1. Topic-
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2. Content-
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This Iroquois myth explains how the world was created. It also expresses
a Native American ideal of people living in harmony with nature.
Myth: a traditional story, often handed down through generations,
that explains why the world is the way it is.
Creation myth: explains how the universe, earth and life began.
contend:
devious:
ritual:
succumb:
void:
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3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
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1.Literary analysis
2.active reading
3.building vocabulary |
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4. Objectives-
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1.understand and appreciate a creation myth
2.identify causes and effects
3.use key words |
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5. Materials and Aids-
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6. Procedures/Methods-
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A. Introduction-
| Mysterious Origins: In all times and places, people have wondered
how the world was created. What different accounts of creation--biblical
narratives, scientific theories, or stories from other cultures, for
example-have you heard or read? |
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B. Development-
The Iroquois League "The World on the Turtle's Back" is an Iroquois
explanation of how the world was created. The term Iroquois refers
to a league of five separate native American peoples--the Seneca,Cayuga,
Oneida, Onondaga, and Mohawk--who united in a confederation in the
14th century. (In the 18th century, a sixth group, the Tuscarora,
joined the Iroquois League.) The ancestors of today's Iroquois lived
in the woodlands of what is now New York State, the region roughly
extending from the Hudson River in the east to the Great Lakes in
the west.
The Iroquois groups spoke similar languages, held similar beliefs,
and followed similar ways of life. They lived in longhouses made of
pole frames covered with elm bark, and they built fences around their
villages for protection. The women cultivated squash, beans, and corn
and gathered berries and nuts. The men hunted, fished, and fought
with the neighboring Mahican people. Warfare, an important part of
Iroquois culture, gave men power and prestige. The Iroquois League
was created primarily to end fighting among the nations that formed
the alliance.
The reading selection is the Iroquois creation myth that explains
what they believed to be the origins of the world. A creation myth
is to some extent an imaginative story of cause and effect: one thing
brings about the other. |
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C. Practice-
Read aloud as a group pp.25-30.
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D. Independent Practice-
| Begin "Loneliness" by sharing synopsis of books and allow students
to choose the book of their choice. |
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E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-
Read paragraphs aloud and ask students whether or not this story
reminds them of something else.
Have students read silently to themselves to find out what role the
gods of the Sky World play in creating the world.
Challenge students to find as many opposing forces as they can in
the myth. Have them formulate a theory about opposites in life and
nature.
Have students draw pictures or diagrams of the world as described
in this myth, including the ocean, the void of air, the Sky-World,
the Great Tree, and the sea turtle with the earth on its back. |
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F. Checking for understanding-
Ask two to list two causes and two effects of the death of the twins'
mother. Possible responses: Causes-the left-handed twin wanted to
head for the light he saw; he was born through his mother's armpit.
Effects--useful plants grew from the mother's grave; the right handed
twin was angry at his brother for killing their mother.
According to this myth, How was the earth made? The muskrat brought
soil from the bottom of the ocean, and the woman grew the earth from
it. |
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G. Closure-
| How do the twins differ from each other? Create a list of differences. |
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7. Evaluation-
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| Using the list of differences, create an alternate ending for the
story. If the left-handed twin had killed the right-handed twin, what
kind of world might have resulted? |
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