Tall Tales

Paul Bunyan and Friends (Lumberjack)   Rachel & Rozlynn

John Henry (Hammerman)  Aubery

Pecos Bill & Sluefoot Sue (Cowboy)  Catherine & Seth

Johnny Appleseed (Traveler)  Jayden

Davy & Sally Crockett (Frontiersman)  Mya & Jozlynn

Mike & Sal Fink (Keelboatman)  Anastasia

Captain Stormalong (Sailor)  Jacob

Daniel Boone (Pioneer)   Ilena

Feebold Febolson (Inventor)   AJ

Big Mose (Fireman)   Casandra

Joe Magarac (Steelworker)  Ethan

Wind-wagon Smith (Settler)  Jon Paul

Annie Christmas -   (river girl)  Brooke & Jazz

Old Sally Cato -   Jazmyn

Bess Call (cow lifter) -  Jesus 

Other Links:

Music and Lyrics to John Henry

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/tall-tales/

http://www2.ferrum.edu/applit//bibs/picbkstall.htm

http://www2.ferrum.edu/applit/bibs/tales/crockett.htm   Sally Crockett

http://www2.ferrum.edu/applit/bibs/tales/JHenry.htm  John Henry

http://www2.ferrum.edu/applit/bibs/tales/beaver.htm Tony Beaver

http://www.animatedtalltales.com/?s=6303ef6752f04f92e1079  animated Paul Bunyan story

http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/th_talltales05.html Book reviews

HERE ARE SOME Extra Power Point Activities

1. Write a bragging speech.

Brainstorm a list of special skills or talents you have or wish you had. Describe these skills in the form of a bragging speech, like Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind.

Use similes in your speech, superlative adjectives, comparison words such as most and best, and the prefix out- as in the word outrun. The purpose of a bragging speech is to persuade the audience that you are a person of many talents. Like other persuasive writing, it should attempt to convince the audience by offering good examples that prove a point. Here, the examples should take the form of hyperbole as well as similes.  Make a list of “talents” to use as a basis for writing persuasive statements about yourself. Keep a lighthearted, humorous tone that will entertain the audience.

2. Write a research project on a little-known tall tale hero.

Dona Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart

Pat Mora: Set in the American Southwest; a tall tale about a giant girl who speaks the language of plants and animals.

Swamp Angel: Anne Isaacs: The greatest woodswoman of Tennessee who can vanquish huge bears and swallow entire lakes in a gulp.

Thunder Rose: An African American girl born during a thunderstorm can form a ball out of lightning and face down tornadoes.

Big Annie: The Creole flatboat captain who uses her strength and the help of some animals to pull a boatload of toys through a Christmas storm.

                Steamboat Annie battles a thousand pound catfish, finally flinging him clear to California, where he still causes earthquake trouble.

3. Make a giant map of the USA and add folk tale heroes with text features

4. Create a tall tale post card from 1902

In 1902, it was popular in America to send tall tale postcards.  The pictures on these cards had been changed using photo distortion, such as enlarging part of a picture without enlarging the rest of it.  Some of these results were huge fruits and vegetables that were too large to fit in a wagon; giant fish that could fill a railroad flatcar; and gigantic rabbits that appeared with saddles on them.  These rabbits looked in the pictures like they could be ridden as if they were horses.  These cards made people laugh and were quite popular in the Great Plains states.

5.  Write an expository editorial about a tall tale hero or heroine that you most admire

6.  Select a tall tale you have read, then write your own sequel to it.

7.  Write an expository paper telling whether it is important for children to have a hero to model themselves after.  Compare tall tale heroes of the 1900s to modern heroes and heroines in our society today.

10.  Write a paper discussing current Americans who could be tall tale heroes or heroines.  Be sure to specify the reasons for your selection and tell occurrences in their lives which could be humorous or exaggerated.

11.  Combine two or more folk heroes or heroines into one tall tale; write a story of their adventure.  Illustrate your story with something your tall tale hero or heroine might own.

13.  Read two different versions written about the same tall tale hero or heroine.  Then, write a composition telling which version you prefer and why.

14. Compare and Contrast Two Tall Tale Characters. Pick two tall tale characters and analyze how they were alike and different. First start by identifying the story elements of the tall tales. What parts of their stories make them a tall tale? What exaggerations are made? Do you think a tall tale is similar to a person who is a legend? Another name for a hero is a legend. Do you think either of your characters were American heroes? Why or why not? Do you think authors of the tall tales did research? Why? Do you think either character originated from a true story and then was exaggerated?