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Origin Stories

Driving Question: How can you compare the Big History origin story with others?

Humans have asked questions about the origins of the Universe, Earth, and humanity for thousands of years. The Big History origin story is a modern example of the search for answers.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Define origin story.
  2. Compare the Big History origin story with others.

Vocab Terms:

  • collective learning
  • humanity
  • origin story
  • scale
  • universe
STEP 1

Opener: Origin Stories

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 2 of the Lesson 1.3 Teaching Guide Locked .

STEP 2

Origin Stories Jigsaw

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 3 of the Lesson 1.3 Teaching Guide Locked .

Take a look at the BHP Reading Guide for some approaches to teaching reading.

Dive into this conversation External link in the OER Project Teacher Community about how to make your Origin Story jigsaw more effective.

You can tell a lot about a culture by looking at the story it tells about where it came from. Let’s compare some origin stories from around the world!

STEP 3

Your Origins

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 4 of the Lesson 1.3 Teaching Guide Locked .

Looking to go digital for this assignment. Check out this post External link in the teacher community about using AI to help students draw their Origin Stories.

STEP 4

Closer: Origin Stories

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 5 of the Lesson 1.3 Teaching Guide Locked .

Our Writing Guide shares our approach to informal writing—check it out!

Extension Materials
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Want to learn more about how Indigenous people shared origin stories? Check out this podcast clip and activity
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Indigenous Knowledge

People told stories for thousands of years before writing was invented. The information they shared through storytelling was essential for their survival.

“Unknowns” Podcast Episode 4 Clip External link

We can learn a lot from Indigenous stories including what plants were safe to eat, how to navigate back to land if lost at sea, and how to recognize diseases.