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Home , Annie Christmas, Febold Feboldson, Pecos Bill

Teacher Resource Guide 1 and Lesson Plan Activities Teacher resource guide written by Mera Kathryn Corlett Lesson plan activities created by Mera Cossey Corlett

This resource guide includes information about the show and ideas for follow-up lessons to use in your classrooms. The activities were designed for 2nd-5th grade classes; however, feel free to adapt them as needed.

Illustrations by Stephanie Gobby, www.stephaniegobby.com StoryTime Theatre was developed by Blue Apple’s Education Department in 2012 as a way of introducing This year’s Story Time Theatre focuses on the genre of students to story genre. In the spirit of the Blue Apple tall tales and two particular folk heroes; and founders, the Outreach Department creates a new, . Tall tales are a uniquely American original play each year featuring a different genre of story genre. Unlike other story genres, tall tales’ main goal story and the culture from which it originated. A is to entertain. In her book American Tall Tales, Mary folktale from Appalachia was performed in 2012; Pope Osborne wrote, “The heroes and heroines of the 2013 focused on myths from four Native American tales were like the land itself - gigantic, extravagant, tribes; 2014 examined legends of . Last restless, and flamboyant.” By using exaggerations in their year, the team used the fairytale of Rumpelstiltskin to storytelling, new settlers could laugh at the fierce land explore the German culture where the Brothers they were learning to survive in. Grimm collected the story. The name Paul Bunyan has almost become synonymous This year, we are tackling tall tales from the Ameri- with the genre, but the story of Annie Christmas can frontier. Please let us know of any projects might be new to many. She is not a tall tale commonly inspired by this module at P.O. Box 4261, Louisville, told in this region. Her stories originate from New KY 40204 or [email protected]. We delight Orleans and towns along the Mississippi River. While we in hearing about all class adventures! know that the stories about Paul Bunyan were complete fiction, it is believed that Annie Christmas is based on a Watch for this symbol throughout the resource real woman who worked on the docks. guide for activities that help meet Common Core We encourage you and your class to look into other and other standards in your classroom. stories about Paul Bunyan and Annie Christmas!

We hope you have enjoyed this year’s performance of StoryTime Theatre: Skyhigh Tales. We request that you take a few moments to fill out a short survey to help us understand how we can continue to meet your classroom needs. Visit the link below: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5W939R5 2

Annie Smith began her work with Blue Apple Players in 2000 as a cast member of touring mu- sicals. Throughout her 15 plus years with the company, she has performed lead roles in more than ten musicals, including the 2015 tour of . Annie is also a teaching artist for Outreach Programs. She has brought her prior administrative and marketing experience from Dinsmore & Shohl Attorneys and top hotels in the area to lead special events, marketing, and other administrative areas for Blue Apple. Annie is married to Corey Smith, a sound technician she met through Blue Apple more than 12 years ago.

Tony Pike is an actor based out of Louisville, KY. Working on his third Blue Apple tour, Tony is a former student of Kentucky University's Theatre. He is a company member of Savage Rose Classical Theatre in Louisville where he has been seen as Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, Mr. Martini in the Bald Soprano and Ferdinand in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. He has also been seen at the Cannes International Film festival, Short Film Corner staring in the Rivera/Sennet production of “Writing the Big One”.

Felisha Lovett is a typical college graduate, still seeking to find herself. After graduating, she moved back to her hometown, Louisville, Kentucky, to volunteer at her middle school alma mater, starting her own extra-curricular course in creative writing, aiding preteens in how to express themselves through the written word. Currently, her efforts are in presenting her film work to the world through festivals, but in the meantime, she works part time at Hennes & Mauritz. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her mother and father, reading, and playing videogames. She feels honored to have been asked to return to the stage for this Walden Theatre/Blue Apple Players’ show.

April Singer, a Louisville native, is a 2005 graduate of Hanover College, where she double majored in Theatre and Sociology. She has performed locally with many companies including The Bards Town Theatre, Looking for Lilith, The Alley Theatre and Theatre 502. She previously toured with Kentucky Shakespeare’s Education Department, performing in and around the Commonwealth. She also stars in the locally produced web series, Bagged and Bored. April is thrilled to be doing her first show with Walden Theatre/ Blue Apple Players.

Mera Kathryn Corlett—Playwright/Director Mera Kathryn began her work at Blue Players as a member of the touring company in 2011. Currently, she serves as an Artistic Associate where her focus has primarily been on early childhood and elementary programming. This is the third script she has created for the coming; previous plays were Rumpelstiltskin and On the Trail of Daniel Boon. Mera Kathryn has played an active role in Blue Apple’s touring musical productions, drama residencies, and professional development for teachers. Prior to Blue Apple, she worked for Kentucky Shakespeare as a touring actor, workshop facilitator, and lead teacher for Camp Shakespeare. Upon graduating Cum Laude from Hanover College with degrees in theatre and theology, she received the Henry C. Long Citation for Scholarship and General Excellence, the most distinguished award a female graduate can receive. 3

A tall tale is a story with roots in the oral storytelling tradition that focuses on a main character who must solve a problem and uses humorous exaggerations. Have students listen to or read other tall tales. Suggestions are , Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, , Sal Fink. You may even want to incorporate folktales from other cultures that include tall tale characteristics such as Big Joe Mufferaw (Canada), Baron Munchausen (Germany), Finn MacCool and his wife Oonagh (Ireland), and Doña Flor (Latin American). Tell your students, “Now it is time for you to create your own tall tale.” Let them know that they are welcome to use the beginning of Lana T. Luper’s story (text below and on page 7) or they can choose to invent a new tall tale hero. Remind students to include the following four elements in tall tales as they write or draw their stories. The main character has a The character has a Details in the story are The characters use regular job, but is larger- problem or problems that exaggerated beyond belief. everyday language and are than-life or super-human in he or she solves in a funny This is called hyperbole. like common people in his or her abilities. way. behavior.

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy: RL.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain through key details in the text; RL9: Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (eg. mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes.

Lana T. Luper describing when she built a 500 pound hot fudge sundae: ”It was early November. Colder than sweater weather, too warm for a parka. Super scoopin’ time, for sure!”

? There are often wild and wondrous occurrences going along with the birth and beginnings of tall tale heroes. Paul Bunyan was supposedly deliv- ered to his parents by five giant storks; his cry was so loud, it scared all the fish out of the water. John Henry as an infant reached for a steel hammer Recall: Gather Facts instead of a baby rattle. When he was a newborn, Pecos Bill wrestled with What was Mrs. Agnes Actual against bear cubs. Slue Foot Sue showed up riding on the back of a giant catfish! being told in schools? Ask students, “Are there any special stories you have heard about your Interpret: Find Meaning birth? Often families pass down stories like that. When babies are born, their weight, length and exact time of arrival. Tall tale characters grow and Why did she feel that way? change dramatically. Have you ever thought about how much you have Analyze: Take Things Apart grown? This exercise in measuring and math will give you a chance to What hyperboles appear in the sto- figure it out.” ries that Ms. Actual would consider First, your students will need the information about how long each was “not the truth”? at birth. It may be recorded on a document or a family member may Synthesize: Bring Things Together remember. If the information is not available, help students make their best guesses. (The average for a full-term newborn is 20 inches.)Next, have What are the main goal of these hy- students find out their present heights by using a yard stick or measuring perboles? tape. Then, show them they will just need to do simple math by subtracting Evaluate: Make Judgments their original length from their present height. Feel free to come up with more complex math questions having to do with measurement for more Why are tall tales important? Should advanced students. Common Core Standards for English Lan- For the final step, have students create an equation to exaggerate there guage Arts and Literacy: W 2 Write informative/explanatory texts to actual height to one a size like Paul Bunyan’s. examine a topic and convey ideas and information Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practices: clearly; W 8: Recall information from experience or MD.A.1: Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such gather information from print and digital sources; as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes; MD.A.4: Measure to deter- take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into mine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length difference in provided categories; SL4: Describe people, places, terms of a standard length unit. things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly. 4

In recent years, researchers in the field of education are noting the importance of leisure education in curriculum. Leisure education In order to keep listeners entranced and to includes physical education, recreation and teaching students the impor- make stories more interesting, good storytell- tance of developing healthy and well rounded hobbies. In Skyhigh Tales, ers find various ways of describing characters the importance of leisure activities is accentuated by contests held in Paul and happenings in the stories. It is for this Bunyan’s camp, a short vacation for Annie Christmas and the enjoyment reason that idioms are often found in tall brought in storytelling. This section focuses on the importance of tales. students’ developing healthy leisure activities and the benefits of healthy choices. Tall tales are filled with devices known as idioms. Idioms are common phrases or In the play, Skyhigh Tales, Annie Christmas says, “I’ll be! I don’t terms whose meaning are not literal, but they remember when I last had me a good old time. I think I better put on the can be understood by their popular use. dog because this spring chicken needs a night out. ” She is referring to Some idioms have been passed down from taking time off from her hard work in order to relax and enjoy her self. generation to generation. Sometimes the “Leisure time” is defined as the time one has when he or she is not meanings of idioms are obvious because they working, at school or attending to chores. Simply put, it is your free time. are familiar, sometimes they just make sense Finding fun and healthy ways to spend your free time is important. and sometimes they confuse. Idioms are not Mention to students that Paul Bunyan, Hattie and the men in the logging only present in English, they are found in camps enjoyed contests—especially log splitting contests. Annie Christmas most languages and cultures. In fact, when enjoyed dancing, playing cards and arm-wrestling. Ask your class what learning a new language, idioms are typically things they enjoy doing in their free time? Provide time for discussion for the most perplexing to non-speakers. a group activity. Use the hand-out sheet provided on pages 5 A “Fun Things To Do” chart can be found on page 8. Have your and have your students see how many idioms students use it as a checklist for creative and healthy activities. There are they can match. Next, using page 6, have you empty categories for specifics. The chart can serve as a checklist or students list as many idioms as they can think students can time activities, writing in how much time was spent doing of. They may want to return to this page as a them. The checklist can be sent home and returned. Discussion can be resource when they are developing their new held about leisure activities. Be certain to discuss how much time is tall tale. spent on activities such as watching t.v. and playing video games, noting that these are fun activities for now and then, but they ought not take Common Core Standards for English Language the place of more active and creative activities. Arts and Literacy: Practical Living: Physical Wellness: L5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative Enduring Knowledge: Students will understand that: physical activity provides op- language, word relationships, and nuances in portunities for social interaction, challenges, and fun; participation in regular physi- word meanings; L5.b: Recognize and explain the cal activity has physical, mental, and social benefits; regular participation in health- meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs. related, physical activity supports the goals of fitness and a healthier lifestyle throughout life.

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Storms are powerful, mysterious and impossible for Fill the two-liter bottle ¾ of the way to the top with humans to manage. Problems with the weather often water. Then, add about ½ cup of vegetable oil. Next, add appear in Tall tales. Characters wrangle cyclones with a five drops of blue food coloring. Screw the lid on tightly , battle flood waters, and create rain to end a so it is very secure. Then, reinforce the lid with packing drought. tape. Have your students read or listen to Pecos Bill Rides a To make a storm in the bottle, simply shake the bottle. Tornado (page 9), Drought Buster (page 10), or Annie Twirl the bottle around in a circle to create a tornado or Christmas Stems the Tide (page 11 & 12). Lead the class cyclone effect. Create storm waves by turning the bottle in a discussion why the hyperbole in these stories would on its side and invert it back and forth. be entertaining to a storyteller’s audience. (If there are enough supplies, smaller “storms” can be After the discussion, explain that the class is going to made by using 1 liter bottles or single serve bottles and participate in a scientific investigation. They will be creat- adjusting the ingredients so every student may have his/ ing a storm in a bottle. For this project, you need: her own.)  a two-liter soda bottle (without a label)  water Next Generation Science Standards:  vegetable oil 2-ESS2-1: Compare solutions designed to slow or prevent wind from changing the shape of the land; 2-ESS2-2:  blue food coloring, Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of  clear packing tape. land and bodies of water in an area. 5 Idiom Match-Up An idiom is a form of expression that is particular to a certain person or a group of people. These days we use idiom for a specialized vocabulary or an expression that isn’t obvious, like “piece of cake” which means an easy Definition from vocabulary.com task. Can you match these popular idioms to their actual meanings? “A tough cookie” Very angry

“Hold your horses” Teasing /deceiving someone

“I am all ears” A strong-willed person

“Quick as lightning” Does not move quickly

“Older than dirt” Slow down/Be patient

“Madder than a wet hen” Leave me alone

“Ants in your pants” Very fast

“A humdinger” Been around for a long time

“Go fly a kite” Fidgeting, moving around

“Slow as molasses” Wonderful, marvelous thing

“Pulling your leg” Listening closely 6

My Idioms

What idioms do you use? Make a list of idioms you have heard or used. Use them in your next storytelling and writing project. ______7 Story Prompt Lana T. Luper describing when she built a 500 pound hot fudge sundae: ”It was early November. Colder than sweater weather, too warm for a parka. Super scoopin’ time, for sure!” Use the boxes below to write or draw the beginning , middle and end of this Tall Tale.

Beginning

Middle

End

8

Activities Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

Read a book

Pretend

Play outside

Create a craft project

Invent a game

Read to/with someone

Listen to music

Make-up a play

9 Pecos Bill Rides a Tornado A Kansas Tall Tale Retold by S.E. Schlosser Found on americanfolklore.net

ow everyone in the West knows that Pecos Bill could ride N anything. No bronco could throw him, no sir! Fact is, I only heard of Bill getting' throwed once in his whole career as a . Yep, it was that time he was up Kansas way and decided to ride him a tornado. Now Bill wasn't gonna ride jest* any tornado, no ma'am. He waited for the biggest gol-durned tornado you ever saw. It was turning the sky black and green, and roaring so loud it woke up the farmers away over in China. Well, Bill jest grabbed that there tornado, pushed it to the ground and jumped on its back. The tornado whipped and whirled and sidewinded and generally cussed its bad luck all the way down to . Tied the rivers into knots, flattened all the forests so bad they had to rename one place the Staked Plains. But Bill jest rode along all calm-like, give it an occasional jab with his spurs. Finally, that tornado decided it wasn't getting this cowboy off its back no-how. So it headed west to and jest rained itself out. Made so much water it washed out the Grand Canyon. That tornado was down to practically nothing when Bill finally fell off. He hit the ground so hard it sank below sea level. Folks call the spot Death Valley. Anyway, that's how got started. Though most cowboys stick to broncos these days.

THE END

*This story is written in the vernacular—the way words are pro- nounced—and spells some words differently. Rather than spelling “just” correctly, the author has spelled it the way a storyteller would say it. 10 Drought Buster A Tall Tale Retold by S.E. Schlosser Found on americanfolklore.net

ack in the early days, the Plains folk were often in need of a B good drought buster during the hot summer months. The sun would shine and shine, and the clouds would scuttle right quick over the Plains without dropping rain. One year, it got so bad that Febold Fe- boldson, that legendary Swede who could bust the driest drought in a day, got annoyed. He liked his fishin', right enough, and there was no fishin' to be had in that drought. So he sat down and thought up a way to bust that there drought. decided to build huge bonfires around all the lakes in the region. If he kept the fires real hot, the lake water would evaporate and form clouds. Febold set to work at once hauling wood and building bonfires. Soon, there were so many clouds in the sky on account of all the vaporizing water that they bumped into one another and made rain. Once the pump was primed, so to speak, the rains came regularly again. But were the settlers happy? No sir. Now they had no place to swim!

THE END 11 Annie Christmas Stems the Tide Excerpt from Speaking Out: Storytelling and Creative Drama for Children *Used with special permission from author Jack Zipes*

t was a rainy spring, and Annie Christmas was all alone way up near Minnesota. Her children had all gone and married themselves Ioff, and she was returning to New Orleans on her keelboat with clothes and food for some customers in New Orleans. But she was having a difficult time of it because it was raining cats and dogs up north, and the river was rising and acting up. Everyone up there in Minnesota told her to dock her boat because the rain would not let up and the river would become ferocious. "In seven days time it will rise up like a tidal wave and rush down south and flood all the towns in Louisiana!" "It will wipe New Orleans off the face of the map!" When Annie Christmas heard that her favorite city was threatened, she cried out, "It's my river and my city, and I take responsibility for this here river! I'll ride her down south and stop her shenanigans!" "You can't do that," the people cried. "You wait and see," she replied. So Annie Christmas jumped on top of her keelboat, and she rode that bucking river as though it were a wild horse that needed taming. The Mississippi flung her here and there and everywhere. She almost drowned a hundred times and was knocked off her keelboat five hundred times. But Annie Christmas was a fighter and a survivor, and she finally made it to New Orleans, three days before the floods were going to arrive. New Orleans was quiet and peaceful, and nobody knew the floods were coming. "Get up!" she shouted. "If you don't start packing bags of sand along the shores, you won't have a city anymore!" Scared and frightened, the people of New Orleans jumped out of their beds and began packing the banks of the Mississippi with bags of sand.

In the meantime, Annie Christmas called out to her sons and daughters 12 Annie Christmas Stems the Tide (Cont.) Excerpt from Speaking Out: Storytelling and Creative Drama for Children *Used with special permission from author Jack Zipes* and said to them, "You've been lazy long enough. Now come with me. We're going to build a damn and redirect this wild river toward Texas." "Why Texas?" one of her sons asked. "That's just one big desert, son," she answered. "And they could use some water. Besides they got too many gamblers and crooks there, and maybe the water will wipe them away." Well, you wouldn't have believed your eyes even if you had been there. Annie Christmas took her six huge daughters and six huge sons, and they went a hundred miles north of New Orleans, and within two days they built a gigantic dam covering the Mississippi. Then Annie Christmas showed them how to dig a riverbed heading toward Texas, and they took their shovels and pikes, and within a day there was a sort of canal leading off to Texas. Just as they finished, they could hear the water rumbling, grumbling, thundering, plundering, roaring, and soaring. "Here she comes!" Annie Christmas yelled, and just as the first tidal wave hit the dam and bounced off the walls, she jumped on top of it and began wrestling it to the ground. The water ran all over her, but she bounced up and grabbed hold of the tip of the wave and held it in a headlock, forcing the water to enter the riverbed and the canal toward Texas. Up and under she went, but Annie Christmas managed to drag the water away from the walls of the dam toward Texas. She waged a huge battle and almost drowned a thousand times, but she always came back up riding the water until it was clear that the Mississippi would not flood New Orleans. Annie Christmas disappeared at the end of the day, but her body was never found. Some say she drowned. Some say she became part of the Mississippi, and that's why it's never threatened New Orleans again. Her six daughters and six sons refused to hold a funeral for her. "She's still alive in our hearts," they declared. And all the people of New Orleans gave their blessing, and to this day they believe that Annie Christmas is still alive. 13

Special thanks to: Mera Cossey Corlett & Kevin Corlett, Paul Lenzi & Geraldine Anne Snyder, Communities in Schools of Clark County, The Shubert Foundation and countless others who donated plaid clothing to the crowd-sourced backdrop project!

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Hamilton, Virginia, Leo Dillon, and Diane Dillon. "Annie Christmas." Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales. New York: Blue Sky, 1995. N. pag. Print. *

McCullough, L. E. "Annie Christmas and the Natchez Trace Bandits." Plays of America from American Folklore for Children. Lyme, NH: Smith and Kraus, 1996. N. pag. Print.

Saxon, Lyle, Edward Dreyer, and Robert Tallant. "Riverfront Lore." Gumbo Ya-ya. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1945. N. pag. Print. *

Zipes, Jack. "Spreading Tales, Opening Minds - Sample Sessions."Speaking Out: Storytelling and Creative Drama for Children. New York: Routledge, 2004. N. pag. Web

*Contains some mature content*

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