Grade Ten Thematic Unit Lesson 2: First Nation Creation Stories

Lesson Two: First Nation Creation Stories

Directions/Procedure:

  1. Allow the students 15-20 minutes to find their Creation Stories via library or internet. Allow student time to read their information and write some notes on what they have read, approximately ten minutes. Have them identify the tribe of origin for the story and who the main characters are for the story. Does water play a role in the story?
  2. Have students break into groups of three or four to talk about the story they are presenting. Have students share their story with others in the group. Ask them to look for similarities between the stories. Identify what makes their story different from their peers. (15 minutes)
  3. Have students work alone at their desk to rephrase and rewrite the Creation Story; have them highlight the important part(s) of the story. They are to write the story in one to three paragraphs depending on the ability of the student. The students should be able to identify the main characters and which tribe or nation the story was written about. (20 Minutes)
  4. Have students then go back to their previous group of three or four and read/present the story/paragraphs that they have written. All stories are to be handed in to the teacher for final evaluation. They are then to pick one out of their group to read or present his/her story for the class. (15 minutes).One student from each group presents their rewritten Creation story to the class as a whole. (10 minutes)

Possible Online Resources:

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/settlement/kids/021013-2061.1-e.html

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/settlement/kids/021013-2091.3-e.html

http://www.muskrat.com/index.htm#MuskratLegends

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/settlement/kids/021013-2111.1-e.html

http://www.indians.org/welker/creation.htm

http://www.indians.org/welker/legend.htm 

Possible Literary Sources:

Remaking the Earth: A Creation Story from the Great Plains of North America, by Paul Goble, Orchard Books Inc. 1996. ISBN: 0-531-09524-X

Bones in a Basket: Native Stories of the Origin of People, by C. J. Taylor, Tundra books Inc, 1994. ISBN: 0-77-042717-0

First Nations of the Plains: Creative, Adaptable

Creation Story Worksheet

Name _______________

Date ________________

Operation Water Spirit Creation Story Worksheet

Identify the Creation Story you have chosen:

 

Identify the Nation or Tribe for this story:

 

Who are the main characters in this story?

 

 

Rephrase or Retell the Creation Story, write it using your own words:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you require more paper, please attach it to this paper

Name _______________

Date ________________

Operation Water Spirit Creation Story and Bering Strait Theory

The two commonalities about the Bering Strait Theory and many of the First Nation Creation Stories is that they begin in water. Identify some commonalities (4) and some differences (4) regarding these two methods in which First Peoples of the Americas are explained. First Nation people believe that they were always in the Americas from the back of the Turtle, North America, and believe that western science is trying to justify the appropriation of lands.

Bering Strait Theory First                                                       Nation Creation Story

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