Directions: Write your own creation myth that explains in a creative-mythological way-how __________ was created. Make sure to
include at least two animals in your story (yes, humans are animals too). Story must be a minimum of one page long (front side
only) and a maximum of two pages (front and back) and have examples that serve the four functions of myth listed below.
Tomorrow you will read your stories aloud-oral tradition-in partners and small groups. A group member will fill in the chart in
regards to your paper-so bring this back!
Function
Examples
to instill awe
to explain world
to support customs
to guide people
SAMPLE:
STARS
In the beginning of time there were no humans on earth. Animals roamed and
explored their natural habitats peacefully; unaware of the dangers that humankind would
bring to the world one day.
Penguins in the icy arctic were the most peaceful of the animals living on earth.
They lived, as they do today, in tight knit families and tribes that support each other. One
day, when the weather was unseasonably warm-which unknown to them was a sign that
humankind had been born into the world on another continent-the king of the penguins
called for all other penguins to join him in shielding their most treasured sheet of ice from
the rays of the sun.
Days and days went by and the penguins stood in solid lines around the outer
edges of the ice block. Seasons went by and the sun would not stop shining so hot on the
arctic. Male penguins decided to stay and keep the eggs warm as they huddled and the
females traveled far to gather food. Upon their return the females were surprised to see
their young penguin babies sliding across the sheet of ice their fathers were protecting.
However, there was one mother who did not return. She had been tragically killed by a
large vessel lost in the arctic waters that was made of metal and moved by spinning
propellers controlled by earth’s new animal-man.
With this news her young penguin baby began to chip away at the ice with his
beak. The other penguin babies followed. When the beloved sheet of ice was chopped
apart into tiny bits the babies began to spit them into the heavens where they began to
sparkle and shine. The young penguins positioned the sparkling shimmers of ice into
shapes of other animals their fathers told them stories about while their mothers were
away hunting. The young motherless penguin said, “Now these vessels in the water
powered by men will have a map in the sky to guide them on our dark waters and we will
know that my mother and all those that we have lost will have still have ice even in the
heavens.”