Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students are introduced to the genre of American tall tales. Students are exposed to several traditional tall tales, then prompted to write an original tall tale set in contemporary America. The tall tale must address a current event or issue and must feature a "larger-than-life" main character. The students use exaggeration and hyperbole to portray the way in which the main character resolves the issue or problem. Students then dramatize their tall tales for the class.

Length of Lesson:

Four 45-minute class periods

Notes:

This lesson is particularly suitable for students in grade 5.

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• recognize tall tales as a venue of entertainment and identity for the pioneers.
• read for literary experience several American tall tales from the different regions of the United States.
• identify and analyze components of a tall tale story.
• create, using the writing process, original tall tale stories.
• perform original tall tale stories for classmates.

Instructional Plan:

Warm-Up

Ask a volunteer to tell a story about something that happened to him or her (ex. missing the school bus, attending a sporting event, going out for ice cream, etc.). Record a general outline of the story on the board or chart paper. When the storyteller is finished, model for students how one might revise the story in the tradition of the tall tale. Tell the same story, adding exaggerations throughout the tale (ex. the student runs to school faster than the bus and is the first to sit down in class; the basketball team scores 1,000 points; the child polishes off the biggest ice cream cone in the world in one sitting). Point out to students that one way to enhance the story is to use simile and metaphor to create more vivid descriptions of people, places and things. When you have modeled and discussed the rewriting process for students, repeat the exercise a few more times. Allow students to share personal stories and suggest ways to enhance these stories through exaggeration. Instruct students to make their exaggerations specific, and to use similes and metaphors to create vivid and memorable descriptions.

Developmental Activity

Explain to students that in the warm-up activity, they created a type of story that was very popular among American settlers in the early 1800s. The stories were known as tall tales. People liked to tell tales about "larger-than-life" characters that had extraordinary abilities, such as super-human strength or speed. Stories were invented about the adventures and challenges faced by these characters. As the stories were repeated, the details became more and more exaggerated. (Note that in some cases, the heroes and heroines of the stories seem to have been based on real people, but that after many retellings, these characters and events were exaggerated beyond the limits of possibility.)

Point out that people liked to invent heroes that were particular to the region in which they lived. These heroes and heroines often used their extraordinary qualities to help resolve problems faced by people in the area. For example, in Minnesota—with its vast forests and a harsh, cold climate—people told stories about Paul Bunyan, a giant lumberjack who could chop down a whole forest with one strike of his axe. In Texas, settlers told the story of Pecos Bill, the best cowboy in the west, who wrestled a threatening tornado. Point out that the main characters often brought about easy, impossible solutions to situations that were dangerous or daunting to the real-life pioneers. (Real people would need to exert hard labor to clear a forest; pioneers confronted with a tornado would not be able to control or prevent the devastation.)

Discuss the elements of tall tales with students, amking sure to hit upon the characteristics outlined in the Tall Tale Checklist:

• The story has many exaggerations in it.
• The main character has a problem to solve.
• The main character is bigger than life and has super-human abilities.
• The plot of the story is funny and impossible.
• In the end, the main character solves a problem, overcomes an obstacle and/or defeats a “bad guy.”
• The story includes lots of action.

Read one or more tall tales (if possible, read the stories aloud in the dialect of the region from which the tale originated) as a class.

Some good tales to consider are:

• Paul Bunyan (Minnesota)
• Pecos Bill (Texas)
• Sally Ann Crockett (Kentucky)
• Captain Stormalong (Maine)

Ask for a few volunteers to pantomime the action of one tall tale (Paul Bunyan is a good choice for this exercise). Assign the main parts to two or three students, and have them act out the action as you read it.

After you complete the story, ask the other students to identify the ways that the students portrayed the larger-than-life qualities of the tall tale characters. How did they use their bodies to make the audience believe that they were very tall, very strong, etc.?

Guided Practice

Ask students what they think of the main characters in the tall tales that they have heard. Are they "good guys?" Why or why not? Discuss with students the differences and similarities between the folk heroes in the tall tales and superheroes like Spider Man and Superman. Have students list some of the qualities shared by all of the tall tale heroes and heroines (strength, bravery, helpfulness, humor, bravery, perseverance, etc.).

Ask students whether people that we consider to be heroes today share those traits. Ask students to think of people that they admire, and to list the qualities that make them admirable. (These might be sports stars; entertainment figures; people belonging to a certain profession, such as firefighters; etc.) Record examples on the board.

Explain to students that they will be writing an original tall tale, set in their present-day community. In their tale, they will invent a new folk hero or heroine who will solve a problem or issue that is affecting their community. Explain to students that they will need to research a current event or issue that is being debated in their community (a zoning restriction, expansion of a school district, damming a river, lengthening the school day, etc.). You may choose to give the students a list of topics, or have the entire class write about the same issue.

Provide students with local newspaper articles or editorials that explain both sides of the issue, and tell them that they will need to take a position on the issue and decide what they would like the outcome to be. The main character in their tall tale will need to perform impossible feats in order to produce this outcome. Students should brainstorm several exaggerations that they could use in their story.

Review the writing process with students. Remind them that the tale should include all of the elements listed in the Tall Tale Checklist, including at least three exaggerations. The story must be submitted in final draft, and must be accompanied by a completed Tall Tale Checklist citing the specific aspects of the story that make it an effective tall tale. (This checklist can be used as a self-assessment piece.)

Independent Activity/Meaningful-Use Task

Tell students that they will be performing their tall tale for the class, acting out the action as they narrate the story. Go over the components that make up a successful dramatic delivery, and distribute the accompanying Guidelines for a Successful Dramatic Presentation.

Have students present their tall tales to the class. If desired, videotape the performances.

Assessment:

Evaluate the tall tales according to the criteria on the accompanying Assessment Rubric.

Extensions:

After students have presented their tall tales, ask them to suggest a plausible solution to the issue/problem that was addressed in their tall tales.

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.

Authors:

• Diane Messina, Drama Teacher
  Thomas G. Pullen Arts Magnet School
  Landover, MD