Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Tall Tales Activities for the Montessori Elementary Classroom

NAMC montessori elementary classroom tall tale activities history davy crocket Born on a mountain top in Tennessee
The greenest state in the land of the free
Raised in the woods so's he knew ev'ry tree
Kilt him a b'ar when he was only three
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier



from: “The Ballad of Davy Crockett”
Lyrics by Tom Blackburn
Music by George Bruns

In the elementary Montessori classroom, children are surrounded by literature – both fiction and non-fiction. Good literature and good story telling encourage students to use their imaginations and further their creative writing skills. Because of this, it is important to expose elementary students to a wide variety of different literary genres. Elementary age students enjoy reading and listening to many types of literature. One genre elementary age students particularly enjoy is the tall tale.

A tall tale is an adventure story about a larger-than-life character. The character, based on a real person or purely fictional, performs extraordinary feats of strength, courage, daring, or intelligence. Children like tall tales because they are often humorous and because they attempt to explain a larger-than-life phenomenon. They want to think that they are capable of great feats and are always on the look-out for adventure.

Tall Tales Activities for the Montessori Elementary Classroom

Tall Tales in North America started during the 1800s as a way to explain and understand the greatness of the North American west. The characters in the stories became heroes and heroines with their exploits passed down orally from pioneer to pioneer as a way to deal with the harsh realities of huge mountain ranges, vast prairies, and wild animals. Told from the first person point of view, the listener felt like the storyteller had actually witnessed these events.

Hearing about tales of heroic Americans (Davy Crockert, Johnny ‘Appleseed’ Chapman, Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe, Annie Oakely) and Canadians Big Joe Montferrand [Mufferaw], Ti-Jean, Johnny Chinook, help students learn about the history of their country through the eyes of historical storytellers. In some cases, these tall tales have been put into poems or songs, which can be a fun way to explore them as well.

Here are a few ways to expand your study of tall tales in your Montessori classroom:
Tall Tale Anthologies
  • Cut From the Same Cloth: American Women of Myth, Legend & Tall Tale, by Robert San Souci (each tale features a woman as the main character)
  • American Tall Tales, by Mary Pope Osborne
  • From Sea to Shining Sea compiled, by Amy Cohn
  • Ripsnorting Whoppers: Humor from the American Heartland, by Rick Sowash
  • Folklore of Canada: Tall Tales, Stories, Rhymes and Jokes from Every Corner of Canada, by Edith Fowke
  • Johnny Chinook : Tall Tales and True from the Canadian West, by Robert E. Gard
As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Tuesday, November 16, 2010.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Have questions or comments? Let us know what you thought about this article!

We appreciate feedback and love to discuss with our readers further.

NAMC Blog Inquiries Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Search the NAMC Montessori Teacher Training Blog

Are you interested in reading back through NAMC's blog articles from years gone by, or for more information on a specific topic?

Browse a select list of our most popular categories below; by clicking on one, you will see every article posted under that topic since 2007. You may also use the lower archive menu to select a year and month, displaying all blog posts in the chosen time frame.

If you are seeking a range of information on a certain topic or idea, try this search box for site-wide keyword results.

Choose From a List of Popular Article Topics

NAMC Montessori Series

Montessori Philosophy and Methodology

Montessori Classroom Management

The School Year

Montessori Materials

Montessori Curriculum

Montessori Infant/Toddler (0–3) Program

Montessori Early Childhood (3–6) Program

Montessori Elementary (6–12) Programs

What is Montessori?

Search Archives for Montessori Blog Posts by Date


Thank you to the NAMC Montessori community!

NAMC has been providing quality Montessori distance training and curriculum development to Montessorians around the globe for more than 25 years. Since beginning in 1996, we have grown to build a fantastic community of students, graduates, and schools in over 160 countries. We are grateful for your continued support and dedication to furthering the reach and success of the Montessori method.