Extra Reading Diary: Myths of the Cherokee

Myths of the Cherokee

How The World Was Made

Mother Earth

I really like this story. I absolutely love reading how other cultures believe we were all created. I should have picked this unit for this week. This whole story was just how the earth was an island floating on the water, but the animals wanted more and more space. Soon the earth had more space for animals and men to roam and then it was turned into the earth we know and love today.

The Journey To The Sunrise

So this story is about some men who wanted to know where the Sun went at night to live. So they found this rock thing that the sun lived in. One of the men tried going through the door, but was crushed by a rock. The other men were too afraid to try so they walked back home. They traveled so far and long that they were old and wrinkly when they got back to their home. 

Reading Diary B: American Indian Fairy Tales

The Boy who Snared the Sun

A mural depicting Tawa, the Sun Spirit and Creator in Hopi mythology.

This story starts out during the cold winter. A moose comes up and this guy was going to kill it, but this other person tells him not to. Iagoo goes into a story about how moose used to be way greater. People didn't eat animals, they only ate fruits and veggies. There were more animals than there were men. 

This little man that didn't grow past three feet decided to catch the sun. He did and the sun stopped rising and the animals had no clue what was happening. 

The animals couldn't figure out how to free the sun. 

Finally they came up with a plan to free the sun, but the animal that did was turned into a pile of ashes. 

Reading Diary A: American Indian Fairy Tales

Iagoo, the Story-Teller

From Blog

This would be a great little intro to use for storytelling. Iagoo is a storyteller that all the children love. He knows all the great stories of the indians. The way it was written, it sounds like Iagoo passes down not only stories, but life lessons to all the children. 

Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind

This story starts out with the battling forces of the North Wind versus the South Wind. The North wind wanted everything cold and dead, but it was no match for the South Wind, which breathed life into the living. 

Some fishermen were out fishing up north in the summer, and the North Wind started to show up. They had to leave but Shin-ge-bis kept laughing strangely and wouldn't leave. Could North Wind have put his magic on this guy? This would be a great story to build on.