Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes – Tune in: Origin stories of the universe
20 minutes – Find out: How did the universe begin, scientifically speaking?
15 minutes – Take action: Comparing and creating origin stories
5 minutes – Reflection

Presentation Slides

We strongly encourage you to use the Presentation Slides as a guide for yourself and your students through this lesson.

Tune in: Origin stories of the universe

You can also use the Presentation Slides to guide you through these steps.

Step 1.

Watch:

The Lion King - Under The Stars (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1O57ZijwPQ)

Step 2.

Start by explaining that everywhere around the world people tell stories about how the world began. Different cultures tell different stories about how the Universe started and where humans came from. Scholars call these tales “creation myths” or “origin stories”.

Some origin stories are based on real people and events. Others, however, use a bit more imagination.

Can students think of any origin stories they are familiar with? They are likely familiar with the Christian creation myth, and perhaps some Greek mythology, which is quite popular. Perhaps they know of some from their own cultures, and might be willing to share.

Step 3.

Here's a creation myth from one group of Indigenous Australian people: Tiddalik the Frog.

Watch:

Tiddalik (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs-qUWomHtM)

Step 4.

Explain that Big History is what we call a 21st-century scientific origin story because it tries to explain the origin - the beginning - of everything based on the latest scientific information. It brings together the knowledge of different types of scientists - like astronomers, geologists and biologists - from all around the world using the newest technologies to help us understand the past, the present and our future.

Find out: How did the universe begin, scientifically speaking?

Step 1.

Ask students to explain what they know about how our universe began.

Start to create a vocabulary list of any important and scientific words and terms students use.

Step 2.

Watch:

Big Bang Briefly (Briefly Ep. 01) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV6aQbnHSRo)

Step 3.

Claims test! Is Janna a reliable source of information on the event known as the Big Bang?

Emphasising to students that she is an authority in science - Astrophysicist Professor Janna Levin.

Step 4.

Why did Professor Levin use the word “inflate” rather than “explode”?

The definition of explode is to "burst or shatter violently and noisily as a result of rapid combustion, excessive internal pressure, or other process."

As there was no space or time or matter, there could be no sound waves, and nothing to shatter!

Take action: Comparing and creating origin stories

Step 1.

Explain to students that they are going to create their own origin stories about the beginnings and history of the universe.

Encourage students to think back to the clip from The Lion King for some inspiration. Timon looked up at the stars and thought they looked like the shining backends of fireflies. Simba was told by his father each star was the spirit of one of his ancestors. Surprisingly, Pumba was quite close to our current scientific 'truth'!

Prompt students' thinking by asking:

What was there before there was the universe?
How did the stars and planets come into being?
What is the sun? Is it a floating ball of gas? Or something else?

Encourage students to be creative with this task.

Students should write their stories on loose-leaf, lined paper so that it can be included in their Big History Passport.

Step 2.

Give students a copy of the reading Origin stories of the universe.

Independently, students read through these stories.

Step 3.

Using the Student Worksheet, students compare and contrast these stories.

Step 4.

As a class, briefly discuss your findings.

Prompt student thinking by asking:

Did you find any similarities across these stories?
Were you surprised that they had things in common, given these stories come from quite different cultures?
Did any of these stories match the scientific explanation of the beginning of the universe in some way? How? Did this surprise you?

Reflection

As a class, discuss:

What did some of the origin stories have in common?
What was your favourite origin story? Why?

Invite students to share some of their own creative origin stories.

Big History Passport check-in

After this lesson, students should have added to their Big History Passport:

Their own version of the origin story of our universe, written on loose-leaf, lined paper
The Student Worksheet - Comparing Origin Stories.

Differentiated learning

An optional art activity: The Big Bang using one-point perspective drawing.

Big History - Origin Stories

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