Lesson 5 John Henry

Grade Level: Grades 2, 3, and 4

Subject Areas: Language Arts, Music, Social Studies, Math

Learner Outcomes:

1. Students will learn of the Legend of John Henry.
2. Students will be introduced to and sing the Ballad of John Henry. (See Web sites or local Music Texts.)
3. Students will locate Big Ben on map of West Virginia.
4. Students will participate in races of human versus machines and chart results.
5. Students will view PowerPoint Presentation of John Henry.

Duration of Lesson: Two 80 minute lessons

Materials:

• Books on John Henry   (MS Word)   (RTF)   
• Hand-held pencil sharpener
• Paper
• Pencil
• Calculator
• Electric pencil sharpener
• Stopwatches or watches with second hands
• Graph (MS Word) (RTF) for charting outcomes of race

Technology Tools/Courseware:

• Multimedia Computers
• Data Projector
• Microsoft Word
• Power Point Presentation

Teacher Notes:
       

• Obtain an Acceptable Use Policy, if needed
  
• Tutorial may be needed for Microsoft Word

Procedures:

• Introduce students to John Henry by either reading to them or having them read the story of John Henry.  
• Use one, some, or all of the following sources:

1. Teaching Tall Tales by Tracey West   (MS Word)  (RTF)
2. John Henry and His Mighty Hammer by Patsy Jensen   (MS Word)  (RTF)
3. John Henry and His Hammer  by Harold W. Felton   (MS Word)  (RTF)
4. John Henry by Julius Lester    (MS Word)  (RTF)
   
5. The Legend of John Henry the Steel Drivin' Man by David A. Bice   (MS Word)  (RTF)
6. Internet net sites: Tall Tales, Exploring the West Virginia Tall Tale-John Henry, Song-Audio, , Tall Tales 2,    John Henry, the Steel Drivin' Man, American Folklore-West Virginia .  Retold by S. E. Schlosser

     Used by permission

1. Locate Big Ben on map of West Virginia  (Scroll down to map of West Virginia)

• View PowerPoint presentation of John Henry.
• Make chart and graph (MS Word) (RTF) of results of a human versus machine race. (See directions on link.)
  

Modifications:

•   Students may need to be paired to provide for those who cannot read the text for themselves.
•   Students may need to read fewer stories than others.
•   Students may need to be paired to provide for computer assistance.

Enrichment Activities:

• Research Railroad history and make timeline.
• Compare the birth of John Henry with that of other Tall Tale characters.
• To end the unit, the students could use the form on  Tall Tale Character to write a Tall Tale. (Click on Activities.)
• Other activities are available at the above site.
  
• Students may want to write the Tall Tale without help of the form.  A Word Processor may be used for this activity.
  

Evaluation/Assessment:

All elements of the lesson will be graded using a grading Checklist. (MS Word) (RTF)

West Virginia Content Standards:

RLA.2.1.5, RLA.2.1.6 , RLA.2.1.15, RLA 2.2.3, RLA.2.2.4,  RLA 2.3.2,
RLA.3.1.3, RLA.3.1.7,  RLA.3.3.1, RLA.4.1.1, RLA.4.1.3, RLA 4.1.4, RLA.4.1.6,
RLA.4.1.13, RLA.4.2.2, RLA4.2.3

SS.2.5.3, SS.2.5.6, SS.3.5.6, SS.3.5.6

MA.2.5.4, MA.3.1.16, MA.3.5.1

National Standards:

Geography
1 Understands the characteristics and uses of maps, globes,
   and other geographic tools and technologies

Language Arts
1 Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading  process
2 Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety
   of literary texts
5 Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

Music
1 Sings, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
7 Understands the relationship between music and history and culture

References:

• Resources Cited

       Stories

1. American Folklore-West Virginia
2. John Henry, the Steel Drivin' Man
   
3. Tall Tales 2
4. Exploring the West Virginia Tall Tale-John Henry
5. Tall Tales
   
6. Teaching Tall Tales by Tracey West   (MS Word) (RTF) 

      Lyrics

1. Song-Audio
   

Authors:  

• Debbie Boyd  
• Bev Rine 
• Sonya Hescht 

Criss Elementary School
Wood County Schools
West Virginia

Overview

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5