What is a Tall Tale ? How did Tall Tales get started? Paul Bunyan Johnny Appleseed Sluefoot Sue John Henry
Sluefoot Sue said that she could ride anything that moved! And she could. There wasn’t a wild horse that she couldn’t break. She even rode wild fish! In those days, the catfish in Texas were as big as whales. Sue would hop onto one as it swam by her. “Yipee!” she would yell as the catfish flashed through the waves. Sluefoot Sue was quite a woman. She had dark curly hair and sparkling black eyes. Lots of men wanted to marry her. But Sue didn’t want to settle down. She had a mind of her own.
One day Sluefoot Sue was showing off. She was riding a huge fish. A big crowd was watching. “Hang on, Sue!: they shouted. “Ride that critter!” all the noise brought Pecos Bill to the river. He was the most famous cowboy in the West. Bill was tall and strong and handsome. It was love at first sight. Bill and Sue decided to get married. Bill made one big mistake, however. “Don’t ever try to ride Widow Maker,” he warned Sue. “That horse is dangerous!” Bill didn’t want Sue to get hurt. Of course, Sue made up her mind then and there that she would ride Bill’s horse.
Right after the wedding, Sue jumped up on Widow Maker. She was still wearing her wedding dress. The horse gave a mighty buck and up Sue flew. She didn’t stop until she hooked her dress on the tip of the moon. It took Bill four nights and three days to lasso her down. Pecos Bill had learned a lesson. “Do whatever you want from now on, Sue,” he said. Sluefoot Sue smiled and answered, “I think I’ll keep my feet on the ground for a while!”
Paul Bunyan Treasure Hunt An Internet-Based Treasure Hunt IntroductionIntroduction | Questions | The Big Question | Internet ResourcesQuestionsThe Big QuestionInternet Resources Introduction Paul Bunyan is the most popular of the many American folk heroes seen in tall tales. Use the Internet resources to answer the 7 questions that follow. When you have finished, answer the Big Question that asks you to combine a lot of what you learned through the treasure hunt into a "big picture."Internet resourcesBig Question
1. List 3 ways that Baby Paul Bunyan was different from other babies. 2. What happened when Baby Paul Bunyan outgrew his baby carriage? 4.When Paul knew that Round River was a bad thing, what did he do? 3. What did Paul get for his first birthday? Questions
5. What job did Paul have that made him larger than life?What job did Paul have that made him larger than life? 6. Look on a map of the United States for Pugent Sound, the Grand Canyon, and the Black Hills.Look on a map of the United States for Pugent Sound, the Grand Canyon, and the Black Hills. 7. Why did people exaggerate facts to tell stories?
* Draw a picture of a frontier campsite and people sitting around the fire telling stories. * Write in your journal what you think it would be like to live on the frontier. * Would it be exciting or scary? * Do you think you would have liked being a kid on the frontier or not? Why? * Would you be able to survive without Nintendo?!
www.pbskids.org/cgi-registry/lions/tales.pl/games www.ibiblio.org/john_henry/story1.html www.PaulBunyanTrail.com www.coolgrahics.com www.hasd.org/ges/talltale/talltale.htm www.perry- lake.k12.oh.us/pes/clubs/Drama%20Club/Character_descriptions.htm www.millville.org/workshops_f/Dich-FOLKLORE/FolkText/lesson2.htm Mircosoft Office 2000 Powerpoint Word Microsoft Clips on Line