SummaryJohn Henry, the hero of this tall tale, is born with a hammer in his hand, talking and eating like a grown-up from the day he is born. His great strength is a big help to his parents, but when he grows up, he wants to make something of himself. Because he is so strong, he works building the railroads. He can lay more track than all the other men put together. One day, a government man comes with a new steam drill. This threatens the tracklayers’ jobs. John Henry challenges the man with the steam drill to a contest to see who can lay more railroad tracks, man or machine. John Henry wins, though it does him in.

ObjectivesFluencyStudents will:• Buildfluencythroughecho-reading,

choral-reading,andrepeatedreading

• Readwithappropriatepacing• Readdashes

cOmprehenSiOnStudents will:• Analyzecharacter• Compareandcontrast• Interpretfigurativelanguage• Makeinferences

GenreStudents will:• Identifyandanalyzefeaturesoftall

tales

VOcabulary and WOrd StudyStudents will:• Buildvocabulary:challenge,

contraption, thundering• Understandexaggeration• Understandsimilesandcomparisons• Makeconnectionstocontent

vocabulary

character educatiOnStudentswilllearnabout:• Responsibility• Trustworthiness

John Henryteacher’s Guide

Reader’s Theater™for Fluency and comprehension

leVelS 9–28 F–m

tall tale

characters levelsMama Henry F/9–10Papa Henry G/11–12Townsfolk G/11–12Mr. Samuels H/13–14Hank I/15–16Jim I/15–16Narrator 1 J/18John Henry K/20Mr. Smith L/24Bill M/28Narrator 2 M/28

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build background•Askstudentstosharewhattheyknow

about railroads, trains, and how railroad tracks are built. Show pictures of railroad ties and spikes.

•Useamapandphotographstoexplainthesetting—theAlleghenyMountainsin West Virginia, circa 1870.

•WritethenameJohn Henry on the chalkboard.Askstudentsiftheyhaveheardofhim.Explainthatheisalegendary character from this story that takes place more than 100 years ago—when the railroads were being builtacrossAmerica.

introduce the Script•Givestudentsacopyofthescript

andexplainthattheyaregoingtoreadatalltaleaboutJohnHenry.Askstudents if they know what a tall tale is and if they have read any other tall tales.UsetheLearningAboutGenresidebar to help teach characteristics of tall tales.

•ExplainthatJohnHenryisalegendand a folk hero. He was an inspiration to the thousands of railroad workers who worked long and hard for little pay.UsetheBackgroundInformationtoexplainthatJohnHenrymayhavebeen a real person, but the stories told about him are fiction.

•Readthetitleandbackcoverblurbwithstudents.Askthemtopredictif John Henry will win the contest against the steam drill.

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

introduce Vocabulary• Introducetheglossarywords.Readthe

word challengetogether.Askstudentsto give you a thumbs-up if they have heard the word before and know what it means, a thumbs-down if they don’t know the word at all, or a thumb-in-the-middle if they’ve heard the word before, but aren’t sure what it means. Readthedefinitionandthecontextsentencetogether.Askstudentstousethe word in a new sentence.

•Repeatthisprocessforcontraption and thundering.

Day One

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• Exaggerated characters and actions• Figurative language• Often humorous• Usually feature a hero or heroine• Often take place on the U.S. frontier

learning about Genre: tall tales

Copyright©2006BenchmarkEducationCompany,LLC.Allrightsreserved.Nopartoftheguidemaybereproducedortransmittedinwholeorinpartinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,recording,oranyinformationretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.

ISBN:978-1-4108-6194-8

•Guidestudentstopage2andthephrase the Great Railroad in the sky. Explainthatthisisanidiomora“figureofspeech.”Itisanimaginativeway of saying that John Henry is dead and gone to heaven (which many think of as being in the sky). Point out thecontextclue“likehedidwhenhewas alive” that helps you understand this.Explainthattalltalesoftencontain idioms, or figures of speech, to give readers a feel for the setting, characters, or humor in the story.

•Pointoutotherexamplesofidioms,slang,andfigurativeexpressionsandexplaintheir meanings to students. Forexample,ain’t (page 4), coming along fine (page 8), and they put their hearts into their work (page 9). You may wish to check the Support forEnglish-LanguageLearnersandStrivingReaderssectionfortipsonidiomsandexaggerationsthatyoucould use for all students.

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

model Fluent readingAskstudentstolistenandfollowalongwith you as you read the script aloud to modelfluencyandexpression.

background information

John Henry—Fact and Fiction

Likeseveralothertalltales,thisJohnHenrystory began with a real historical setting and what was probably a real person. Colorful languageandexaggerateddetailswereaddedin various ways by various storytellers over the years.

• ItisbelievedthatJohnHenrywasborninto slavery around 1850, though no one knows for sure if John Henry really existed.Supposedly,JohnHenrybecamea free man and went to work on the railroads, rebuilding the South after the Civil War.

•Accordingtolegend,hewasbornwitha hammer in his hand and grew to be oversixfeettallandtoweighovertwohundred pounds—considered a massive size in those times.

•AftertheCivilWar,railroadshiredthousands of men to smooth rough terrain and cut through obstacles in the way of the tracks. One of these projects happened at a place called Big Bend Tunnel in West Virginia.

•Railroadworkersusedlargehammerstopound holes deep into rock. Often, the holes were filled with dynamite to blast deeper cavities into hills or mountains.

•ThisstoryestablishedJohnHenryasapopular icon in a rapidly growing nation. He has since been the subject of books, comics, films, postage stamps, and the “John Henry” ballad—among the most widelyrecordedAmericanfolksongs.

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4

build Fluency: echo-read •Readthescriptaloud,andask

students to echo-read, or repeat, the lines after you. Stop where necessary toexplainidiomaticexpressionsorunfamiliarwords—forexample,flapjacks (page 3), strapping (page 4), and technology (page 8).

•Pointoutthesinglestagedirectiononpage14.Explaintostudentsthatin scripts these help the reader know how to read lines with feeling.

•Pointoutthedashesonpages2,12,and14.Explaintostudentsthatthesedashes represent a break or a pause. Often the character is pausing before addingmoreinformation.Modelfor students how to read each line with a pause or hesitation where the dash is. Then ask them to try reading the line with no pause and then rereadingitcorrectly.Askstudentsto give feedback on how the readings sounded different.

build comprehensionEnsure students understand the ideas in the story, as well as character development, by involving them in discussion.

•What was John Henry’s job? (recall details)

•How was the machine going to take his job? (make inferences)

•Other than being a big man, what kind of person was John Henry? How do you know? (analyze character)

•What things make this a tall tale? Find examples in the text. (analyze features of tall tales)

•What things in John Henry could be true, or based on fact? (analyze features of tall tales)

•Why do you think John Henry became a hero to the railroad workers? (make inferences)

•Would you want to be like John Henry? Why or why not? (compare and contrast; make judgments)

•What does John Henry mean when he says, “No machine can take the place of a human being”? (make inferences)

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

build VocabularyMakesurestudentsfullyunderstandthe glossary terms. The Vocabulary in Actionsuggestionsontheinsidebackcover of the script provide further ideas for building students’ understanding.

Day Two

5

assign roles•Usethereadinglevelsprovidedonthe

front of this guide to help you assign roles that support or challenge each student appropriately.

•Thisscriptcontainselevenparts,including the role of Townsfolk. The number of Townsfolk could vary depending on the number of students in the group.

• Ifyouhavemorestudentsthanroles,one student could be a prop manager or sound effects master.

• Ifyouhavefewerthanelevenstudentsin the group, you may want characters not then reading lines to perform the part of Townsfolk.

Fluency assessment rubric•TheReader’sTheaterOverview

contains an assessment rubric you can use to quickly assess each student.Usetherubricatdifferenttimes during the lesson to assess differentskills.Forexample,youmaywant to select students to assess their understanding of characterization during the comprehension discussion.Alternatively,youmaywish to use their performance to assess how appropriately they develop their characters.

•Discusstheassessmentrubricwithstudents so that they know what you expectofthem.

character tips for Voice and expression

Narrator 1 loud, strong, confident, pauses for drama

Narrator 2 loud, strong, confident

Mama Henry loving, proud, amazed at her son

Papa Henry loving, proud, amazed at his son

John Henry humble but confident, strong, hardworking

Townsfolk rhythmical, could sing lines

Bill admiring, proud of John Henry

Mr. Samuels amazed, happy, worried

Hank admiring, proud of John Henry

Jim admiring, proud of John Henry

Mr. Smith businesslike, challenging, boastful

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build Fluency Skills: read with appropriate pacing•model: Tell students that performers

must read at a pace that makes sense with their lines and with the actionandmoodofthestory.UsetheTownsfolk’slinesasanexample.Say: The Townsfolk act as a chorus for the play. Look at their lines on page 4. Their lines rhyme, so they should be read with a different pace. Listen to me, as I read the lines with a rhythmic pace. It sounds different than regular speaking.

•Guide:AskstudentstolookattheTownsfolk’slinesonpage5.Guidethem to read the lines silently and then take turns reading aloud. Other students should listen for rhythmic pacing.

•apply: Point out other sections of the script, and ask students what pace would be appropriate for the actionormood.Forexample,lookforstudentstoidentifyaquick,excitedpace during the contest between John Henry and the steam drill, but a slow, sorrowful pace when John Henry collapsesattheend.Askstudentstotake turns reading the sections with the appropriate pacing.

choral-read for Fluency Involvestudentsinachoral-readingof the script to reinforce the fluency skill of reading with appropriate pacing.Remindthemtousedramaticexpressiontobringeachcharacter’smood or personality to life.

repeated reading: rehearse the Script•Discusstheexpectationsyouhavefor

student behavior during the rehearsal. UsethesuggestionsprovidedhereandintheReader’sTheaterOverview.

•Usesmall-grouptimeforstudentstorehearsetheirscript.Monitorstudentsas they rehearse, and tell them you will be listening to how they develop the characters through their reading.

•Offersuggestionsforexpression,voice,and characterization as you monitor students’ work. See the chart on page 5 fortipsonvoiceandexpression.Usespecific comments, rather than general ones, directed at the character, not the student.Forexample:Mr. Smith, you should sound more boastful.

• Usethistimetoobserveparticularstudentsandassessforbehavior.Remindstudents of the assessment rubric and let them know you will be assessing them as you monitor the rehearsal.

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

Day Three

When part of the audience, students should:• demonstrate active listening;• stay silent during a performance;• give appropriate comments to performers

that provide positive feedback;• use the names of the characters when

giving feedback, rather than names of the performers.

expectations for rehearsing

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perform the ScriptInvitestudentstopresentthescripttoan audience. The audience might be members of their class, students from other classes, school staff members, and/or parents.

assess Students’ Fluency•Usetheassessmentrubricto

complete your assessment of students’ fluency.

•HavestudentsfilloutaSelf-AssessmentResponseForm.

•Taketimetobrieflyconferencewitheach student to provide feedback on his or her reading and behavior.

repeated reading: rehearse the Script•Usesmall-grouptimeforstudent

rehearsal.Donotinterruptthissecondrehearsal, but simply observe students as they read.

•Usetheassessmentrubrictomonitorstudents’ rehearsal behaviors and reading fluency.

Staging and performance SuggestionsDecideonastagearea,howstudentswill be positioned, and whether props or movements will be added. See staging tipsintheReader’sTheaterOverview.Here are some other ideas:

placement/mOVement

•Narratorsside-by-side,stageright;whenNarratorsspeak,otherperformersturntothem;Narratorswatch action when not speaking

•Townsfolkstageright;couldsitinchairs and stand when reading lines

prOpS/cOStumeS

•HammerforJohnHenry

•Askstudentsforideasforscenechanges; e.g., yardsticks on floor to represent railroad tracks

muSic/SOund eFFectS

•Onestudentcouldmakesoundeffects(e.g. bang trash can for thunder, clank hammer, whistle for steam drill)

•Townsfolkdecideonsimpletuneandsing their lines

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Day Four Day Five

8

Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving ReadersSupport for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers

build background and make connections (day One)•ShowstudentsamapoftheUnited

States.Ifpossible,findonethatshowsthe number of states and their borders justaftertheCivilWar.ExplaintostudentsthattheUnitedStateswas still growing at that time, and railroads were making it possible for people to travel greater distances than they ever could before.

•Createasimpletimelineonthechalkboard or on a long sheet of paper. Put the current year at the far right end. Working backward, label the time line with the year that most ofyourstudentswereborn.Addlocalor community events. Then label the year1870.Discusswithstudentsthatthis is when the story takes place. Guidestudentstounderstandhowlong ago that was.

•Readastorybookversionof“JohnHenry”toELLstudentstoprovideadditional picture support and background information—for example,John Henry: An American Legend by Ezra Jack Keats.

•Showstudentspicturesfrombooks,encyclopedias,ortheInternetofrailroad tracks and the equipment used to lay tracks.

develop Vocabulary and language (day One)•Giveeachstudentalargesheetof

construction paper and ask them to fold it into eight squares (by folding in half three times). Write the following wordsonindexcards,andshowthemone at a time to students: thunder, kettles, railroad, hurricane, locomotive, machine, steam, and technology.Askthem to write each word in one of their eightboxes.

•Thenaskstudentstodrawapencilsketch of what each word means to them, or any mental association they have to the word. Share illustrations and discuss, building background and understandings of the words.

•Helpstudentsunderstandandappreciatetheuseofexaggeration.Write the word exaggeration on the chalkboard,andexplainthatthismeansto take something true and change it to be more amazing and unbelievable. Say that this is what makes tall tales fun and funny.

•Writethefollowingsentenceonthechalkboard: Bill was so big he needed special clothes. Readthesentencealoudorchorallywithstudents.Askthemifthis sentence could be true, accurate, or normal. Would a big man have to have his clothes specially made?

Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers

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Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers•Next,writethefollowingsentence:The

man was so big that he needed the wool of thirty-seven sheep for one pair of socks. Readitaloud.Askstudentsiftheythink the sentence could be true or is anexaggeration.Askwhichsentencecould be found in a tall tale.

•Writethesentencestarter,The man was so big ____. Guidestudentvolunteersto finish the sentence orally with an exaggerationliketheoneshown.

•Pointoutexamplesofexaggerationinthetext,suchas:“Andlookathisarms.They’re as big as tree trunks!” (page 2).Encouragestudentstovisualize.Explainwhytheexaggerationscanbefunny.Explainthatvisualizingcanhelpthemunderstandingexaggerations.

build comprehension (day two)Engage students in discussion about the script, starting with simple literal questions and progressing to more difficultones.Asstudentsdiscussthequestions, ask them to point to places in the script that best answer the questions. Suggested questions:

•Who are the main characters in this story? (analyze character; recall details)

•Who or what is John Henry’s enemy? (analyze character; make inferences)

•Was John Henry different from you as a baby? (compare and contrast)

•Where did John Henry go to work? (recall details)

•How did Mr. Smith challenge John Henry? (recall details)

•Was Mr. Samuels good to John Henry? Explain. (make judgments)

•Did this story end happily? Why or why not? (draw conclusions)

•Why is John Henry a hero? (analyze character)

read and perform (days two–three)•Provideextrapracticereadingthe

script as a group before students read their individual parts to ensure they are familiar and comfortable with the language and vocabulary.

•Youmaywanttoassigntwostudentsto a role so they can read the part together. This will help support their reading.

•Besuretousethereadinglevelsprovided on the cover of this teacher’s guide to help you assign the roles.

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Literacy Extensions

Word StudySimileS and cOmpariSOnS

•Explaintostudentsthatasimileisawaywriters compare one thing to another. Say that similes usually use the words like or as.Explainthatauthorsoftenusesimiles or other comparisons in tall tales forexaggerations(comparingtwothingsthat can’t really be very similar).

•Showstudentsthephrase“Itsoundslike thunder” and the sentence “They’re asbigastreetrunks!”(page2).Askstudents what is compared to thunder (John Henry hammering railroad tracks into place) and what is compared to tree trunks (John Henry’s arms as a baby).

•Pointoutthefollowingsentenceinthescript and write it on the chalkboard: “He’s bigger than a sheep and he’s just one day old!”(page2).Askstudentswhat two things are being compared (the baby John Henry and a sheep). Tell students that the author used the size of a sheep to create a more vivid mental picture of how big the baby was.Explainthatthisisacomparison,but it is not a simile because one thing is bigger than the other—in a simile, they would be similar or the same.

•Askstudentstofindthesimilesandcomparisonsonpages6,7,and12inthetext.Tellthemtodecidewhetherthe phrases are similes or comparisons, what things are being compared, and if the two things are similar.

cOnnectiOnS tO VOcabulary

•Reviewthethreeglossarywordswithstudents: challenge, contraption, and thundering.Askstudentstosharein their own words what each word means and use it in a sentence about anexperiencetheyhad.

•Focusstudents’attentionontheword contraption by writing it on the chalkboard. Then write the words technology and machine underneath it. Ask:Would a lightbulb be considered a new technology today? Would a microwave oven be considered a new contraption? Point out that today, the steam drill that raced John Henry would be an antique, but back then, it was new and amazing.

•Leadstudentsinadiscussionabouttechnology and how it changes our lives. What was considered new and mysterious back in John Henry’s day would probably be considered old-fashioned today. But today, just like back then, people are sometimes worried that new technology (like robots) will take people’s jobs.

•Askstudentstothinkcreativelyabout the future: What machines or technologies might exist when you are an adult, or when your grandchildren are adults?

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reader responseAskstudentstoreflectontheirreader’stheaterexperiencebywritingordrawingin their journals. Students could:

• reflectontheirfluencyandpacingduring their performance and how it could be improved;

•visualizeascenefromthescriptthatwas not illustrated and sketch it;

• reflectonexamplesofmachinesthathave taken over the jobs of human beings and the reasons why they replaced humans (e.g., automobile factories, telephone operators, clothing manufacturers);

• reflectonhowtechnologyhasimproved the lives of humans (e.g., cell phones, electricity, automobiles).

read across texts•Askvolunteerstoretellothertall

tales they have read and to tell who themaincharactersare.Ifstudentshave not read tall tales about other characters, provide books about Paul Bunyan,PecosBill,KeelboatAnnie,andDavyCrockett,amongothers.

•Readafewofthetalltalesaloud,and discuss the main characters of thesestories.Askstudentswhatthesecharacters have in common.

•Createachartoftalltalemaincharacters and ask students to help youfillitin.Askwhatpositivecharacteristics all these heroes share. Drawcheckmarksonthechartto show who displays these special traits. Students could even compare themselves to the characters (see also Character Education Connection).

trait John henry paul bunyan Other:_________big ✓ ✓

brave ✓ ✓

caring ✓ ✓

strong ✓ ✓

stubborn

confident ✓ ✓

tricky

hardworking ✓ ✓

responsibility•Explaintostudentsthatpeoplewho

demonstrate responsibility do what they are supposed to do. They work hard and don’t give up even when the task is hard—say that this is called self-discipline.Explainthatresponsiblepeople always do their best.

•Pointoutonpage4thatJohnHenryshows responsibility as a child by helping his parents around the house. But he also knows that he must “make his way in the world,” and as an adult he has a responsibility to do something good for his community.

•Askstudentstothinkaboutatimewhentheyshowedresponsibility.Ask:Is responsibility a hard thing to learn or an easy thing?Maketheobservationthat it is probably easier when a responsible adult helps or guides us, but much harder when no one else is around.

trustworthiness•Pointoutthattrustworthiness literally

means that a person is worthy of trust—they can be trusted to be honest and reliable and loyal. Trustworthy people stand by their friends, family, and community. You can count on them because they do what they say they’ll do.

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Character Education Connection

•Ask:How does John Henry show that he is trustworthy? (He works hard when he says he will and stands up for his friends.) Encouragestudentstofindotherexamplesof John Henry’s trustworthiness in the story.

demonstrate responsibility/trustworthiness• Inconjunctionwithreadingothertalltales

(seeReadAcrossTexts),invitestudentstomakeapostertitled,“ResponsibleandTrustworthyCharacters.”AsyourereadJohn Henry and other tall tales, help studentsfindinstancesinthetextswhencharacters are demonstrating responsibility (or irresponsibility) and trustworthiness. Discusstheseexamples.Thenaskstudentstopicktheirfavoriteexampleanddrawa picture illustrating that character and his or her responsible actions. Below the drawing, tell students to write a sentence orparagraphdescribingtheaction.Allowtime for students to share, and then post the drawings on a bulletin board.

•Followupontheactivitywithdiscussionquestions, such as:

1. Are people always responsible, or do we have to work at it?

2. Why is sloppy work not responsible?3. What are ways we can let people know

that we are responsible and trustworthy?