American Folktales. Unit

A good introduction to folktales or tall tales is to give students experience in creating their own tall tales. Try: Have You Heard This One? Begin the activity by having the students sit in a circle and swap stories about happenings in their own lives. Then ask each person to select one story (not their own) that they liked best and to write it down, liberally adding their own embellishments and feeling free to wrap the facts in whatever way they think will make the best story. Students can then read their tall tales to the class and those who chose the same tale can preface their reading with the age-old remark, "Now, according to the way I heard it..."

Other Activities:
Draw a picture
Make a shadow box
Make a mural of tall tale areas in the U.S.
Make a puppet character
Make a mobile
Write your own tall tale
Act out a tall tale
Tell a tale to the class
Dress a doll
Dress as a tall tale character
Make rock people tall tale characters
Write about a tall tale character-true or a story character telling about his life.
Do a tall tale using Reader's Theater

Tall Tale Heroes

Can you match each American hero with what he or she did? Bet you can...
HERO
Pecos Bill
Johnny Appleseed
Sacajawea
Davy Crockett
Stormalong
Paul Bunyan
Mike Fink
Annie Oakley
Joe Magarac
Swamp Fox
Jim Bridger
Casey Jones
John Henry

JOB
Mountain Man
Steelman
Boatman
Indian Guide
Planted Apple Trees
Sailor
Frontiersman
Revolutionary War Hero
Little Sure Shot
Railroad Builder
Cowboy
Lumberjack
Railroad Engineer

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