Write Your Own Tall Tale

What You Do:

1. Begin by researching folk tales with your daughter. Check out these worksheets on a couple of America's most popular folk heroes: www.education.com/worksheet/article/color-paul-bunyan-babe/, www.education.com/worksheet/article/color-john-henry/
2. Explain to your daughter the importance of setting to a story. Remember that setting can be something as general as “in the mountains” or as specific as “in Denver, Colorado”. Help your child understand how the specifics of one region can often greatly influence a tale.
3. Now take Paul Bunyan or a similar folk hero and invite your child to imagine his stories set in your own hometown. How would his adventures change? Imagine the impact such a setting shift would have on everything from his clothes to his modes of transportation.
4. Let your child write down some of the unique adventures that such a twist would inspire. But don't limit her imagination by simply changing the setting of an established tall tale. Try seeing what tale tale heroes she can create on her own.
5. When she's done, have your tall tale writer draw pictures to accompany her adventure story.