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Myths and Legends Writing

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Myths and Legends Writing

Plan and write an original myth or legend set in Aotearoa New Zealand. First read the short model story, then complete the activities. Your story should explain something, include a challenge, and leave readers with an idea to think about.

Read a model legend

WHY THE HILL KEEPS THE WIND Long ago, a fierce wind raced across the coast, scattering fishing nets and bending the trees. A young weaver named Ria saw that the birds could not rest. She climbed the bare hill above the bay and called, “Wind, why do you rush past without looking?” “I have nowhere to pause,” boomed the wind. “The sea is too wide, and the cliffs are too steep.” Ria planted a line of flax along the hilltop. She wove a strong shelter between the tallest plants and invited the wind to rest there. The wind curled through the flax and softened to a whisper. From then on, the hill held the wind for a moment before it travelled on. Ria’s neighbours learned to plant flax along exposed paths, too. Even now, when flax leaves rustle on a windy hill, some say the wind is stopping to catch its breath.

Unpack the story

Use details from the model legend to support your answers. Then borrow any techniques you like for your own story.

1.What does the story explain? Choose the best answer.

Why flax grows on hills
Why wind seems to pause among flax on a hill
How Ria learned to weave
Why the sea has cliffs

2.Find one detail that makes the opening feel like a long-ago tale, and one detail that makes the setting feel like Aotearoa New Zealand.

3.How does Ria solve the wind’s problem? Explain how her solution changes what happens.

4.Which sentence uses personification?

The sea was too wide.
Ria climbed the hill above the bay.
The hill held the wind for a moment.
She planted a line of flax.

5.What might readers learn from Ria’s actions? Give one lesson and a story detail that supports it.

Plan an original myth or legend

Choose an explanation your story will reveal: how a natural feature formed, why an animal behaves in a certain way, or why a familiar sound or weather pattern occurs. Invent your own characters and events; do not present your story as a traditional Māori account.

6.Choose a story seed, or invent one: a mountain keeps a secret; a bird carries a message through a storm; a river changes direction to help someone. What will your story explain?

7.Who is your main character, what do they want, and what special quality or ability could help them?

8.Where and when does the story happen? Include at least two sensory details to help readers imagine the place.

9.What problem blocks your character’s goal? What choice or action will begin to solve it?

10.Finish your plan: what magical or unusual event will happen, what will your story explain at the end, and what lesson might readers take from it?

Write your myth or legend

Write a complete story using your plan. Give it a title. Build a beginning, a rising problem, a turning point, and an ending that explains something. Use vivid verbs, sensory detail, and at least one line of dialogue. Read your work back and check that the explanation makes sense within your imagined world.

11.Write your original myth or legend. Aim for a beginning, middle, and end, with a clear explanation or lesson.

12.Edit your story: copy one vivid phrase you are proud of, then name one change you made to improve clarity, punctuation, or spelling.