2. Tall Tales Larger Than Life Stories

3. What is a Tall Tale? A larger than life main character doing a particular job. (superhero) A problem that is solved in a funny way. Exaggerated details that make the stories greater than they really are. A stretching of the truth.

4. How did Tall Tales get started? Settlers who made their homes in the American wilderness led hard lives. Huge forests, bad weather, and ferocious animals made pioneer life dangerous. After a hard day’s work, settlers would sit around and tell each other funny stories.

5. How did they choose their hero? Loggers Railroad Workers Cowboys Steel Workers Each group of workers had their own superhero. Having a superhero with the same job somehow made their lives easier. Perhaps it gave them strength and courage to do their difficult and dangerous work.

6. Tall Tale Heroes Paul Bunyan John Henry Pecos Bill Johnny Appleseed

7. Figurative Language Simile Metaphor Hyperbole Tall Tales contain lots of exaggerations. To do that, figurative language is used.

8. Similes http://www3.telus.net/teachwell/simpage.htm A comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as.” Examples include:

9. Metaphor Her hair is silk. He is a volcano ready to erupt. States that one thing is something else. It is a comparison, but it does NOT use like or as to make the comparison. Examples include:

10. Hyperbole I think of you a million times a day! Ms. Smith is so old she taught cavemen to start a fire! An exaggeration. It is frequently used in humorous writing. Examples are: