Lesson Overview:
Students will explore the common elements of folktales and tall tales, while learning how these tales built the spirit of American people. Students will identify the tall tale elements. Students will also write responses to these tales, including a composition in the form of a monologue or a news report. They will perform these compositions for the class.
Length of Lesson:
Five 45-minute periods
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- activate prior knowledge and relate it to the reading selection.
- demonstrate grade-level proficiency in writing to inform and explain concepts, and express personal ideas in order to persuade.
- demonstrate grade-level proficiency to read for literacy experience using before, during, and after strategies.
- identify meanings of terms unique to literary language.
- identify the structure of literary or narrative text.
- interact with text using the four stances:
- global understanding,
- developing interpretation,
- personal reflections and responses, and
- critical stance.
- interpret tall tales.
- present a report to the class in the form of a dramatic monologue or a news report.
- read for literary experience.
- respond to literature through writing and discussion.
- use strategic reading behaviors to construct, extend, and examine meaning for a variety of texts.
- write for various audiences and address the following purposes:
- to inform,
- to persuade, and
- to express personal ideas.
Supplies:
- Copies of various tall tales, including "Pecos Bill: America's Greatest Cowboy," "Paul Bunyan and Babe," and "Flatboat Annie." (See Sources for bibliographic information.)
- Paper, pen, and/or pencil
- Props for monologue or news report
Instructional Plan:
Explain to the students that there are certain types of folktales that contain exaggerations about characters and events. These are known as tall tales, and they were made popular in the United States. Early American settlers faced tremendous challenges: How could they tame a huge and wild land? The settlers had two choices—either give up or find ways to cope. One way of coping was by telling humorous stories about heroes and heroines. Pecos Bill, they said, could squeeze rain out of a cyclone. Flatboat Annie or "Big Annie" could tug a boatload of cargo all by herself.
Most heroes and heroines of tall tales have unknown origins. Often there was a real person who was known for unusual strength or courage. Stories were told about these people and their deeds. As stories were told again and again, they were exaggerated. Eventually, the heroes and heroines became larger-than-life characters. In other cases, some of the tall tale characters never lived at all. They are fictional characters who became more fantastic with each retelling of their stories.
Elicit from students brief descriptions of folktales and tall tales they remember hearing from family and friends. Draw on the diversity of the students' backgrounds.
Introduce the three main elements of tall tales: character, setting, and hyperbole.
Character
Discuss with students the fact that the characters in tall tales differ from characters in other types of literature because their traits and feats are more exaggerated. Emphasize that the characters in tall tales often personify the traits most admired by the people who helped create the stories. Lumberjacks, for example, created the character of Paul Bunyan. Railroad laborers told the story of John Henry. These types of heroes and heroines were courageous, strong, honorable, thoughtful, and intelligent. For example, Flatboat Annie hauled a cargo of toys upriver so that little children would be happy.
Setting
Setting is the time and place of the action of the story. Setting is more crucial in tall tales and folktales than it is in most fables. The setting in tall tales emerges from the specific experiences of people who lived in a particular time and place. For example, Paul Bunyan, a giant lumberjack, did great deeds in the huge forest of a new land. The story of John Henry (a heroic railroad worker) takes place during the rapid growth of the railroad network.
Hyperbole
American tall tales use hyperbole, an extreme exaggeration for emphasis. Generally, the exaggeration creates a picture that is impossible and funny. Here is an example:
One time snowflakes fell so large in Oregon that the ladies put handles on them and used them for umbrellas.
Tell students to keep the following points in mind as they read the tall tales:
- Let the characters come alive in your mind.
- Imagine the setting. Picture where and when the events take place.
- As you read each hyperbole, picture what is being described.
- As you read, notice the connection between events. Events can be related chronologically, but in tall tales, events are usually related in terms of cause and effect; that is, the first event is the cause of the second, and the second is the effect of the first.
- When you read a tall tale, ask yourself: What makes the most important character a hero or heroine?
Have students read "Pecos Bill: America's Greatest Cowboy," "Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox," and "Flatboat Annie" (also called "Annie Christmas" or "Big Annie"), and identify the tall tale elements (character, setting, and hyperbole) in each story. Also, have the students respond to the questions in the handouts, either in a discussion or in a writing assignment.
Have students select one of the tall tales and complete the assignments outlined on the Assignment Sheet.
Assessment:
Student evaluation will be based on the written and oral responses to activities. A quiz will be given on the elements of tall tales.
Extensions:
Social Studies and Art
Have students do research on artists such as Frederic Remington and Edward Curtis, who are known for their pictures of the Old West. Students should focus on and write about one aspect of the artist's life. Aspects may include the artist's youth and education, the artist's knowledge and impressions of the Old West, the way in which the artist's work developed and was influenced by other artists, or the process by which the artist turned ideas into finished pictures.
Students could also research Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), who lived for many years in New Mexico. Have a few students research her life and work. Compare her work to the other artists' work of the Old West.
Science and Art
Paul Bunyan sees many different kinds of trees throughout his career. Have students research the kinds of trees used for lumber. They should construct a chart explaining the purposes for which different kinds of wood are used. They may illustrate the chart with drawings of the trees or share their research with the class.
Geography and Map Reading
Within the story of Paul Bunyan, the author mentions Paul's travels through the United States. Have students draw a map of his travels. Ask them to note on the map the places where Paul Bunyan supposedly created geographical landmarks, such as the Grand Canyon.
Sources:
Print:
- Osborne, Mary Pope and Michael McCurdy (ill.) American Tall Tales. New York: Knopf, 1991.
- Robbins, Sandra. Oseki, Iku (ill.) Big Annie: An American Tall Tale. New York: See-More's Workshop, 1998.
Web:
Authors:
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Kathy Cook, Teacher
Thomas Pullen Arts Magnet School
Landover, MD
