Tall Tales & U.S. Geography
updated June 17, 2019
Recorded here is my own personal collection of articles, resources, favorite links, teaching ideas, and lesson plans. It encompasses many years, from the very beginning of my experience studying and learning about Waldorf to the present time. People from all around the world visit my site and recommend it to others. Welcome!
This site records my journey. I hope my honesty is encouraging and helps break down some barriers that may prevent people from trying Waldorf ideas. Because this is an ongoing site documenting my curriculum experiences and ideas, some materials are more Waldorf-y than others. Please feel free to take what you like and leave the rest.
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Tall Tales & U.S. Geography
for Class 4
This year I taught a combined third/fourth grade class in my Waldorf homeschool co-op.
We did the traditional fourth grade Local History & Geography block
in September 2018 and did this block the following March. U.S. Geography is typically done in
fifth grade, but I chose to combine it with the Tall Tales topic in Language Arts
because it seemed so natural to consider the folklore in relationship to the regions of this country. I would
still go more in-depth into U.S. Geography next school year as well.
With all its talk of oil, coal, gold, etc. this served as the perfect transition
into our Currency block!
As far as I know I'm the only person combining these things in this way, so please
do not interpret from my notes that this is the "correct" way to do it in Waldorf.
Note 1: You should always feel free to thoughtfully substitute my suggestions of stories and activity ideas with what you have and what works for you.
Note 2: Please be aware
that these lesson notes are descriptive and not prescriptive; at all times Waldorf education emphasizes responding to the needs of the unique
individual child who is in front of you.
Note 3: There is not and never will be a prescriptive Waldorf curriculum which you can
purchase in binder form and turn to page 1 and begin. The relationship between the curriculum and the teacher and the individual child is a precious one. Why? Because of anthroposophy, the philosophy about human development which undergirds the Steiner/Waldorf method.
The Education of the Child in the Light of Anthroposophy
by Rudolf Steiner
Books to Buy
I vastly prefer Olive Beaupre Miller's Heroes, Outlaws & Funny Fellows of American Popular Tales
from 1939 over all other collections of tall tales. The writing is exquisite and the collection
far-ranging. She also tells which state each legend is from in the table of contents, which is helpful!
 
This collection contains 25 stories, enough to easily fill two Waldorf 4th grade main lesson blocks. They are as follows:
Captain Kidd and His Buried Treasure
A Story of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and New England
Lord Timothy Dexter, First Lord of "Amercay"
A Story of Newburyport, Massachusetts
Old Stormalong
A Yarn of the Yankee Sailors on the Maine to Massachusetts Coast
When Witches Rode Broomsticks
A Legend of New England
Dutch Adventures in Old New York
Yarns and Legends of the Dutch Retold after Washington Irving
Christmas in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
A Story Told by Czech and German Settlers from Moravia
Old Johnny Appleseed
A Tale of Ohio and Indiana
Mike Fink and the Outlaws of Cave-in-Rock
A Story Told by Boatmen of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
A Twelfth Night Prank in Cahokia
A Folk Tale of the French in Illinois and Missouri
The Pirate La Fitte and His Ghost
A Popular Tale of Louisiana and Texas
The Bell Witch
A Folk Tale of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi
John Henry's Contest with the Big Steam Drill
A Story of West Virginia Told from Ballads of the Railroad Builders
The Crazy Doings of a Funny Fellow Among the Pennsylvania Germans
Told from Articles Written in Pennsylvania German by T.H. Harter
Heroes of the Coal Mines
Told from Tales and Songs of the Anthracite Miners of Pennsylvania
John Buck, the Big Norwegian Sailor
A Story of the Green Bay Islands off Wisconsin and Michigan
Big Paul Bunyan and His Blue Ox, Babe
A Tall Tale of the Forests of Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota as told by Loggers in the Lumber Camps
The Cardiff Giant
A Favorite Story Told by Old Timers in Iowa
The Sad Story of Febold Feboldson and His Enormous Load of Sand
A Popular Tale of Nebraska
The Traveling Courthouse
A Yarn of the Kansas County Seat Wars
Kemp Morgan, the Hero of the Oil Fields
A Tale Told by the Oil Drillers of Oklahoma and Texas
Pecos Bill, the Cowboy
A Tall Tale of Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado as Told by American Cowboys
Don Jose's Sheep
A Folk Tale from the Spanish of the Mexicans in New Mexico
Finn MacCool, the Greatest of Civil Engineers
A Tale of the Grand Canyon of Arizona as Told by Irish Work Gangs and Civil Engineers
Joaquin, the Robber
A Story of the California Gold Rush
Paul Bunyan Goes West
A Tall Tale of North Dakota, Oregon, and Washington
We also used a few Montessori and traditional materials to kick up the U.S. Geography component a bit.
Here were the tall tales we did and how we explored them.
Day #1 - U.S. Geography: Regions
we had a variety of resources available, depending on student prior knowledge
Waseca Biomes
Clocca Concepts
Day #2 - U.S. Geography: States
we had a variety of resources available, depending on student prior knowledge
FREE on Teachers Pay Teachers
Nienhuis Montessori
Day #3 - U.S. Geography: State Capitals
we had a variety of resources available, depending on student prior knowledge
Northeast Region (New England and the Mid-Atlantic)
13 states (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, WV, VA)
States & Capitals List
Maine - Augusta
New Hampshire - Concord
Vermont - Montpelier
Massachusetts - Boston
Rhode Island - Providence
Connecticut - Hartford
New York - Albany
New Jersey - Trenton
Pennsylvania - Harrisburg
Delaware - Dover
Maryland - Annapolis
West Virginia - Charleston
Virginia - Richmond
Day #4 - "Captain Kidd and His Buried Treasure"
give each student pages 15-16 of States and Capitals, take notes on the states and capitals of Hawaii and Alaska (for which
I have no tall tales) as
well as the Northeast Region
#50, #49, #48, #47, #46, #45, #44, #43, #42, #41, #40, #39, #38, #33, #32
The Ballad of Captain Kidd (Carl Peterson)
Day #5 - "John Henry's Contest with the Big Steam Drill"
John Henry
retold by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
John Henry Song (Tennessee Ernie Ford)
John Henry Song (Harry Belafonte)
Music for Little People 101 Toddler Favorites CD #1
"I've Been Working on the Railroad" folksong - track #20
This is the Way We Wash-a-Day CD
"Pat on the Railway" folksong - track #9
"Manamolela" folksong - track #10
 
Manamolela - Work Song
record by The Song Swappers and Pete Seeger, avail at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Day #6 - "Heroes of the Coal Mines"
Southeast Region (Southeast and the Mississippi & Ohio Valleys)
15 states (NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MI, LA, AR, TN, KY, OH, IN, MI, WI, IL)
States & Capitals List
North Carolina - Raleigh
South Carolina - Columbia
Georgia - Atlanta
Florida - Tallahassee
Alabama - Montgomery
Mississippi - Jackson
Louisiana - Baton Rouge
Arkansas - Little Rock
Tennessee - Nashville
Kentucky - Frankfort
Ohio - Columbus
Indiana - Indianapolis
Michigan - Lansing
Wisconsin - Madison
Illinois - Springfield
Day #7 - "Mike Fink and the Outlaws of Cave-in-Rock"
use pages 15-16 of States and Capitals to take
notes on the
Southeast Region
#34, #35, #36, #37, #30, #29, #28, #27, #31, #26, #25, #24, #23, #22, #21
Mike Fink
retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett
retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Day #8
field trip to Cave-in-Rock State Park
1 New State Park Road, Cave in Rock IL 62919
Day #9 - "Old Johnny Appleseed"
The Story of Johnny Appleseed
retold and illustrated by Aliki
Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend
retold and illustrated by Will Moses
Midwest Region
10 states (MN, IA, MO, KS, NE, SD, ND, MT, WY, ID)
States & Capitals List
Minnesota - St. Paul
Iowa - Des Moines
Missouri - Jefferson City
Kansas - Topeka
Nebraska - Lincoln
South Dakota - Pierre
North Dakota - Bismarck
Montana - Helena
Wyoming - Cheyenne
Idaho - Boise
Day #10 - "Big Paul Bunyan and His Blue Ox, Babe"
use pages 15-16 of States and Capitals to take
notes on the
Midwest Region
#20, #19, #18, #15, #14, #13, #12, #7, #6, #4
Paul Bunyan
retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Day #11 - "The Sad Story of Febold Feboldson and His Enormous Load of Sand"
Febold Feboldson: Tall Tales from the Great Plains
compiled by Paul Beath
Southwest Region
7 states (TX, OK, CO, NM, AZ, UT, NV)
States & Capitals List
Texas - Austin
Oklahoma - Oklahoma City
Colorado - Denver
New Mexico - Santa Fe
Arizona - Phoenix
Utah - Salt Lake City
Nevada - Carson City
Day #12 - "Kemp Morgan, the Hero of the Oil Fields"
use pages 15-16 of States and Capitals to take
notes on the
Southwest Region
#16, #17, #8, #9, #10, #11, #5
Giant
film starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean
1956, rated G
Day #13 - "Pecos Bill, the Cowboy"
Pecos Bill
retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg
"Whoo-Pee Ti Yi Yo" from This Is The Way We Wash-a-Day by Mary Thienes-Schunemann, track #3
Day #14 - "Finn MacCool, the Greatest of Civil Engineers"
Fin M'Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill
retold and illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Finn McCool and the Great Fish
retold by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Zachary Pullen
it helps to look at photos of Giant's Causeway in Ireland
Northwest Region
3 states (CA, OR, WA)
States & Capitals List
California - Sacramento
Oregon - Salem
Washington - Olympia
Day #15 - "Paul Bunyan Goes West"
use pages 15-16 of States and Capitals to take
notes on the
Northwest Region
#1, #2, #3
Note: I chose to focus on historical American tall tales when deciding on my stories for this block, but I did have one of the girls
in my class comment that there weren't any tall tales about women (besides Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett). Several
modern women writers have created "original tall tales" to try to rectify this. Here are the ones I have found so far:
I also found a children's book from 1962 called Three Strong Women: A Tall Tale from Japan by Claus Stamm.
Blog posts from teaching this block:
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