1. By: Julius Lester Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
John Henry
By: Julius Lester
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Genre: Tall Tale/Legend
Author’s Purpose: Entertainment
Skill: Making Judgments
Compiled by Terry Sams, Piedmont

2. Summary
  Folks knew John Henry was special from the day he was born.  He jumped right out of his mama's arms and grew so fast that his head and shoulders poked through the porch roof.  He went on to win a race with Ferret-Faced Freddy, even though Freddy was riding a horse and John Henry was running on his own two legs.  Later, he broke up a boulder that even dynamite couldn't touch.

3. A tall tale is a story that has these features:
Genre: Tall Tales
A tall tale is a story that has these features:
A larger-than-life, or superhuman, main character with a specific job.
A problem that is solved in a funny way.
Exaggerated details that describe things as greater than they really are.
Characters who use everyday language.
There are some real-life details.

4. Comprehension Skill: Making Judgments
Making judgments means thinking about and deciding how to react toward people, situations, and ideas in stories you read.
Use what you have read and your own experiences as you make judgments.
Ask yourself if the author is trying to influence you and whether he succeeds.

5. Comprehension Skill Review – Character
Authors provide information about characters through thoughts and actions.
Authors also use a character’s relationships to give clues to their traits.
Pay attention to motivations, conflicts, points of view, and changes to help you better understand a character’s traits.

6. Practice Character Clue to Example from Character Story Trait
Motivation “What matters is how goodhearted
well you do your living (p.254)
Conflict “But even you can’t outhammer competitive
a machine.” P.251)
Point of View “I’ve heard you are the best respected
there ever was.” (p.251)
Relationship “That day John helped his papa hard-working
rebuild the porch he had busted…”(p. 244)
Changes “…that baby jumped out of his tall tale hero
mama’s arms and started growing.”p.242)

7. Vocabulary Skill: Multiple-Meaning Words
Many words have more than one meaning. To decide which meaning of a word is being used, look for clues in the surrounding sentences or paragraph.
Use context clues, experience, and word order to decide on the correct meaning of a multiple-meaning word.
Click on the title to practice this skill.

8. Research Skill – Card Catalog/Library Database
To find books in the library, you can use the card catalog or library database.
You can search for a book by author, title, or subject.
When searching by author, always use the author’s last name first.
When searching for what a book is about, always use the subject of the book.
If you only know the title, always look for the title first.

9. More Good Stuff More About Tall Tale More on John Henry
ABC Spelling words
John Henry Stories
More About Tall Tale
More on John Henry
Create your own tall tale
Reading Test
Spelling Test

10. Weekly Fluency Check - Improve Read with Expression
Students should vary reading pace to match the action of the story. Because of the exaggeration and vivid language in tall tales, the pace and intensity of the story are often at high levels.
Reflect this pace through stressed words, loudness and softness, and a slightly quickened reading rate.
Go to pages , beginning with “That dynamite. . .”

11. Read to Find Out – Day 1 Pages 241-247
What happens when John Henry is born?
What jobs does John Henry accomplish the day after he is born? Is this possible or exaggerated?
Why do you think John Henry challenges Ferret-Faced Freddy to a race?

12. Read to Find Out – Day 2 Pages 248 - 257
How does John Henry succeed in building the road when no one else could do it?
How was John Henry different from other newborn babies?
How was John Henry like a steam drill?
What lesson does this story teach?

13. Pick one of the following and write it on notebook paper.
Writing Assignment
Pick one of the following and write it on notebook paper.
Pretend to be John Henry and write a diary entry describing one of the events that happened in the story.
Write an article for a newspaper or television broadcast that tells about John Henry and his amazing feats.

14. Say It!
boulder
glimpse
hollered
horizon
rhythm
shivered
tunnel

15. More Words to Know
dynamite
parapets
sledgehammer

16. boulder
a large rock

17. glimpse
a short look

18. hollered
cried or shouted loudly; yelled

19. horizon
the line where the earth and sky seem to meet

20. rhythm
any movement with regular repetition of a beat

21. shivered
shook with cold, fear, or excitement

22. tunnel
an underground passage

23. dynamite
a powerful explosive most commonly used in blasting rock

24. parapets
low walls or mounds of stone or earth used to protect soldiers

25. sledgehammer
a large hammer usually swung with both hands

26. The soldiers hid behind the parapet when the shooting started.

27. The soldiers hid behind the parapet when the shooting started.

28. A large boulder blocked my way out.

29. A large boulder blocked my way out.

30. The workers used dynamite to move the mountain out of the way of the new road.

31. The workers used dynamite to move the mountain out of the way of the new road.

32. The children hollered so loud you could hear them over the roaring of the cars on the street!

33. The children hollered so loud you could hear them over the roaring of the cars on the street.

34. I got a glimpse of
the butterfly as it
fluttered by the window.

35. I got a glimpse of
the butterfly as it
fluttered by the window.

36. The sun comes up on the eastern horizon.

37. The sun comes up on the eastern horizon.

38. The rhythm of a heartbeat is very important.

39. The rhythm of the heartbeat is very important

40. John Henry shivered when he got out of
the creek.

41. John Henry shivered when he got out of
the creek.

42. The train tunnel through the mountain was very dark.

43. The train tunnel through the mountain was
very dark.

44. Spelling Words Adding -er and -est
smallest
largest
happiest
hottest
saddest
deepest
closest
scariest
funniest
fattest

45. Spelling Words Adding -er and -est
deeper
closer
scarier
funnier
fatter
smaller
larger
happier
hotter
sadder

46. This Week’s Word Wall Words
Click and type your own words for this week:

47. Let’s review our spelling words
Let’s review our spelling words. Watch carefully because they will flash on the screen for just a moment. We will clap as we spell the word..

48. smaller

49. smallest

50. larger

51. largest

52. happier

53. happiest

54. hotter

55. hottest

56. sadder

57. saddest

58. deeper

59. deepest

60. closer

61. closest

62. scarier

63. scariest

64. funnier

65. funniest

66. fatter

67. fattest

68. GREAT JOB!