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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

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

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students 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. Students write a tall tale.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Deeds Of Paul Bunyan

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore the role of real and mythical heroes in shaping the culture of communities, the state, and the nation. They read, Paul Bunyan Tall Tale Trail. They use Microsoft Word to document the heroic contributions of Paul...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An African Folktale

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students learn what a folktale is and illustrate their favorite part of the story The Orphan Boy. They also write a folk story that explains a natural phenomena.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folktales: A Cultural Teaching Tool

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students demonstrate an understanding that folktales carry underlying themes through writing sentences explaining some of the themes presented in several folktales.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Summarizing Key Information

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students summarize information. In this language arts lesson, students summarize information from a fictional text. Students read a folktale and summarize the story.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reader's Theater, Rehearsal

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Pupils rehearse a play.  In this Reader's Theater lesson, students practice reading a play, Master Man: A Tall Tale of Nigeria by Aaron Shepard. Pupils discuss fluency, intonation, and volume when presenting.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Pantomime

For Teachers K
Pupils investigate acting and performing arts by portraying a story in class. In this pantomiming lesson, students read the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and discuss the characters amongst themselves. Pupils portray the 4 main...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Podcasting Gone Digital

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
Students prepare a podcast activity for their lesson on tall tales. In this tall tales and technology lesson, students work in groups to prepare sentences about tall tale characters. Students make drawings for the information, take...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bunyan, Appleseed, and More

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders listen to a variety of tall tales and compose their own tall tale. In this tall tale lesson, 9th graders complete  KWL chart about tall tales. Students discuss the elements of tall tales and then read example tales....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folklore in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Learners read Zora Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and explore her life history as well as novel analysis activities. In this novel analysis instructional activity, students identify elements in the novel and its overall literary...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Feltboard Storytelling

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students read African folktales and retell the story using feltboard. In this folktale instructional activity, students read the story Why the Sky is Far Awayand use feltboard to retell the stories.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Little Red Hen

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students complete a reading of The Little Red Hen. In this reading skills lesson, students practice reading the tale The Little Red Hen using the pictures as guides through the story.
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Hard Word with the Little Red Hen

For Teachers Pre-K
Students complete a unit using the story of the Little Red Hen to learn the storybook reading format as well as improve their reading and social skills. In this storybook lesson, students complete five lessons using the story of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drumming from the Heart

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students complete a craft activity using recyclable containers and read a story to a younger child. In this service lesson, students read the story 'The Drum' and do a service project retelling the story and making a drum from recyclable...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Little Red Hen Activity Card

For Students Pre-K - K
For this reading worksheet, students respond to the book The Little Red Hen by completing an activity at home with their parents. Students cut out the characters on the page and staple them to a straw. Students say the parts for each...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Word Unscramble: Tall Tale

For Students 2nd - 3rd
In this word unscramble worksheet students decipher 17 words. All pertain to tall tales. There is no word bank for this puzzle of medium difficulty.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: What Is Folklife?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students read an essay about folklife and record their thoughts in journals. After discussing the terms associated with the topic, they complete worksheets on types of folklife, pop, elite, and folk cultures. Depending on the age group,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Playing with Language: Tall Tales and Codes

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Pupils 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. Pupils also read and create a time line and present...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Off Times of Slaves on the Sea Islands

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore the aspect of slave life on the Sea Islands. They explore the Gullah language, folk tales, music and games during the "off" times of slaves. Students read and interpret Gullah folk tales. They recognize music in the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Horse and Toad

For Teachers 1st
First graders identify key elements of folktales and the countries in which they are told. They compare and contrast folktales they have previously heard with the Haitian folktale Horse and Toad. Reading materials and maps are included.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Rooster Who Went to His Uncle's Wedding

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders read and discuss the story "The Rooster Who Went to His Uncle's Wedding" in the Scott Foresman series. They summarize the story. They understand the influence of Latin American Folktales. They complete a quiz on the story.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparative Folktales

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Pupils analyze Mongolian and Native American folktales and compare the two types. They discuss the importance of storytelling in nomadic cultures and read a story in small groups. Following the story, they answer questions and construct...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Recognizing Text Relay

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders recognize and distinguish between different types of text. After a discussion of the various types of text, small groups compete in a relay race game demonstrating their knowledge of the text. Correct choices earn...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folktales: The Wide World of Animals

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners recognize and explain the roles of animals in folktales prior to retelling stories in their own words. Using teacher-provided Websites, they research animals and present their tales along with visuals. In related activities,...