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Born on a Mountaintop? Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History
Learners compare and contrast the details from the life of the real David Crockett and the legendary folk hero he later became. They identify the characteristics of a tall tale and follow a rubric to create a tall tale of their own.
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Tall Tales and Urban Legends
In this creative writing worksheet, pupils sort through old pictures and discuss the characterization in each. Students create characters, a setting, and their own tall tale or urban legend based on the pictures.
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Tall Tales and Urban Legends
Students identify and interpret what tall tales, urban legends, and cyberlore are and to find them in their own lives. They practice telling and listening to these types of tales and explore why people tell them. Students also identify...
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Tall Tales
Give your class an overview of American tall tales and some examples with these slides. The basic definition of folk stories, legends, and tall tales is explained, followed by famous characters from American lore. Reading suggestions are...
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A Tall Tale
Seven quick slides give your class the "facts" on Paul Bunyan. This tall tale was made up to entertain lumberjacks and many interesting points are detailed here. As you study various folk tales, show this presentation to portray one of...
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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.
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Elements of the Oral Tradition
Various genres of oral tradition are outlined and defined in these slides. Give your class examples of folk tales, fairy tales, parables, fables, legends, and myths before reading an example of one of these stories. This overview acts as...
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Border Legends, Myth, & Folklore
Students examine the narrative forms and tales unique to the U.S.-Mexico border. They discuss the possible sociological meanings of these stories, and then write their own versions to demonstrate that they explain the forms.
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Storytelling
Students explore the origins of folktales, fairytales, myths, legends, fables, and folktales in the ten lessons of this unit. A storytelling festival is held to feature the results of the variety of activities presented in the unit.
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Tell Me a Whopper!
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
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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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Tall Tales Folded Envelope Book
Young scholars create a book using art, problem solving and language skills. They illustrate and write a tall tale. They sculpt a character from their tall tale.
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Larger Than Life Figures
Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes six lessons about larger than life figures from the American Literature series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response...
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Don't Stop the Weaving
The importance of oral tradition is evident throughout time and across space. Introduce your learners to some interesting stories and then test their knowledge with these questions. Ten multiple-choice questions focus on characters and...
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Glencoe Literature Themes: Legends
Young scholars prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes five lessons from the Glencoe Literature series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response activities are included for...
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Bunyan, Appleseed, and More
Ninth graders listen to a variety of tall tales and compose their own tall tale. In this tall tale lesson plan, 9th graders complete KWL chart about tall tales. Students discuss the elements of tall tales and then read example tales....
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Teaching Language Arts in Kindergarten Using Stories, Aesop's Fables, and Tall Tales
Students search into a variety of story elements in the eight lessons of this unit. The title, author, illustrator, setting, main character, problem, solution, events and the story are the components of the lessons.
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THE HUMBLE Beginnings of the Hamburger
Pupils listen to numerous claims concerning the hamburger's origins and then compose an original tall tale on the subject. Students name some tall tales they have heard or read about. Pupils make books that feature tall tales available...
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Horses
Students discuss the importance of the horse as a "beast of burden" animal in Japanese culture and create a legend, myth or tall tale set in Japan with a horse as the central character.
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Exploring Themes in Literature: The Oral Tradition
Are you are considering a unit on Beowulf or Superman, on myths, or tricksters? Here's a great overview you can use to launch a study of universal themes and archetypes. The focus here is on the oral tradition, but the concepts apply to...
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Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the structure and...
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Dalai Lama: Day 2 of 5
Sixth graders explore philosophy by researching the Dalai Lama. In this Tibetan history lesson, 6th graders discuss the influence of Buddhism on the Dalai Lama and the unique view on life a Buddhist must have. Students read a Tibetan...
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Maniac Magee: Questions to Foster Discussion
This resource provides 11 short answer questions and a couple of extension ideas related to part one of Jerry Spinelli's novel about a feisty runaway. Not reproducible, but the questions (which address vocabulary, inference, recall,...
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Centennial: Have I Got a Story for You
Students identify the clues that folklore provides about Utah's past, and create a piece of folklore for a place or event in or near their community.