About this Unit
This unit asks learners to explore one of humanity's oldest and most universal questions: How did the world begin? Through creation myths drawn from West African, Greek, and Hebrew traditions, learners build skills in reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and informational writing all while also developing a genuine appreciation for diverse cultural worldviews.

The unit culminates in a creative writing project where learners write their own original creation myth, applying everything they have learned about narrative structure, literary language, and paragraph craft.

Primary Texts

• In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World — Virginia Hamilton
• Queer Mythology — Guido A. Sanchez

Suggested Companion Books

• How the Stars Came to Be — Poonam Mistry
• The Star People: A Lakota Story — S.D. Nelson
• The Star-Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt — Dianne Hofmeyr

Science Connections: S2S Prehistory Lessons 1-5
This unit pairs naturally with science instruction on the Big Bang, formation of the solar system, and the first stars. Look for Science Connection callouts on individual lesson pages.

Content Knowledge and Background

• A creation myth is a story that explains how the world came to be. Every known culture in human history has at least one.
• Hamilton's In the Beginning draws from dozens of world cultures and presents the stories as literature, not religious doctrine.
• The Fon people of Benin, West Africa, worship Mawu-Lisa, a dual deity who is simultaneously male and female, embodying the balance between opposites: light/dark, sun/moon, strength/tenderness.
• Many creation stories begin with void, water, darkness, or chaos. The act of creation is often the act of bringing order to disorder.
• Queer Mythology by Guido A. Sanchez retells and reimagines traditional myths through a queer lens, giving voice to characters and stories that have often been overlooked or erased.

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Reading Area Focus

• To understand a creation story, readers identify key details about what existed before creation and what was made first.
• Readers notice how different cultures answer the same question “How did the world begin?” in different ways and ask what those differences reveal.
• When a story uses symbols and images (like light, water, or eggs), readers ask: what might this image mean beyond the literal story?

Writing Focus Areas (Informational/Explanatory)

• Identify a central idea in a myth and support it with at least two details from the text.
• Summarize a story capturing who, what, and why in your own words, not copied from the text.
• Use transitional language (both, while, however, on the other hand) to connect ideas when comparing two texts.
• Write a paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting details, and a closing sentence.

Discussion and Speaking

• When asked a question about a story, respond with a specific detail from the text, not just a feeling or a guess.
• After reading, practice stating your interpretation in one complete sentence before writing it down.
• Ask a question about the story that you genuinely do not know the answer to, write it down before you discuss.

Unit Vocabulary

Word	Definition	From the Text
Myth	A traditional story that explains the origin of something or explores big questions about life	"They are about a god or gods..."
Creation	The act of bringing something into existence for the first time	"acts of creation — the origin of the universe"
Chaos	A state of complete disorder or confusion; often the state before creation	"there came Nothing...sometimes called Chaos"
Binary	Involving or made up of two things; either/or thinking	used in discussions of Mawu-Lisa

 Lesson Map

#	Topic	Activities	Materials / Text
1	What is a Myth?	Because/but/so sentence expansion with kernel 'People wrote myths'; define or copy definition of myth	"A Note From the Author" — Virginia Hamilton
2	Greek Creation Myth	Word Map: Chaos; beginning/middle/end graphic organizer	"The Coming of All Things" — Hamilton
3	Capitalization	Discuss what should be capitalized; analyze why 'Nothing' is capitalized; practice fixing errors	"The Coming of All Things" — Hamilton
4	The Big Bang as a Myth	Decide whether the Big Bang should be considered a myth; use examples from the text to defend your opinion	"The Coming of All Things" — Hamilton
5	The Genesis Myth	Discussion of God as a character; how/why/when/where sentence expansion with 'God created the world'	"In the Beginning" — Hamilton
6	Sentence Fragments	Recognize and correct sentence fragments by identifying subject and predicate	"In the Beginning" — Hamilton
7	Summarize	Summarize the Genesis myth using a graphic organizer	"In the Beginning" — Hamilton
8	Characters	Describe the characters of Mawu and Lisa	"Moon and Sun" — Hamilton
9	Mawu-Lisa as a Nonbinary Myth	Can something be just one thing? Define 'binary'	"A Creator Beyond Categories" — Sanchez
10	Comparing & Citing Evidence	How are the two Mawu-Lisa myths different? Use examples from the text to support your answer	Both Hamilton + Sanchez versions
11	Single Paragraph Outline	Create a single paragraph outline with thesis: 'The creation myth of the Fon people can be written in many ways'	Both Mawu-Lisa texts
12	Cosmos Myth Chart	Create a chart showing relationships between aspects of the cosmos creation myths (all four stories)	All texts
13	Essential Question	Create a thesis statement to answer the unit's essential question	All texts / notes
14	Single Paragraph Outline	Create a Single Paragraph Outline (SPO) to answer the essential question	All texts / notes
15	Scrambled Sentences	Rearrange sequences of words into sentences; add correct punctuation and capitalization	Teacher-provided worksheet
16	Brainstorm 1	Brainstorm the characters of an original creation myth	Learner's own ideas
17	Brainstorm 2	Brainstorm beginning, middle, and end of creation myth using a graphic organizer	Graphic organizer
18	Drafting	Use sequence words to write a creation myth narrative from brainstorm	Learner's brainstorm notes
19	Editing	Revise and edit creation myth using the unit rubric	Learner's draft + rubric
20	Publish	Make final copy of creation myth	Edited draft