1. Mark Twain The Return of the Twain or “The Jumping Frog”

2. Dialects, dialects everywhere!  Local color—writing that brings a region alive by portraying its dress, mannerisms, customs, character types, and speech  Can you guess the dialect?guess the dialect  And of course, Ms. Koller speaks PERFECT English!PERFECT English!  Speakers often use colloquialisms which are local expressions (I reckon, Fo-Shizzle).  Include words, phrases and aphorisms.  Kid = colloquial for “child”  (FYI – if most native speakers know a word = colloquial. If not = slang. Though linguists argue about that)  How important is communication today?  Allow me to prove a point: “English Mania”English Mania

3. Two Truths and a lie  Take out a piece of paper. Write down 2 truths and a lie, making it difficult to determine which it is and we will play this game with the class. For instance…  Ms. Koller once: 1. Got suspended for fighting a guy. 2. Broke a mailbox over a girl’s head. 3. Accidentally called Mr. Switzer a bad word, and he heard me.

4. Tall tales  The tall tale is a distinctively American form of storytelling featuring outlandish characters and events, often with a comic effect. Based on oral tradition, the tall tale generally aims to fool or impress the listener or reader, using various devices.  Look for these techniques and consider their impact  Hyperbole  Understatement  Local color

5. Read the story  Focus for reading – the items on your Worksheets  Hyperbole  Understatement  Irony  Anything else you might notice?

6. Worksheets  Did you find the hyperboles? Understatements?  What is difference/shift you see between narrator and the “retelling” part of the story?  Notice any archetypes?  CREATIVE WRITING: Begin with a true story of your own. Draft the TRUE story. Now read over and look for places to embellish the truth. Include unbelievable details – hyperbole, understatement, local color.

7. Do you have a “Tall Tale” to tell?  Begin with a true story about a funny thing that happened to you or someone you know.  Draft this story  Find places to embellish the truth. Include unbelievable details and use hyperbole, understatement, and local color as ways of developing the tales.  Purpose of these tales is not to relay the exact truth of the original events but to entertain readers through the art of good storytelling.  Include sensory details, description, and dialogue as well as elements of humor.  Share finished drafts with the class; invite the class to offer constructive comments.

8. Jumping FROG Quiz 1. The narrator calls on Simon Wheeler looking for Leonidas W. Smiley… who does he tell him a story about instead? 2. What was this person known for (what was he very good at)? 3. What “presidential” name was given to this person’s dog? 4. What kind of story is this (story within a story)? 5. Why does this frog lose?

9. The Great Hyperbowl-eeeeee  Monty Python on Being Poor (this is satire, with massive amounts of hyperbole, but lacking dramatic & situational irony) Michael Palin: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six o'clock in the morning, clean the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down mill for 14 hours a day week in, week out. When we got home, our Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt! Graham Chapman: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at three o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of hot gravel, go to work at the mill every day for two pence a month, come home, and Dad would beat us around the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were lucky! Terry Gilliam: Well we had it tough. We used to have to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o'clock at night, and lick the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked 24 hours a day at the mill for four pence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife. Eric Idle: I had to get up in the morning at 10 o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, eat a lump of cold poison, work 29 hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing "Hallelujah." Michael Palin: But you try and tell the young people today that, and they won't believe ya'. All: Nope, nope. (Monty Python, "Four Yorkshiremen," 1974)

10. RULES  Groups of 4 or 5 only!  Everyone must have a part  Must be school appropriate – remember to make it funny, make is SUPER extreme, not mean-spirited.