TEACHER’S GUI DE
TEACHER’S GUI DE
Suggested Print Resources
• Long, Cathryn. Westward Expansion. Gale Group, Farmington Hills, MI;
2003.
• Osborne, Mary Pope. American Tall Tales. Alfred A, Knopf, New York, NY;
1991.
• Wadsworth, Ginger. Words West: Voices of Young Pioneers. Houghton
Mifflin Company, Boston, MA; 2003.
Paul Bunyan
Grades K–4
T
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Julia McMeans, M.Ed.
Curriculum Specialist, Schlessinger Media
COMPLETE LIST OF TITLES
• ANNIE OAKLEY
• CREATING A TALL TALE
• DAVY CROCKETT
• JOHN HENRY
• JOHNNY APPLESEED
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
• MOSE HUMPHREYS
• OLD STORMALONG
• PAUL BUNYAN
• PECOS BILL
• REGIONAL TALL TALES
800-843-3620
Teacher’s Guide and Program Copyright 2006 by Schlessinger Media,
a division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580, Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
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Executive Producer:Andrew Schlessinger
V6178
Programs produced and directed by Top Dog Media
All rights reserved.
all tales are stories in which the ch a ra c t e rs and their actions
and adve n t u res are ex t re m e ly ex ag gerated, and the audience
is awa re of the exag ge ration and there fo re in on the joke. Most
A m e rican tall tales grew out of specific parts of the country and
are connected to particular lines of wo rk : l u m b e r j a cks in the
M i dwe s t , c ow b oys in Texas, and fro n t i e rsmen and women in the
South and along the Mississippi Rive r.The tall tale is not static; it
is a living thing.The tall tale is very much a part of American folkl o re tradition, c o n s t a n t ly evolving as it is retold with the teller’s
own particular spin. American tall tales have been around fo r
several hundred years.They began in the oral tradition, as a form
of entertainment, and have continued to evolve ever since.
Program Summary
Follow-up Discussion
In this program, students will meet Paul Bunyan, his faithful friend Babe the
Blue Ox and a whole host of other characters at the Big Onion Logging Camp,
way up in Minnesota.Although Paul Bunyan was born in Maine, he soon moved
out into the woods because of his enormous size. Paul journeyed out onto the
frontier and became the most famous lumberjack who ever lived! With his
great size and strength, Paul was able to fell a single pine tree with one swing
of his axe.As boss of the Big Onion Lumber Company, Paul demonstrates the
kind of quick thinking and ingenuity that folks out on the frontier needed in
order to stay alive. Paul does battle with “beesquitoes,” log jams and harsh winters, and conquers the challenge of feeding 1,000 hungry lumberjacks. Paul
Bunyan and Babe are credited with creating Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes, digging
the St. Lawrence Seaway, and clearing the frontier so farmers could grow crops
to help feed a growing nation.
• Have students discuss Paul’s ability to solve difficult problems. Compare
and contrast his problem-solving abilities with those of characters from
other stories.
• Have students discuss how the character of Babe reveals elements of Paul’s
personality.What sorts of things do we learn about Paul through his relationship with Babe?
• Encourage students to discuss the element of exaggeration and “stretching
the truth.” Have them think of other examples, either in books or movies,
where the truth is stretched to create humor.
Background to Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan is not a tall tale character in the truest sense. Bunyan was actually
the creation of the Red River Lumber Company, w h i ch was located in
Minnesota in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Paul Bunyan was a kind of
company mascot, and stories were circulated about his daring exploits in pamphlets.The most successful was called “The Marvelous Exploits of Paul Bunyan
as Told in the Camps of the White Pine Lumbermen for Generations Duri n g
Which Time Loggers Have Pioneered the Way Through the North Woods From
Maine to California From Various Sources and Embellished for Publication.”
This is not to say, h owever, that ge nuine folktales about lumberjacks and
l o g ging camps we re not told and circulated, it’s just that there was no single
p ro t agonist called Paul Bunyan present in those stories. The tales of Paul
Bunya n , although not organic, h ave become part of the A m e rican tall tale tradition. Like most tall tales, the Bunyan stories address the importance of
ruggedness, strength and ingenuity in settling the frontier.
Pre-viewing Discussion
• Provide students with a brief overview of westward expansion and the
need to clear the land and use the lumber to build homes. Encourage
students to discuss the difficulties of settling the frontier.
• Using a large wall map, show students the area in which the story of Paul
Bunyan takes place.
• Explain to students the type of work that lumberjacks do. Have them
discuss what physical attributes would be valuable to lumberjacks.
• Remind students about the elements of fiction, such as characters, setting
and plot (containing a problem and a solution), and explain the importance
of exaggeration in tall tales.
Follow-up Activities
• Using an outline map of the United States, have students locate and label
the geographic elements of the Paul Bunyan tale. Label the state of
Minnesota and the area of the 10,000 lakes, the states that Paul would have
passed through to get from Maine to Minnesota, and the St. Lawrence River.
• Lumberjills are female lumberjacks. In small groups, have students create a
new tall tale where the main character is a lumberjill. How might the story
be different? The same? Students can include illustrations.
• Have students put on a Paul Bunyan puppet show. Divide students into
small groups and assign each group a specific scene from the tale.
• In small groups, have students research the lives of pioneers living out on
the frontier. Students can investigate types of houses, food, school, illness,
dress and recreation.
• Babe the Blue Ox was Paul Bunyan’s best friend and helper in the Big
Onion Logging Camp. Have students listen to “The Oxen Song” and discuss
its meaning.The following site contains both music and lyrics:
www.contemplator.com/america/oxen.html
• In small groups, have students compare and contrast the tools that lumberjacks used out on the frontier and the tools that they use currently. Students
can create an informational poster which explains the tools and describes
their uses.
• Have students write a tall tale about Paul Bunyan by placing him in another
setting, such as the desert.What sorts of problems might Paul encounter in
another environment? Given what you already know about Paul, how might
he overcome these new challenges?
Suggested Internet Resources
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
• www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es/mn
This site, designed for young students, has a lot of good information about
Minnesota state history and many interesting links.
• www.mnhs.org/places/sites/fhc/aboutfhc.html
This is a useful site from the Minnesota Historical Society that contains
information about logging.