Creation Myth Creation Assignment Sheet

Now that you’ve learned a little bit about creation myths (and folktales) – their purpose, their
prevalence, and their influence – let’s see how creative you can be! ​You will be using a specific
Native American Region for your creation myth/folktale.​ Remember, each region has very
specific characteristics that will have to translate into your story (setting, beliefs, customs, main
animal hunted, etc.)

The final copy of your stories must be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point
font, and a minimum of two and a half pages. Please do NOT exceed four pages (if you’re
on a roll, run with it, but it won’t earn you extra credit).

Here are questions to answer that will end up being part of your pre-writing work.:

1. Create your main character. ​Describe how your character looks. Is he or she tall or
short, an animal or a human? Does he or she have big feet? A small head? Is he or she
young or old? (You can draw your character on a piece of paper to help you imagine him
or her.) Once you have a clear picture of your character, think about their personality. Are
they gentle, brave, dumb, clever, generous, or possibly greedy? What are the things your
character is known for? How will their personality affect your folktale?
2. Decide what is going to be explained by your folktale/myth and what message you
want your myth to give to your reader.​ Folktales/myths often explain a phenomenon in
the world, or tell a lesson about human nature. As you begin planning and writing out the
information behind your folktale, think about what moral or lesson you want your story
to tell. The way your plot develops depends on your message/moral, so you need to
absolutely have that clear before you write your folktale.
3. Plan your plot.​ All five parts of the plot need to be clear enough that another one of your
classmates will be able to identify them on their own. So make sure there is an interesting
and engaging beginning, a conflict or moment of tension that poses a question to be
answered or something that needs to be resolved, and have an ending that is satisfying
because the conflict has been resolved or the question has been answered.
4. Edit/Revision.​ Guys, guys listen really quickly… this writing is a process! If your copy
of your story is filled with grammatical errors and sentence fragments, your story’s
message could get convoluted and misconstrued. All this means is follow the process
(and complete your prewriting stuff) then get the story out and finally make sure that you
fix the grammatical or editing part.

The message of the story is tremendously important (#ThemesBeforeMemes)- BUT it is also

critical that you make that message part of a good story!
Regional Tribe(s) Research and Presentation Checklist

● Pre-Writing Materials
o Original Tribe Information (include a link to the source where you found the info)
▪ Region and location(s) of the tribe
▪ The main food source for the tribe
▪ Some religious/spiritual/cultural practices of the tribe
▪ Relationship(s) with neighboring tribes

o Protagonist Description
▪ Appearance (head to toe)
● Any defining physical characteristics (scars, tattoos, big ears, etc.)
▪ Personality (spiritual, social, moral, emotional, psychological, etc.)
o Very basic planned plot chart (before you start writing)
▪ Decide on antagonist, conflict that starts the story, climax, resolution, and
overall theme
● Your Creation Myth
o Create an original myth using information that you found from your tribe
▪ Times New Roman font
▪ Double spaced
▪ Two and a half to four pages
● Presentation (Flipgrid)
o Tribe description(s)
▪ Region and location(s) of the tribe, the main food source for the tribe some
religious/spiritual/cultural practices of the tribe, and their relationship(s)
with neighboring tribes
o Read the creation myth that you created