Curated OER
Collaborative Tall Tale Lesson Plan
Using Keynote, pupils will collaborate with their peers to create a tall tale. Each person in the group will participate by creating slides, adding text, and recording their voice. Tip: Have each group present their tall tales to the...
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"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice
Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write their own...
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Writing tall Tales
Young scholars become familiar with the origins of the tall tale. In this Tall tale technology lesson, students complete worksheets to plan a tall tale. Young scholars write their tall tales and put it on the computer in KidPix.
Curated OER
Parts-of-Speech Tall Tales
Here is a lesson that can work for virtually any grade level! Pupils study parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, proper nouns, and adverbs. They create fill in the blank tall tails on a web page for their classmates to complete.
Curated OER
Tall Tales
Young scholars examine the characteristics of tall tales and how exaggerations are used. They create a character that is larger than life, they brainstorm attributes for their character, before writing a Tall Tale. They plan out their...
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American Folktales and Tall Tales
Middle schoolers explore the elements of American folktales. They discuss how they are passed on from generation to generation, how they use exaggeration, and how they convey a message or make a point. Students identify common elements...
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Introduction to Tall Tales
Students watch a video about a tall tale and list ten elements of a tall tale that they noticed in the movie. They begin with a KWL chart, and complete it as the movie and discussion progresses.
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Born on a Mountaintop? Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History
Learners name tall tale characters and locations, which are based on actual people and places, and describe how they are used in an exaggerated way. Students name created characters and events from tall tales. Learners write a tall tale.
Curated OER
Humourous Head Planter Spike: Ceramics Lesson
What a great activity. Kids create humorous ceramic character (heads) spikes to enliven a planter. Modern art is full of expressive and exaggerated forms and your class gets to create them out of clay. This would be a lovely activity to...
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Writing a Tall Tale
Learners study the various aspects of tall tales. They read various tall tales and discuss the characteristics and literature aspects of tall tales. Students write their own unique tall tales.
Curated OER
Born on a Mountaintop? Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History
Learners name tall tale characters and locations, which are based on actual people and places, and describe how they are used in an exaggerated way. They name characters and events from tall tales, then list literary characteristics of...
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Transforming Fairy Tales
Students use the computer to write, draw, explore the Internet, and combine all of these elements. They write their own fairy tales, use computer software to create drawings of the characters for their tales and use the Internet to...
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Playing with Language: Tall Tales and Codes
Students interpret and identify the elements of folktales, with an emphasis on tall tales, in this lesson. Students utilize brainstorming techniques to list ways people communicate. Students also read and create a time line and present...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Mark Twain and American Humor
“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...
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Tabloid Tales
Students write news stories to accompany tabloid headlines. In this tabloid lesson plan, students learn the power of persuasion and exaggeration by writing stories based on actual tabloid headlines.
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The Other Tall Tales
Pupils research many different tall tales. They retell the tale in their own words and create an orginal tale of their own. They share their tall with the class along with illustrations.
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Folktales: Fables
Students access a variety of resources on the Internet regarding folktales, fables, tall tales, and fairy tales. They read and compare/contrast the elements of fables, and complete various handouts.
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Geography
Second graders study and review geographical terms for features. They classify those features and locate them on a map. They review geographical features of Tall Tales.
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Using Graphic Organizers to Generate Genre Definitions
Students listen to or read a variety of stories and then work individually or in groups to complete graphic organizers that will help them focus on elements within different types of stories. They write definitions for a variety of story...
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Harvesting a Forest: How Would I Do It?
Third graders design a machine for clear-cutting an area of forest. In this agricultural technology instructional activity, 3rd graders are read selections from American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osbourn, discuss how trees are harvested...
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Passport to Stories Around the World
Students read stories from various cultures and create a passport indicating the completion and comprehension of the story. The template for the passport is included. The lesson can be used for a broad range of ages depending on the...
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American Frontiers
Students study the settlement of the American frontier through literature. In this literature lesson, students read and discuss works by James Fenimore Cooper, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, and Hamlin Garland. Students compare...
National Endowment for the Humanities
"Old Southwest" Humorists and George Washington Harris
Young scholars discover the work of George Washington Harris and his influence on American humor. For this George Washington Harris lesson, discuss cultural differences in the United States and read Sut Lovongwood stories by George...
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Cowboys
Students analyze cowboy literature. For this United States history and literacy lesson, students listen to a variety of cowboy songs and poetry, view the video "Rediscovering America: The Real American Cowboy," and view related websites....