present answers about their landmark

III. Procedures

A. Materials
1.   Any books on tall tales, especially those written by Steven Kellogg

2.  

American Tall Tales

by Mary Pope Osborne

3.  

John Henry

by Adele de Leeuw

4.  

Fin M’Coul

by Tomie dePaola

5.  

Big Men, Big Country

by James Bernardin

6.  

Cut from the Same Cloth

by Robert D. San Souci

7.  

Mike Fink

by Steven Kellogg

8.  

Paul Bunyan

by Steven Kellogg

9.  

Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett

by S.K.

10.

Pecos Bill

by Steven Kellogg

11.

Swamp Angel

by Anne Issacs

12.

The Bunyans

by Audrey Wood

13. Folders for each group with four pieces of paper.

14. United States map

15. Posterboard for each group

16. Colored pencils or crayons for each group

17. Encyclopedias, internet access, atlases

B. Motivation

1. Do a dramatic re-enactment of the Tall Tale character named Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett and her life. Show them the book that her character was based upon by Steven Kellogg.

C. Instruction

(Day One)


1. Briefly tell them about how tall tales came about in our history. Tell them they are stories of exaggeration usually written about men or women who may have lived at one point in the United States or are truly fictional characters.

2. Focus on several Tall Tale characters: Davy Crockett, Sal Fink, John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, Old Stormalong, and Annie Christmas (show book examples). Read a passage or two from these stories so they get an idea of how exaggerated the stories became.

3. Have them give examples of the exaggerations.

4. Read

Swamp Angel

by Anne Isaacs to close this lesson.

D. Instruction

(Day Two)


1. This tall tale lesson will be expanded into a geography lesson.

2. Discussion:

Discuss how the United States seemed to be back in the early 1800s. Most of it hadn’t yet been discovered. Tall Tales were a way that people could come to terms with the vast and inhospitable lands they’d come to inhabit — thick, dark forests filled with bears and panthers, treeless, arid deserts and plains, towering mountains, and uncharted seacoasts. In its early years, it was a country made for heroes — only heroes or “giant” men could conquer its unknown territory. These heroes faced big challenges and overcame them in amazing ways. Tall tales did exist before the 1800s in American but it was here that they found their true home.

Life in the 1800s on the American frontier (not in the cities so much) was backbreaking work. But when the work was done, people gathered around the campfire and told stories. Storytelling was an art and they would sit for hours telling tales of the new land. The rugged folks of the American frontier weren’t very interested in repeating a tale in the same way so it became a little exaggerated. They wanted to make the story bigger and better. For example, if jay told how he shot a deer and a bear with one bullet, Jim would say that was pretty good, but he shot a deer, a bear, and a fish with one bullet. Then another man would say he did the same thing, but when he opened the fish, he found a gold ring. These exaggerations made for some good storytelling. After a while, however, people didn’t just want to hear stories about themselves but of extravagant, restless, flamboyant, and gigantic men and women who were rip-roaring characters roaming the American frontier. Some of these stories involved true characters (Davy Crockett and Johnny Appleseed) but others involved made-up characters such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill.

3. Read

The Bunyans

by Audrey Wood. This is the book upon which the project will be based.

4. Divide students into four groups of four and five and have each group choose out of a hat which region of the U.S. they will be researching. Have them vote on a recorder and a presenter for their group. There may be two presenters but only one recorder. Everyone should be researchers and artists.

E. Instruction

(Day Three)


1. Using research skills previously taught; they may use encyclopedias, atlases, the Internet, and computer encyclopedias for researching. They must answer the following questions

(see worksheet below)

.

2. Once their questions are answered, give them a piece of white posterboard and have them make a pictorial scene of their landmark. If they were never able to see a picture of their landmark, go by the descriptions they have heard from the tall tales or other resources they used to answer their questions.

F. Instruction

(Day Four)


1. Presentation Day: each group will present their landmark to the class.

IV. Evaluation of Student Learning

A. Effectiveness in researching topics

B. Ability to function well as a group

C. Content of project

D. Presentation of projects

V. Follow-Up Activities

A. Choose a student from each group to help you display the questionnaires and pictorial scenes in the hallway outside the Media Center or in the Media Center itself.

B. Extra Credit Work: Students may use their creative writing talents to write an original Tall Tale. These can then be published in the Student Writing Center, cataloged and checked out by our entire student population.

1. In what state is your landmark located?

2. What states would you have to travel through to get to your landmark if you left from our state capital?

3. Why would people want to go see your landmark? Make sure you include details of what it looks like.

4. Remind the class how your landmark came to being in the story

The Bunyans

. When your group presents their landmark be prepared to dramatize how it was described in the book.

5. Why does your group think it was made a landmark?

6. Add one other creative point of information your group would like to share with the class concerning your landmark.

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Carol A. Clarke

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