Tall Tales Activities for the Montessori Elementary Classroom

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.