1. ASManager2.zip Driver
2. H_HENRY1.txt File Contents

H_HENRY1.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2.zip)

Name: <  >
Class: <  >
Date: <  >



John Henry, Part 1

A real John Henry may have lived once. Many people believe that he did live. They say he was born in Tennessee, and he died in 1870 while competing against a steam drill to dig a tunnel through a mountain.

There have been wonderful folk songs written about John Henry. Below are two verses:

John Henry he could hammer,
He could whistle,
He could sing.
Woke up early in the morning
Just to hear his hammer ring,
Lord, Lord!
Just to hear his hammer ring.

When John Henry was a little baby
Just a sittin' on his Mammy's knee,
Picked up a hammer and a little piece of steel.
Said, "Hammer be the death of me,
Lord, Lord
Hammer'll be the death of me."

The tall tales about John Henry tell about a baby that was very big and very talkative the moment he was born. Think of how you might describe how big John Henry was and what he might have said right after he was born. Write your ideas below between the angle brackets.

When John Henry was born, he was so big that <  >. As soon as John Henry was born he said, "<  > ."


Name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)


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John Henry was famous for eating. In fact, people used to come from miles around just to bring him food and to see how quickly and happily he ate it.

Use your imagination to complete the paragraph below which describes how much John Henry ate.

Every morning, as soon as John Henry was awake, he'd begin eating. First he'd eat <  >, then he'd eat <  >. After that, he'd eat <  > and <  >. He would still be hungry, so he'd have some <  > and then some <  >. For dessert he'd have <  >, <  > and <  >.


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Complete the story below by adding your own details between the angle brackets, or wherever you have ideas, to make this tall tale taller and more wild.

What made John Henry so famous was that he was the best man with a hammer who'd ever <  >. He could do more hammering than any <  > men put together and he never seemed to get tired. When John Henry hammered, instead of sweating or getting tired, he just sang.

Other men used a five-pound hammer, but John Henry used a <  > pound hammer. Other men hammered with one hammer in one hand. When John Henry really got to hammering, he'd have a hammer in both fists. All the while he was striking steel against stone, he was singing about how he was <  >.

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Use your imagination to complete the sentences below at the <  > markers.

When John Henry first saw a hammer, he was only <  >. He grinned a grin that was so wide that <  >. He let out a "Whoopee" that rang all the way <  >. Then he ran over to that hammer, picked it up, and began <  >.

That day, he hammered <  > and <  >. He built <  > and he built <  >.

The most famous part of the story about John Henry is how he competed against a steam drill to see who could dig holes faster and deeper. Imagine that competition. People came from <  >. They made bets. They argued and cheered as John Henry, with a <  > hammer in each fist, struck steel and stone all day long, trying to beat that steam drill.

Before the sun rose, John Henry took a 20-pound hammer in each of his two <  >, which were as large as <  >.

As the first ray of light lit the mountain top, the <  > race began. John Henry's hammers sounded like <  > as they struck the steel rods. Sparks flew like <  >.

All day long, his hammers sang like <  >. All day long the steam drill hissed and spat like <  >. As the sun set, and the last ray of light left the mountain top, the race ended.

The judges measured the holes that John Henry and the steam drill had dug. John Henry won. His holes were as huge as <  >. The man had beaten the machine.

But when the people looked for John Henry, he was lying down. He had died with his hammers in his hands.


If you haven't done so already, name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

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You can print your tall tale now and refer to it as you work on the second Tall Tale activity that talks about John Henry.


end of activity
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