Origin Stories

Since the beginning of human history, people have wondered where we come from. These classroom-ready lessons and teaching materials equip you to help students compare creation narratives from different regions and examine their historical contexts. Teaching origin stories can open powerful conversations about belief, culture, and identity.
Origin Stories

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How to Teach Origin Stories

An elaborately carved sculpture featuring carved two faces on a small pedestal.

Big History Lesson Guide: Origin Stories External link Locked

Explore the Big History origin story and other narratives from around the world that attempt to tell the story of how we came to be. Teacher instructions and guiding questions are included.
Blog

Blog: Scale Switching, Frames, Origin Stories External link

Investigate ways to use origin stories, scale-switching activities, and thinking frames to help students connect their own lives to history.

Blog

“Unknowns” Podcast Episode 4: Origin Stories External link

Explore global origin stories with historian David Christian and research fellow Lynne Kelly who probe how ancient narratives connect us.
Course Guide icon

Comparison One-Pager External link

Guide students to see similarities and differences across origin stories so they flex their historical thinking while building knowledge.
discussions

Origins Story: DIY Project External link

What Big History origin stories would your students create? Find out how other teachers explored origin stories.

Teach Tomorrow: Origin Stories Lesson

Artwork depicting a woman standing on the shell of a large turtle. Aquatic animals like fish, waterfowl, and an otter swim below. The stars shine in the sky above.
Lesson 1.3
Big History
What is Big History?
Origin Stories
How did the Universe begin? How did human life on Earth come to be? People across different times and regions created origin stories to answer these questions.
View Lesson

Origin Stories Activities and Resources

Comparing Origin Stories
Big History
Activity

Comparing Origin Stories External link

What similarities can you find between different origin stories? Time to choose your own origin story adventure and compare it with the Big History story.
Big History Origin Story
Diagram of our solar system with the Sun and eight planets in orbit.
Big History
Article

Big History Origin Story External link

In the beginning, as far as we know, there was nothing. So how did all of this get here? Big History pulls together evidence from many disciplines to explain our history.
Māori Origin Story
Wooden carvings featuring two Māori gods embracing.
Big History
Article

Māori Origin Story External link

The Indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) tell a story focused on the divine family of the sky who are eventually separated to allow light into the world.
Maya Origin Story
Sculpture of a maize god from the palace of Yax Pac. The god is a personified maize cob in the form of a beautiful young man, his hair the corn silk.
Big History
Article

Maya Origin Story External link

The Maya tell a story about how the gods created the first humans through a series of trials and errors.
Chinese Origin Story
Woodblock print of an imagined portrait of Pan Gu.
Big History
Article

Chinese Origin Story External link

The world began with a chaos-filled egg that housed Pan Gu. When he died, his body morphed into the Earth and heavens.
Draw Your Origin Story
Big History
Activity

Draw Your Origin Story External link

What does your origin story have in common with the other origin stories you read? Time to compare these stories and consider how your origin story changes when you extend the scale.

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