Mrs. Moore - English 2H
Creation Myths Project
How do people from different cultures view themselves, the world, and their origin?
Margaret Atwood explains why myths are so important to writers today, and in the past: They are the building
blocks of literature. And the stories that we call myths aren't just any old stories. For instance, there's lots of other
kinds of stories. There's jokes, and there's animal fables and things….Myths are usually more important to a culture.
They are stories around which the culture revolves. And on which it builds all sorts of other beliefs and activities.
Atwood says that the desire for such stories is part of the human experience because we are “symbol –making”
creatures. Humans, Atwood contends, “We want a beginning of the story. And we go as far ahead in the future as
we can. We want an end to the story. And that’s not going to be just us getting born and us dying. We want to be
able to place ourselves within a larger story.”
Myths reflect a common experience: “The spur is always an anchor in history. That there is an event, even if you
think of the creation myth. What it means is, people look around, and they think, “Oh we live in a world that’s been
created. Let’s write a story about it.””There’s always a reason there.” Anne Provoost
Your project is to explore the creation stories of an ancient culture. Your group will develop a
presentation that includes background on the culture, the story itself, analysis of its purpose, and
examples of how that story is still part of that culture today. The specific requirements for the project
are as follows:
Group Responsibilities
Your purpose will be to present the following ideas to the class.
Part One – Background on the Culture
Provide a brief description of the life and culture of the people whose myth you will be investigating.
What did their world look like, what was important to them, why would they explain the unexplainable
in this way?
Part Two – The Myth
Based on the creation myth you will be investigating, you will answer the following questions:
What was present "in the beginning" ?
- What did the world look like?
- What happened next?
- Who were the first people?
- What is their relationship to the creator (or creators) of the world and humans, and what is the creator's
(or creators') relationship to them?
One of the primary purposes of a creation story is to understand the development of perspective within
the myth itself. Answer and illustrate the following areas as you understand and decipher your myth.

External - Physical description of the main characters as you imagine them


Internal - Description of the main characters’ personalities- get inside their head and figure out
what makes them tick –
o let us know what they think
o why they do what they do
o how they react to the events of the story
o what characteristics would describe them
Tie to today – does this culture still exist – is some aspect of this myth a part of their culture
today?
Part Three - Your Final Presentation Piece
Your creation story presentation for the class will be done using a multi-media presentation that must
include:




a handout of the story
primary character list with descriptions(verbal or written) of each character and what make them
tick
a media presentation that represents the story and responds to the questions listed above in
Parts 1 & 2
Works Cited Page created on noodletools – this will be turned in separately – do not put it on your
presentation page
Now let’s get started…
Within your group of three, you will each have a specific role with the following responsibilities.
Facilitator/Team Captain
· Makes sure that everybody understands the task
· Makes sure that everybody in the group participates, and also, for instance, that the person using the
computer does not "surf" independently of the others
· Represents the group if it has a question for Mrs. Moore.
Reporter/ Director
· Organizes the group presentation
· Makes sure that the group work is on time, and according to plan.
· Makes sure that the group gets all the materials it needs (including computer print outs)
· Makes sure that all the materials are cleaned up after the assignment has been completed (this does
not mean that this person needs to clean up everything him/herself but that he/she organizes this activity)
Information manager
· Finds, checks credibility, and cites all the information necessary to complete the assignment
· Makes sure that there is a positive atmosphere in the group
· Mediates is case of conflicts or disagreements
Assignments – Your group will choose one of the following cultures to present to the class. Within that
culture, you will be presenting 1 creation myth.
North American Creation Stories
 Inuit (Arctic region) - Sedna
 Iroquois
 Navajo
Central American Creation Stories
 Vodoun
 Mayan
South American Creation Stories
 Aztec
 Inca
 Mapuche
European Creation Stories
 Northern European Creation Myth - Odin
 Celtic
Middle Eastern Creation Stories
 Sumerian – Nammu, An, Ki
 Babylonian - Marduk
 Egyptian – Amon-Ra, Atum, Khnum, Ptah
 Egytpian – The Nine Gods of the Heliopolis - Ennead
The Creation Myth of Iran (Persian Myths)
 Zoroastrianism – prophet Zoroaster – Ormazd vs. Ahriman
African Creation Stories
 Dogon of Mali
 Zulu
Creation Stories of India
Indian
 Masadiya “There was Not” as contained in the Rig Veda
 Brahamanda Purana – Brahma assumes various kinds of bodies made from elemental
substances
Australian/New Zealand
 Maori
 Aboriginal
China
Order out of Chaos – Pan Gu and Hun Dun
You can use www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth to begin your research. There are also books on hold in
the IRC to help you with your research. Make sure to cite all your sources including any pictures you
may use. You will have two class periods to conduct your research and begin building your prezi,
powtoon, animoto, slideshare, google presentations or other type of presentation. You will have two
weeks to complete your project and present it to the class.
English 2 Culture Creation Myth Research Project
Due Dates
Research on Creation Myth:____________________
Works Cited Page:____________________________
Glogster Pages posted:________________________
Final Presentation to the class:__________________
Roles/Group Members__________________________________________________________
The rubric for the project is as follows:
Background on Culture
Background on Myth
Characters and
Characterization
The Story
Creativity and continuity
Works Cited
Class Presentation
Total Points Possible
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
70