The creation stories belong to the genre of "legends", as they are told as fact and are usually set in an historic time and place. They may be known as "pour quoi" stories because they give an explanation for the way things are. These narratives are also "myths." In Virginia Hamilton's excellent book In the Beginning (p. x), she tells us why this is so. These stories are about a god or gods, about superhuman beings, animals, plants, and about the first people on the earth. They show the creation of earth and beings of earth and show the earth still forming. These narratives tell about events that caused astounding changes in the way humans feel, think, and act. They are the truth to those who believe in them and the myths, in turn, give people guidance and spiritual strength.
Myths about creation are different from fairy tales in that "they relate events that seem outside of time and place and even beyond time itself. Creation myths take place before the ‘once upon a time' of fairy tales. They go
back beyond anything that ever was
and begin
before
anything has happened" (Hamilton,p. x). Myths don't attempt to prove anything, they just make statements as though they are facts. "Even the word
myth
comes from the Greek word
mythos
which means
word
in the sense of final authority. (Hamilton, pg. x) Creation myths deal with a time and a place which it is impossible for us to see.
The creation stories that have been chosen for study are found in the student's bibliography. They are "Elohim the Creator", which is Hamilton's account of the story found in the
Holy Bible
, Genesis 1 and 2. a Yoruba creation myth from Anderson,
The origin of Life on Earth,
and an Onondaga account of the beginning of this world from Caduto and Bruchac,
Keepers of the Earth.
In this section, I want to emphasize the importance of this earth and the need for its preservation.
Suggested Activities
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1. Have the students read the stories chosen in groups. Each group should appoint a leader who will assign jobs such as oral reading, writing down the main events of the story, retelling the story to the class, etc. Each group should also have a list of questions that they have to find the answers to.
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2. Make vocabulary lists for each story studied. Find out what each word means and make sure that they are pronounced correctly.
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3. Do an environmental activity with the class. Caduto and Bruchac have several excellent activities at the end of each story.
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4. Study an ecosystem and emphasize the interdependence of each member of the system.
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5. Have a discussion on the importance of recycling. Have the class plan a recycling project and carry it out.
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6. Teach a lesson on global warming and the consequences of its effects on us.
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7. Plan a "Pollution" discussion and follow it up with a Pollution Control Poster Contest.