Erfving, EmiliaHintsa, AnttiSintonen, SaraSairanen, HeidiKumpulainen, Kristiina2017-09-112017-09-112017978-951-51-3677-0http://hdl.handle.net/10138/222483Finnish: Haltijankuiskaus (http://hdl.handle.net/10138/206657) Swedish: Rådarens viskning (http://hdl.handle.net/10138/222482)Myths and multiliteracy Myths are shared stories and beliefs about things that no one has really seen or experienced but that are still believed to be true. In the past, a long time ago, Finnish myths often had their origins in observations about nature. The natural world inspired people and they wanted to interact with it. People in the ancient times had a completely different relationship to nature from us. Nature has always been especially important to people living in Finland as the four seasons make the environment very rich and varied here. It is not surprising that it has kindled people’s imagination and been the source of many beliefs. For example, shooting stars were believed to be cracks in the sky through which gods could take a peek at the Earth. Forests and their spirits were also an essential part of the northern culture of Finland and way of life as they were an important source of food. The Whisper of the spirit activity cards are our contribution to the celebrations marking Finland’s 100 years of independence. The package can be used and distributed for non-commercial purposes in printed or in digital formats. The educational aim of the activity cards is for children to take an interest in Finnish stories, nature and ancient beliefs from a variety of perspectives. The tasks encourage children to imagine, observe, collaborate, reflect, innovate and experiment in multimodal ways. We also hope the stories and activities will support children’s interests and competencies in multiliteracies. The production of the Whisper of the spirit activity cards was supported by the Joy of Learning Multiliteracies (MOI) project, which is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and implemented by the University of Helsinki. The material can be downloaded from the MOI project website: www.monilukutaito.com/en/application/pdfengMuuFaculty of Educational Sciencesmultiliteracymonilukutaitoearly childhood education and carevarhaiskasvatuspreschool educationesiopetuselementary educationalkuopetusmyytitmythsbeliefsuskomuksetfulltext