Write a Tall Tale

What You Need:

• White paper
• Lined paper
• Half-sheet of poster board
• Family photos or magazine pictures
• Glue
• Markers

What You Do:

1. Ask children to tell you what they know about tall tales and give you some examples from school.
2. Then, have your child find a copy of a favorite family snapshot or cut out a picture from a magazine. The sillier the picture the better!
3. Glue the picture to the center of a piece of plain white paper.
4. Then, draw a goofy picture around the photo or magazine cut-out. Encourage your child to get creative and add detail to fill the whole page.
5. Brainstorm with your child what kind of silly tall tale the picture could inspire. Tell them they can exaggerate as much as they want, and keep a list so you don't forget any ideas!
6. After you've finished brainstorming, have them pick their favorite idea from the list and write a story about the idea on the lined paper. Offer help with spelling and capitalization.
7. Once the story is done, ask your child to come up with a title.
8. Glue the picture onto the top of the poster board, and put the story underneath it.
9. When everything is finished, take turns reading the story to each other. When family comes to visit, have your child share the story and picture!
10. A fun variation of this activity is to get the whole family involved. Use the same picture with each of you coming up with your own story. See how different the results are--this activity is bound to bring lots of laughs!