Native American Myths

Objectives

• Students will use the Internet to research Native American myths.
• Students will choose a myth to read from a particular tribe.
• Students will write a summary of the myth accompanied by an illustration.

Description

This Web site is easy to navigate and offers clear synopses of different myths. It also features many other stories, such as fairy tales for all ages. The stories are designed to be read by children.

Suggested Activities

• Have students discuss the modern scientific explanations behind the topics covered in the myths they chose, and how they compare and contrast to the explanations provided by the myths.
• Have students list some traditional stories from their own culture that attempt to explain things about nature the way that Native American myths do.

Level Activities

• Have students connect to http://www.crystalinks.com/nativeamcreation.html and explore the various Native American tribal myths about how the world was created. Then have the students:
choose which tribe's myths they like most and explain why.
create a chart comparing and contrasting two of the creation myths about how the world was created.
write their own original creation myth.