Folk Heroes and Tall Tales
Some of the most memorable characters in American history and literature live somewhere between fact and legend. Folk heroes like Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, and John Henry have been passed down through generations, with their real-life stories becoming larger-than-life tales along the way. Exploring these characters in your homeschool is a fun way to discover the history and culture behind American folklore while introducing your children to the art of storytelling, tall tales, and the ways stories can reflect the values and imagination of a people.
This Johnny Appleseed unit study from Heart and Soul Homeschooling features a variety of resources including book suggestions, ideas on incorporating your study on Johnny Appleseed into various subjects, and how to take lessons from the life of this folk hero and apply them in ways that are relevant to us now.
If you want to go further and segue from Johnny Appleseed into science, math, and home economics lessons, check out this Homeschool Living, “An Apple a Day Makes a Homeschool Unit Study.”
Another familiar figure in American folklore is Paul Bunyan. This blog post from Our Crazy Homeschool Life shares ways to draw lessons in language arts, geography, history, math, and even character development from just this one tall tale.
Why do we call them “tall tales” anyway? English Language Thoughts answers that question with some fun facts and history.
Folk Heroes: The Lore, Legends, and Lives
Challenge your students to delve deeper into American folklore by exploring and learning more about a folk hero they haven’t heard of or don’t know much about. This list of nine legends of American folklore is a great starting place!
But why study folktales and legends when there isn’t always much, if any, factual information to learn? Folktales are much more than the history they exaggerate. A culture’s legends and myths share insight into its history, people, and values that can be hard to empathize with and relate to through cold, hard facts. They’re also a wonderful way to jumpstart and encourage a child’s imagination, and are a great way to introduce literary elements like hyperbole, character, and conflict to young readers and writers. Check out this article from Learning Through Literature for some great reasons to include folklore studies in your homeschools.
Megan Mora Fuentes
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