What is a creation myth? What are examples of creations myths from Ancient India? Every culture has a creation myth. It's a collective story of how the universe began — but, on the Indian subcontinent — grew many traditions, stories, and myth. Use this digital download to explore myths that came out of the Hindu tradition — from about 1500 B.C.E. to about 500 C.E.
- This resource is optimized for distance learning. The product includes PDF and Google Workspace files. Access and modify this resource for student-use on Google Classroom and other classroom management sites.
Use this Digital Download for a Three-day English Language Arts Lesson
Using my tested-in-the-classroom resources, your kids will want to discuss the primordial questions of existence, where we come from and where we are going, matriarchal versus patriarchal societies, and more! So I have loaded this resource with FIVE reading cards and a set of SEVENTEEN questions that will get your students talking, writing, and wondering!
Common Core Standards: This resource aligns well with the reading literature standard: "Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new."
This Resource Includes the Following Features:
- 1 Teacher's Three-day Lesson Calendar
- Follow the pacing calendar to stay organized. Start with background knowledge, places, and geography, engage students in group reading with custom-made reading cards, and quiz your class with trivia-style questions.
- 5 Illustrated Reading Cards on Creation Myths from Ancient India
- Included in this resource are five reading cards that include:
- Definition of the Creation Myth
- Brahma, The Creator
- The Classic Nasadiya "Creation Hymn" from the Rig Vedas
- Creation By Brahma (from the Vishnu Purana)
- Brahma is Lonely (from the Upanishads)
- Bonus: Also assign with Easel Activities!
- 1 Key Characters and Places Worksheet
- Orient your learners by identifying the key components of Hinduism and the subcontinent's geography.
- A Bank of 17 Trivia-style Questions
- After your students engage in the reading cards, test their knowledge with a custom-made question set.
- Bonus: Bar-Style Student Response Card
- Includes Easel Assessment: Free tool to add rigor and accountability in an easy self-grading 5-question quiz, and more!
- 3-Box Notetaking Template — Embed accountability into the lesson by having students annotate the text cards with notes, questions, and a summary of what they've read and comprehended.
- Frayer Model Vocabulary Template (with student sample)
- Frayer models are a way to get kids to think about vocabulary visually in a four-section square —- A square for meaning, one for examples, another for non-examples, and a sketch. It is amazing to see the work they produce. A great way to decorate your classroom to showcase your kids' vocabulary-in-text understanding.
- Fill out the cards to contain terms, Greek and Latin roots, and challenging words (and contextual entries that fit the story).
- Half-Sheet 3-2-1 Exit Ticket
- Exit tickets are a way to get data about your students' understanding of the lesson right before the class is finished. Collect these exit tickets and quickly see what ideas your students took away from reading and discussing the myths.
- 1 Further Reading List
- Don't disregard this further reading list if you think it is merely a bibliography. Share the list with your students or have them do projects based on the available research. Assign different sources to students and organize presentations where learning can go deeper into cosmogonic myths.
- Answer Keys for all student-facing documents
- Teachers always ask for answer keys for my products, so I gave you plenty of guidance on what to expect from students in their written and oral responses.
I created this resource with secondary students in mind. It is designed for an English Language Arts Mythology unit —
- For any myth-related unit!
- On topics including — cosmology, creation myths (cosmogonic myths), myths of origins, and the history of Ancient India and Hinduism.
- World Religions!
- You can use this resource as a stand-alone lesson or pair it with a larger unit on Myth, World Mythology, Ancient Hinduism, World Literature, or Parallel Myths by J.F. Bierlein.
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