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2nd grade · Social Studies · Unit 15 of 15

American Stories & Songs

Tall tales, legends and songs

What your child practices

Tall tales and folk heroes, Black American stories such as Brer Rabbit, Native oral tradition, and state and national songs.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 2.15 · legends, stories and songs of the United States

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A tall tale is a story with big, funny stretches of the truth.
  2. Legends tell about people like Johnny Appleseed.
  3. Many Native nations pass down history through stories told aloud.

Example: Which story is a tall tale? A tall tale could not really happen. No one can dig a lake with boots! Answer: Paul Bunyan digs a lake with his boots

American Stories & Songs in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 15 of 15 in 2nd grade Social Studies, after People on the Move.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    John Henry was a steel-driving man who raced a…

    • steam drill
    • rocket
    • train robber
    • horse

  2. Question 2

    The Star-Spangled Banner was written by…

    • Betsy Ross
    • John Henry
    • Francis Scott Key
    • Paul Bunyan

  3. Question 3

    Johnny Appleseed is remembered for planting…

    • peanuts
    • cotton
    • apple trees
    • roses

  4. Question 4

    America the Beautiful sings about…

    • the beauty of our country's land
    • outer space
    • one city
    • a sports team

  5. Question 5

    Davy Crockett is a folk hero known as the…

    • Lord of Peanuts
    • King of Rockets
    • King of the Wild Frontier
    • Queen of Rivers

  6. Question 6

    Songs and stories become part of our culture when…

    • they are thrown away
    • they are kept secret
    • many people share them over time
    • no one hears them

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