Born on a Mountaintop? Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History

Students explore American tall tales. In this tall tale lesson, students discover the six characteristics that are included in tall tales. Students survey their class to find each student's favorite tall tale character and organize the...

This lesson plan is for the book A Small Tall Tale from the Far Far North and is designed for students in grades 2?4. Teachers can use the ideas here for history, literature, art, social studies, geography, research skills, and to spark...

Students 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.

Tall tales are so much fun! Introduce your class to Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, and Davy Crockett, among others! Learn about their lives before reading some of the tall tales as a class. Then, write some tales of your own!

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...

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...

This site provides brief tall tales from many different states. The site also provides what they all have in common.

Students explore early 20th century steel making.  In this U.S. history steel making lesson, students view and describe a postcard and a picture depicting exaggerated aspects of the steel industry.  Students listen to a poem about Joe...

Students 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 story,...

Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and song....