The Big Myth

How did the world begin? How did the first humans get here, and why are we here? Every culture in the world has it’s own answer; every culture has a creation myth.

From Aztec to Aboriginals, Inca to Inuit, every culture has its own answer to the fundamental questions of our existence. The Big Myth celebrates our rich, cultural diversity, telling the world’s oldest stories with the world’s newest learning tools.

The Big Myth is an animated, educational storytelling app, showing 25 different stories of creation from around the world. For children aged 4-14. The Big Myth offers an entire integrated learning environment, including a teacher’s guide, “write your own creation myth” area, downloadable PDF materials, links and bibliography, making it a useful fit within the study of the classics or world cultural studies program of the common international curriculum, as well as within religious studies and ancient history. It can also be integrated into remedial English language classes given the text and simultaneous narration. This is an appropriate tool for special needs learners as well as visually or hearing impaired students.

While the myths are the central focus of the app, The Big Myth offers an entire integrated learning environment, including a teacher’s guide, “write your own creation myth” area, downloadable PDF materials, links and bibliography, making it a useful fit within the study of the classics or world cultural studies program of the common international curriculum, as well as within religious studies and ancient history. It can also be integrated into remedial English language classes given the text and simultaneous narration. This is an appropriate tool for special needs learners as well as visually or hearing impaired students.

The educational methodology behind The Big Myth – Complex Instruction - is especially inspired by the research conducted by Elizabeth Cohen (Cohen, 1994). One of the basic assumptions of Complex Instruction is that learning happens through interaction and group dynamics. By implementing co-operative learning, teachers provide opportunities for interaction and equal access to participation in the interaction.

The Big Myth is also a learning website and CD-ROM for desktop use.

The complete list of cultures:

Aboriginal
Aztec
Babylonian
Celtic
Ceram
Chinese
Dogon
Egyptian
Greek
Hawaiian
Hindu
Inca
Inuit
Iroquois
Japanese
Maori
Mapuche
Mayan
Navajo
Norse
Old Testament
Sumerian
Voudon
Yoruba
Zulu