1) Illustrate the consequences of good or bad behavior (or both) OR
explain something connected with nature or humans came to be
(Remember how myths explained things like the origin of spiders, the
seasons, fire, etc.)
2) Feature gods or other beings who have superhuman powers as well as
certain flaws (You can make up characters, but you can also use gods or
other beings you are familiar with).
In addition, your myth must also:
1) Be a digital document (no handwritten documents). If you have a picture,
you must scan it or add it as a visible file.
Brainstorming:
Below are examples of questions one may have about the wonders of nature.
You may use one of these ideas or come up with your own to create a unique,
original myth that answers the question.
CREATING A MYTH OF
YOUR OWN (EXTRA
CREDIT)
Why don’t snakes have any arms or legs?
Why do volcanoes erupt? Where does lava come from?
How do clouds form? Why do they get dark and release rain and snow?
Why do we see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)?
Why must a turtle live in a shell?
Use the writing process!
Prewrite to plan out the main aspects of your myth BEFORE you begin
writing it. Make sure it has a distinct beginning, middle, and end. Create
interesting characters that are involved with a conflict. Think ahead
about how you’ll accomplish the goals of this assignment.
Use your prewriting notes to make a basic draft of your myth. The better
your prewriting, the easier this will be! o Revise your draft to make the
ideas more clear and interesting. Add sentences to clarify key points.
Take out sentences that distract the reader. Find sentences that can be
helped with imagery. Find nouns that could be better described with
adjectives. Find verbs that could be better described with adverbs.
Edit your revised draft only after your myth sounds exactly how you
want it. At this point, the only thing still needing changes are spelling
and grammar errors. Don’t rely on the computer to find everything! Be
particularly careful with troublesome words like their/there/they’re,
its/it’s, two/to/too, your/you’re, and so on.
Publish your final draft on clean, crisp white paper. Turn it in with a
smile because you just submitted something you can be proud of!
Take some time to find an idea you’re really excited about. Writing is FUN
and EASY when you are passionate about what you’re communicating.
Be sure to remember your audience. It may make sense to you, but will it
make sense to others who read it?
When you revise, read your myth aloud. Better yet, have somebody read it
aloud to you. It’s a lot easier to HEAR the problems than to spot them on
paper.
Some Tips About Writing Your Myth:
CREATING A MYTH OF
YOUR OWN (EXTRA
CREDIT)
Remember that you’ll be sharing your myth with your classmates. Write
something that is interesting, fun, easy to understand, and your best effort.
Think about the myths we read that were your favorite. What was it about
those myths you loved? Try to do the same type of thing in your own myth.
Have fun