Finishing Up Tall Tales & U.S. Geography

Coming to the end of this block, we spent time in the American Southwest and Northwest. Our complete list of tall characters included Captain Kidd, John Henry, Mike Fink and Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett, Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, Febold Feboldson, Kemp Morgan, Pecos Bill and Slewfoot Sue, and Finn MacCool. Which one was your child's favorite?

Monday, April 8

• recall Febold Feboldson, read sections from Febold Feboldson: Tall Tales from the Great Plains compiled by Paul Beath
  mosquitoes, pp.17-18
  redwood trees, p.19
  Peruvian moulting goldfish, pp.27-28
  Kansas-Nebraska state line (Paul Bunyan), pp.28-29
  tornado, pp.34-35
  folding and unfolding house, pp.36-37
  fog, pp.38-40
  popcorn ball, pp.40-42
  rattlesnake cleft tongue, pp.44-45
  sea horses, pp.46-47
  Pecos Bill, p.51
  cactus (Arabella), pp.80-81

  The class so enjoyed Febold Feboldson -- especially the story about him hypnotizing the frogs -- and loved the dry Swedish sense of humor. It was a good contrast with some of our other tall tale heroes, where the storyteller drew a lot of attention to the exaggeration.



• rough draft summary and illustration, add Febold Feboldson to MLB
• use pp.15-16 of States and Capitals to take notes on the states and capitals of the Southwest Region (7 states)
• read Kemp Morgan, the Hero of the Oil Fields: A Tale Told by the Oil Drillers of Oklahoma and Texas from Olive Beaupre Miller's book of Heroes, Outlaws & Funny Fellows of American Popular Tales

Tuesday, April 9

• review Kemp Morgan, look at vintage photos of oil derricks and gushers, look at clips of film footage from Giant (1956 film with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean; rated G) of James Dean discovering oil and the fields full of oil pumpjacks moving in unison
• rough draft summary and illustration, add Kemp Morgan to MLB
• read Pecos Bill, the Cowboy: A Tall Tale of Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado as Told by American Cowboys from Olive Beaupre Miller's Heroes, Outlaws & Funny Fellows of American Popular Tales
• listen to "Whoo-Pee Ti Yi Yo" from This Is The Way We Wash-a-Day by Mary Thienes-Schunemann, track #3

Thursday, April 11

• recall Pecos Bill, read Pecos Bill by Steven Kellogg
  
• rough draft summary and illustration, add Pecos Bill to MLB
• look at photos of Giant's Causeway in Ireland
• read Fin M'Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill by Tomie dePaola
  
• read Finn McCool and the Great Fish by Eve Bunting
  

Friday, April 12

• recall Finn MacCool, read Finn MacCool, the Greatest of Civil Engineers: A Tale of the Grand Canyon of Arizona as Told by Irish Work Gangs and Civil Engineers from Olive Beaupre Miller's book of Heroes, Outlaws & Funny Fellows of American Popular Tales
• rough draft summary and illustration, add Finn MacCool to MLB
• use pp.15-16 of States and Capitals to take notes on the states and capitals of the Northwest Region (3 states)
• read Paul Bunyan Goes West: A Tall Tale of North Dakota, Oregon, and Washington from Olive Beaupre Miller's book to finish the block

Monday, April 15

Today the children finished up their American Tall Tales main lesson books. This means that they numbered the pages, wrote the table of contents, and decorated the front and back covers of their books. They also had some additional time to work on completing ongoing U.S. Geography activities.

• U.S. State Capitals Word Search
• U.S. State Capitals Word Scramble
• U.S. State Capitals Crossword Puzzle
• Blank United States Maps -- Identifying States in Order of Statehood

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