Learning Objective : Identify the structural characteristics of tall tales. RC 3.1

1. Learning Objective: Identify the structural characteristics of tall tales. RC 3.1

2. What are identifying today? Identify the structural characteristics of a tall tale.

3. Partner Share What is being exaggerated? The teacher read the student’s mile long report about Gorillas.

4. Tall Tales A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some such stories are exaggerations of actual events.

5. Why is it important to know structural characteristics of a tall tale? It will help us to become readers by strengthening our comprehension.

6. Identifying structural patterns of a tall tale. • Read the text. • Ask yourself, “Are there any larger than life characters?” • Check for exaggerations in the story. • If it does, then the story is a tall tale. Well now Pecos Bill was born in the usual way to a real nice cowpoke and his wife who were journeying west with their eighteen children. Bill's Ma knew right from the start that he was something else. He started talkin' before he was a month old, did his teething on his Pa's bowie knife and rode his first horse jest as soon as he learned to sit up on his own. When he started to crawl, Pecos Bill would slither out of the wagon while his Mama was cookin' supper and wrestle with the bear cubs and other wild animals that roamed the prairies.

7. Tall Tales Now everyone in the West knows that Pecos Bill could ride anything. Now Bill wasn't gonna ride jest any tornado, no ma'am. He waited for the biggest gol-durned tornado you ever saw. It was turning the sky black and green, and roaring so loud it woke up the farmers away over in China. Well, Bill jest grabbed that there tornado, pushed it to the ground and jumped on its back. The tornado whipped and whirled and side winded and generally cussed its bad luck all the way down to Texas. Tied the rivers into knots, flattened all the forests so bad they had to rename one place the Staked Plains. • Read the text. • Ask yourself, “Are there any larger than life characters?” • Check for exaggerations in the story. • If it does, then the story is a tall tale. .

8. Tall Tales Read the text. Ask yourself, “Are there any larger than life characters?” Check for exaggerations in the story. If it does, then the story is a tall tale. Sometimes, when the monster has been quiet for a while, people start saying it is gone for good. Some folks even dredge up that old tale that says how Pecos Bill heard about the Bear Lake monster and bet some cowpokes that he could wrestle that monster until it said uncle. According to them folks, the fight lasted for days and created a hurricane around Bear Lake. Finally, Bill flung that there monster over his shoulder and it flew so far it went plumb around the world and landed in Loch Ness, where it lives to this day.

9. What are the structural characteristics of a tall tale? Why is it important to know the structural characteristics of a tall tale? • Read the text. • Ask yourself, “Are there any larger than life characters?” • Check for exaggerations in the story. • If it does, then the story is a tall tale. Bill first saw Slue-foot Sue ridin' a catfish down the Rio Grande. She was riding standing up and holdin' on with only one hand so she could take pot-shots at the clouds with her six-shooter. Was making a right pretty pattern too. Bill jest went head over heels for her. Proposed on the spot. They was married the next day too.