The Man, The Myth, The Legend (Post #2 - Free Choice)



Santa Claus: A Legend-ary Character

Reading through a large stack of folktales, legends, and myths over the past few weeks, I couldn't help but think of the evolution of the 4th century Saint Nicholas into the modern Santa Claus. 

This video briefly summarizes modern-day Santa's ancient origins.  

It is possible that I made this mental leap because my father was a member of the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas for several years. Yes, this is a real thing, and trust me - these gentlemen take their cheerful roles quite seriously.  

Storytelling and the Classroom Teacher


This week I came across an art teacher on Instagram. Her name is Cassie Stephens (cassie_stephenz on IG). Although Mrs. Stephen’s colorful fashion and lesson plan ideas are the primary focus of her Instagram content, there are several videos on her YouTube channel where she skillfully demonstrates her talents as a storyteller in the classroom.    


Teaching Art: Line(Larry the Line - Concept video)

Teaching Lines to Kindergarten (Using “Larry the Line” in class: beginning at 4:07)


Genre Focus: Folk Tales, Legends, and Myths


In my quest to understand where traditional American tall tales (ie, Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, etc) fall on the spectrum of literary genres, I found this post on the Burlington County Public Library webpage. According to the author, American tall tales are myths because the main characters are fictitious.


This Week's Stories: 

Barker, G. (2014). What is a folktale? Britannica Educational Publishing. 

Souhami, J. (1999). No dinner! Marshall Cavendish. 


Bateman, T. (2008). The frog with the big mouth. Albert Whitman & Company. 

Hardyman. R. (2014). What is a legend? Britannica Educational Publishing. 

dePaola, T. (1988). The legend of the Indian paintbrush. The Putnam & Gossett Group. 

Byrd. R. (1999). Finn MacCoul and his fearless wife: A giant tale from Ireland. Dutton Children’s Books.

Barker, G. (2014). What is a myth? Britannica Educational Publishing. 

Kellogg, S. (1986). Pecos Bill. William Morrow and Company, Inc. 

Lester, J. (1994). John Henry. Dial Books. 


Image Credits


All images were obtained via Amazon.com unless otherwise credited.  


Santa Claus (heading image)

"santa-claus-1614994" by exit78 is marked with CC0 1.0



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