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Title of the UNIT: Too scared to write? Write to scare!

Class: 3rd

year middle school Level: A2 achieved/ entry B1

Description of the class: the target class consists of 21 students, 12 males and 9 females.

Their general level of competence in language is A2 consolidated, with some exceptional pupils (7

boys and girls, who are preparing to take GESE Trinity Exam, Grade 5), and 2 SLD with diagnosis

for dyslexia. Therefore we can describe this as a mixed ability class.

As far as cultural origin is concerned, the class does not include any new Italians, since pupils who

do not have Italian parents were either born in Italy or have been living in Italy for at least 6 years.

Nonetheless, the multicultural perspective is represented by 3 pupils of Albanian origin, 2 of

Rumanian, 1 of Ghanaian, 1 of Russian origin: a situation which is quite common in the area of

Pordenone, where the middle school setting of my teaching training is located.

Generally speaking, the students are quite motivated towards learning and polite as far as discipline

is concerned. Sometimes they tend to be exuberant or too chatty.

They usually have a mid-morning lesson of English (from 10 to 11) and the grammar-focused

approach is mainly used. They show quite relevant problems with personal oral production and 7 of

them are taking a GESE Trinity Exam in which they have to present a topic and discuss it,

interacting with the examiner. At the same time, their listening skills are not developed as such,

while reading and writing are relevant skills specifically towards the final “Esame di Stato” written

test and need to be developed.

The male pupils are particularly chatty and rowdy: they need to be motivated with something

interesting and appealing to them and they also need to be kept busy with tasks to complete, which

must be meaningful and attainable.

Time: mid-April, lessons on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays

INTRODUCTION/ Description of the unit:

The methodological principles which support the activities I intend to propose to my students are:

1. Task Based Learning + three-phase cycle (pre-, while-, post- stages) for listening and

reading activities

Since pupils in the target class for this unit are particularly noisy (the male members being

particularly challenging) this approach works well: they will work on tasks to complete and will be

kept busy with something meaningful and attainable to do. The main focus of the unit is on

writing skills and the final product is actually a piece of controlled-creative writing.

Nonetheless, listening and reading skills are equally stimulating and carefully organized to lead to

the writing task, which is the main focus.

Every listening or reading activity has a pre- (brainstorming, matching, pre-teaching

vocabulary,…), a during- (note-taking, peer-checking/ assessment,…), and a post- (focusing on

main language) phase. Speaking is not neglected and the task proposed to pupils will foster oral

presentation skills paying particular attention to both accuracy and meaning.

The multicultural issue is taken into due consideration and differences in cultures will come into the

lesson through a reflection on the topic of fear and superstitions: something which could be very

different from one country to another or might join peoples on the same ground. The topic-

something culturally common and appealing to pupils- arises from listening and reading tasks in

lessons 1 and 2, leads to the speaking task in lesson 2, preparing the ground for the final writing

task in lesson 3.

The activities I have planned are the following:

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- Pre-teaching vocabulary, listening for gist, reading comprehension, re-ordering the

sequence, gap-filling focusing on past forms, prompted creative writing in lesson n°1;

- Peer- checking of writing, reading and listening for specific information, watching a video,

reading (skimming and scanning) in lesson n°2;

- Oral presentation, creative writing in pairs, reading in lesson n°3.

The main task, which is intended to be their “masterpiece” at the end of the unit, is a horror story,

modelled on the one listened to and read during the unit (The Black Cat, by E.A. Poe), but exploited

and reinvented according to the cultural theme introduced (a different superstition): horror and fear

have a great appeal on these pupils and the task will not frustrate weak pupils, but will encourage

personal production with the scaffolding of the model. Pupils will be stimulated to complete an

attainable task, something which they see within their reach.

2. Variation on TPR+ Storytelling (or Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling,

TPRS®).

This method uses a mixture of reading and storytelling to help students learn a foreign language in a

classroom setting. The method usually works in three steps: in step one the new vocabulary

structures to be learned are taught using a combination of translation, gestures, and personalized

questions; in step two those structures are used in a spoken class story; and finally, in step three,

these same structures are used in a class reading. Throughout these three steps, the teacher will use

a number of techniques to help make the target language comprehensible to the students, including

careful limiting of vocabulary, constant asking of easy comprehension questions, frequent

comprehension checks, and very short grammar explanations known as "pop-up grammar". After

being developed by Blaine Ray in the 1990s, the method has gained popular appeal with language

teachers who claim that they can reach more students and more learning styles and get better results

than they could with other methods. Proponents of TPR Storytelling, basing their argument on the

second language acquisition theories of Stephen Krashen, believe that the best way to help students

develop both fluency and accuracy in a language is to expose them to large amounts of

comprehensible input. The steps and techniques in TPR Storytelling help teachers to provide this

input by making the language spoken in class both comprehensible and engaging.

I will implement this method by brainstorming students’ ideas when I want to pre-teach vocabulary

(this is also a good way to check prior knowledge) or by using pictures or images which I will draw

or put up for them on the blackboard. My main aim in their listening to my story is to improve their

listening skills, reducing possible frustration which is usually connected to specific listening tasks,

by creating a conducive atmosphere in which every student will enjoy listening to the story. While-

or during- listening activities will be focused on the actual enjoyment of listening. My storytelling

will be extremely theatrical in gestures and body language in order to render language input

comprehensible for my students. Post- listening activities will concentrate on reading (the story the

students have just listened to) and writing (contributing to the story with creative and personal

elements), in order to focus on vocabulary and structures that I would like my pupils to consolidate,

internalize and put into meaningful practice.

Students are led to produce their own “product” of writing in a conducive environment in which

they experiment a relaxed collaborative student-centred workshop atmosphere.

In each lesson, different tasks are used for different purposes: they are used to retrieve, revise and

consolidate language structures already studied by the pupils, to introduce new topics (fears,

superstitions), which will stimulate pupils in personalizing practice and production (thinking about

the effect of their writing as for feelings and atmosphere, for example) and to raise awareness of

cultural differences and common cross-cultural beliefs.

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All the activities proposed require class, group or pair interaction in order to involve students

and introduce an element of cooperation that might foster students’ interest and motivation.

The phases of pre- and while-doing activities are varied to meet the students’ different cognitive

skills and learning styles since some of the students might learn better if topics are proposed from a

different point of view, and storytelling in particular triggers visual, auditory and kinaesthetic

learning styles all together.

3. Discovery approach:

Pupils will not study grammar rules before approaching a task, but they will find out about

grammar and structures and use of language while doing and after doing, in a sort of inductive

method of analysis and reflection on grammar and language structures (pupils will discover how

the past continuous works and how to use it in writing/ talking about past events and they will infer

rules from practical examples and evidence).

Places: classroom and computer lab, equipped with IWB connected to computers on intranet.

Linguistic and Educational aims of the whole unit:

- to consolidate structures to talk about past events (simple past, past continuous, present perfect)

- to retrieve lexis connected to crime

- to improve LISTENING skills

- to improve READING comprehension

- to become familiar with the main stylistic and linguistic elements of a “horror story”

- to practise “controlled”- CREATIVE WRITING

- to improve and develop skills for oral presentation for “esame di stato” + Trinity grade 5

(expressing opinions, talking about a chosen topic for a minute, interacting showing command of

will future, comparative forms, present perfect)

- to raise awareness of cultural differences and a shared background of beliefs connected to luck

(bad luck in particular, superstitions)

- to raise awareness of differences and validity in diverging points of view and perception of daily-

life events

- to experience cooperative learning and peer-learning

Prerequisites: - Simple past and present perfect (Course-book: High Spirits 3, Oxford University Press, unit

3 and 4, pp. 30- 51)

- Introduction to past continuous (Course-book, pp.52-53)

- Lexis related to crime (types of crime, “titles” for crimes and criminals, introduced in unit 4,

see course-book)

- Connectors when/while in a story (p. 55 course-book)

- Genres of books/stories and characterizing elements: horror story, crime story, detective

story and novels (famous examples in literature introduces during the “Library Project” at

school + vocabulary introduced in course-book pp.40-41 and 48)

- Familiarity with IT lab procedures (use of programmes like Microsoft Office, Word,

documents and file saving)

- Familiarity with online dictionary www.wordreference.com

Assessment: the teacher monitors oral production by taking notes and reporting to students

privately at the end; pupils will assess peer-work and group work according to several criteria like

accuracy, coherence and consistency with the topic; peer and group competition will assess

effective creative writing.

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Bibliograhy:

- AA.VV, English Out There, a modern English course incorporating social interaction in the

real world and online, Languages Out There Ltd, 2009

- AA.VV, Plurilingual and pluricultural awareness in Language Teacher education, ECML,

2007

- AA.VV., Indicazioni Nazionali per il curricolo della scuola dell’infanzia e del primo ciclo

d’istruzione, Annali della Pubblica Istruzione, Le Monnier, 2012

- Baker J. & Westrup H., The English Language Teacher’s Handbook, VSO, 2003

- Bowen P. & Delaney D., High Spirits, Student’s Book & Workbook 3, interactive CD-

ROM, audio CD, Oxford University Press, 2010

- Ellis R., Task-based Language Learning and Teaching, Oxford University Press, 2003

- Estaire S. & Zanón J., Planning Classwork, a Task Based Approach, Heinemann, 1994

- Gebhard J.G., Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language, A Teacher self-

development and methodology guide, Michigan, 2005

- Harmer J., The practice of English Language Teaching, Longman, 2003

- Krashen S., The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom, Janus Book

Pub/Alemany Press, 1983 (revised edition 1996)

- Poe E.A., The Black Cat, Penguin Readers, 2008

- Spratt M, Pulverness A., Williams M, The TKT Course, Cambridge University Press, 2005

- Webster R., The Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Paperback, 2008

- Willis D. & Willis J., Doing Task-based Teaching, Oxford University Press, 2007

- Woodward, T., Planning Lessons and Courses, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,

2001

Webliography

www.didatticare.it

www.trinitycollege.co.uk

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_en.pdf

http://www.willis-elt.co.uk/

http://www.insideout.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/IO453T-Superstitions1.pdf

http://www.thestoryteller.ca/Pages/Role.html

www.teachingenglish.org.uk/teaching-resources (British Council)

http://e-book.webpark.cz/pdf/the_black_cat.pdf

https://www.blaineraytprs.com/

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Lesson 1

Linguistic/ educational aims:

- to practise prediction skills

- to retrieve vocabulary already learnt (horror story, crime)

- to focus on past forms (past simple, present perfect, past continuous)

- to improve listening skills

- to improve reading for gist and for specific information

- to stimulate creative writing

- to meet pupils’ kinaesthetic and visual and auditory learning styles

- to make the new input comprehensible (to reduce anxiety and stress)

Prerequisites:

- SIMPLE PAST and PRESENT PERFECT

- introduction to PAST CONTINUOUS

- connectors when/while in a story (p.55 textbook)

- horror story/ crime story/ detective story and novels

- crime vocabulary

Materials:

worksheets (original material created by the teacher), hand-outs (images, drawings…), images on

the blackboard, blackboard, chalk

1) lead-in: 5 minutes

- Attract students’ attention: the teacher tells students she is going to tell them a story, a horror

story.

- Brainstorming activity: students are asked to add an element to the spider gram on the blackboard

around the word “horror story”. What are the ingredients?

Rationale: this activity provides practice in prediction skills and sets the vocabulary necessary for

the next activity.

2) pre-listening: 5 minutes

- pre-teaching vocabulary: 2 images (A4 format, full colour, the gallows and an axe, names written

underneath) are placed on the blackboard. The teacher elicits verbs connected to these two key

words for the story and writes them on the board: hang ( simple past and past participle hung), kill,

chop, cut, murder. Teacher reminds students of the difference between kill and murder, cut and

chop collocation, and explains the fact that the gallows was a form of capital punishment in

England in the past (mentions also when it was outlawed) and in some states of the USA (mention

where);

- the teacher elicits the meaning of selfish and its antonym.

- the teacher elicits the meaning of wet and explains what plaster is in the story: she says the

blackboard is a wall and she draws some stones and then covers them in chalk representing plaster

on the wall;

- the teacher also draws the curtains (if possible) to create the atmosphere for the story.

- the teacher does not give either the title of the story or the name of the author.

Rationale: to set the scene as far as vocabulary is concerned in the story, so that students can enjoy

the listening without being hindered by unknown key words. By drawing stones and plaster on the

blackboard, the teacher induces a sort of “suspension of disbelief”: the blackboard becomes the wall

mentioned in the story and the teacher is the protagonist who physically knocks on that wall.

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Listening becomes a theatrical, involving, experience, conveying the atmosphere for the story. This

will stimulate curiosity in the students and will create the conducive atmosphere in order to enjoy

listening. This will also meet kinaesthetic, visual and auditory learning styles of the students all in

one go.

3) storytelling (The Black Cat, by E. A. Poe, retold by the teacher): 10-12 minutes

- The students listen to the teacher while she tells the story.

The story is told in first person (as the author wrote it) and the teacher “acts” out actions as

she tells them: clear and emphatic body language is fundamental.

Rationale: According to the principles of “comprehensible input” in language acquisition (see

Krashen, The Natural Approach: Language acquisition in classroom), students will be able to

predict the meaning of possible new words through the explicit actions of the teacher. This will

reduce anxiety or stress in students and will increase enjoyment in listening.

4) after-listening comprehension task: 10 minutes

- Students are divided into 7 groups of 3 (if everybody is present; if not, some students will

get into pairs. No groups of 4 allowed)

- Students are given an envelope which contains strips of paper with sentences summarising

the story (11 in total, see hand-out n°1). Students have to re-construct the story by putting

the sentences in order. Students have a seven-minute time-limit.

- At the end, the class listens while a student from each group reads a sentence from their

reconstructed story in order, going around the class until all eleven have been read out.

- The teacher and the students intervene if the sentences are in the wrong order.

5) checking comprehension: 10 minutes

- students answer these questions orally:

1) Who is the protagonist of the story, a man or a woman? How do you know?

2) How many cats are there in the story?

3) What title would you give to the story? Why?

4) Which words/ expressions do you think are connected to FEAR?

6) reading and focusing on forms: 15 minutes

- in pairs, students read the story (worksheet n°1) and fill in the gaps with the forms/ expressions

given (which contain simple past, present perfect and past continuous)

- at the end, the teacher asks some students, in turns, to read a completed paragraph each and

focuses on the forms of the past used in the text.

- students, in pairs, complete five sentences taken from the text they have read (worksheet n°2)

Homework:

- each student will read the text of the story again and will write down as many adjectives as

possible to describe the protagonist of the story;

- each student will read the biography of E.A. Poe given by the teacher and will find out elements in

common with the protagonist of The Black Cat (handout n° 2)

- each student will write the story-ending (as preferred) onto a separate piece of paper. Instructions

are: they must use simple past and past continuous, connectors like when and while, possibly give

information about the protagonist, his wife and the cat. They must write a text of approximately 50

words.

Rationale: the homework is not going to overload students (since they have a whole day before the

second lesson) and it will make them think about the relationship between the author and his work

and will provide the proper background in terms of vocabulary for the lesson to come.

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Lesson 2

Linguistic/ educational aims:

- To practise the use of past tenses and writing skills

- To enable pupils to focus on accuracy (grammatical and syntactical structures) of the task

products in order to prepare for a “performance” in front of the class

- To improve listening skills

- To improve text analysis

- To give opinions and support them with textual evidence

- To raise awareness about cultural differences and common cultural background

(superstitions and beliefs, bad luck and fear)

- to motivate students to read for pleasure

Prerequisites:

- lesson 1

- homework done after lesson 1

Materials: worksheets, hand-outs (original material created by the teacher), video, pc + OHP/ IWB

1) lead-in:5 minutes

- the teacher will write the word FEAR on the blackboard: students will be asked to add elements to

create a spider gram around these words, taking ideas from the story they listened to and read. The

teacher starts the spider gram with BLACK CAT and EVIL connected to FEAR.

Rationale: the teacher will check homework and also create the thematic/lexical and cultural

background for the lesson

2) peer-checking/ editing: 10 minutes

- Students put all their pieces of writing (their homework) into a sack or a bag: the teacher will

distribute the pieces randomly.

- Students in pairs get two story-endings each, they read them and check them for

grammar/syntactical mistakes (if someone is absent, there will be a group of three students).

- Each pair/group will choose one ending to be read to the whole class

- Each pair/group will choose a reader who will be in charge of reading in front of the class.

3) reading-listening:15 minutes

- each reader will read a story ending to the whole class.

While-listening: The class (each student by taking notes) will assess it (using a 3-grade scale) in

terms of:

- atmosphere (is it fitting for a horror story?)

- coherence (is the ending coherent to the story?)

- structures of past tense (respected or not?)

After-listening: the teacher will write “scores” on the blackboard beside the number of the ending

(for example: ending n°1: thrilling atmosphere 3, coherence 3, grammar/syntax 2)

- the teacher will tell the ending E.A. Poe wrote for the story and ask the students to assess it with

the same criteria used before.

- students will vote for the best ending.

4) Detect from evidence (reading for specific pieces of information, scanning): 5 minutes

Students are asked to think and express their opinions on:

- how the reader knows about the destiny of the protagonist (the gallows)

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Elicit: “This story ends with my end, because today I’m going to the gallows”

- how the protagonist of the story can reflect some elements of the author himself

Elicit: both had problems with alcohol

- what adjectives can be used to describe the protagonist (first loving, then selfish, angry,…)

- why the author says: “Some people believe that black cats are evil”. Does it create expectation in

the reader? Does it convey the idea of fear and bad things about to happen to the protagonist? Is the

black cat on omen for the protagonist?

- Teacher tries to elicit “superstitious”: “this is what we call a superstitious person”

- Elicit students’ idea of what an omen is and the concept of superstition and bad luck.

Rationale: encourage students to think about how a good horror story works, triggering fear in the

reader and how superstition is commonly related to our fears. This activity also prepares the ground

for the multicultural reflection on superstitions which will follow.

5) Watching a video: 10 minutes (youtube.com video url http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JvROoKGd0c&feature=player_detailpage)

The video takes 4 minutes watching. The soundtrack is “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder

While-watching: students take notes about the superstitions they recognize in the video.

After-watching: teacher ask about superstitions. Students say if something in the video is popular

in their own country/ culture and if they believe in it/ respect its ritual. Key/ new words are written

on the blackboard and students copy them down to create their word-bank on superstitions

6) discovery reading task: 10 minutes

- students try and complete a quiz: this quiz is like a personality yes/no answer quiz and at the end

students have to count how many yeses they score to find out about their profile (How superstitious

are you? worksheet n°3) . Students will be told, at the end, that those are the most common British

and American superstitions.

- teacher and students discuss their answers: students express their opinions (it’s strange, It’s

common in Italy too, in my country too…)

Homework (Superstitions in a hat):

- different reading chunks (see hand-out n° 3) are put in a hat (or something similar, like a basket

for example, or a bowl): each student will pick one and read it at home. Each student will prepare to

tell the other students about it by answering these questions:

a) Where (in which country) is this superstition popular?

b) What do people believe? (content of the superstition)

c) What is the origin of this superstition?

d) Is this superstition popular in Italy too? Have you ever heard about it before?

- Students will also read a short passage about Superstitions and will fill in the gaps with 6 words

(see worksheet n° 4)

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Lesson 3

Linguistic/ educational aims:

- to improve oral presentation (monitoring and assessing)

- to retrieve vocabulary and structures from previous lessons and master them to solve a task

- to provide practice in creative writing thus improving writing skills

- to encourage peer-cooperation

- to stimulate pupils to read for pleasure

Prerequisites:

- lessons 1 and 2

- homework done

- familiarity with www.wordreference.com

- familiarity with Microsoft Office, Word

Materials: hand-out n°4, hand-outs and worksheets from previous lessons, computers with Word

programme and internet connection, IWB with intranet connection.

Place: computer laboratory equipped with IWB

1) warmer: 5 minutes

- each student will receive a piece of paper with either a superstition written on it or the main

element of a superstition (hand-out n° 4). Students will go round to find their match (they read

each-other’s chunk) and sit down together when they decide two pieces match (if everybody is

present, the teacher will form a group of three).

2) speaking-listening: 15 minutes

- each student will speak about the superstition assigned (homework)

- students will listen to their peers while the teacher monitors speaking accuracy and takes notes.

(There will be brief feedback at the end of the activity)

3) controlled-creative writing: 25 minutes

- students have already been seated in pairs (or a group of three) and will choose the superstition

they think is fitting for a horror story (2 minutes discussion allowed).

- pairs will re-write the story of “The Black Cat” according to the new superstition chosen: they

will change the title, maybe the setting, the elements connected to the black cat. They will have to

maintain the atmosphere and the criminal (mainly murder/killing) element. Each pair will work on 2

computers: one will be used to write the story and save it as a Word document, the other will be

used to surf the net and look up the words needed in an online dictionary suggested by the teacher

(www.wordreference.com)

- each pair will save their piece of writing (story) as a Word document in an intranet file directory

as indicated by the teacher.

4) reading: 15 minutes The teacher will open the file directory and let the students read some pieces of writing (2 or 3)

from the IWB.

The teacher will print out the stories for all the students to read and share as homework.

Extension idea: The class, after reading all of them (which will most likely take some days for the

whole class to read through all the stories) will vote for the best one, which will be published in the

next issue of the school paper!!!

AXE

GALLOWS

HAND-OUT N° 1

o I got married when I was very young. I had a cat.

o I started to drink and to make evil things. One night, I cut out one of Pluto’s eyes.

o Then I did it again: hung the cat from a tree in the garden.

o A fire burnt my house down. Only one wall stood there. The shape of a large cat was

on that wall!

o I started looking for another cat.

o One night, I saw a cat in a pub and I took it home. It was black with a white shape.

o The shape started changing: it looked like the gallows.

o I killed my wife.

o The black cat disappeared.

o After four days, the police came. They looked evrywhere and I helped them.

o I knocked loudly on the wall where my wife was!!!

WORKSHEET N°1

You are not going to believe this story, but this is a true story and it ends with my end, because,

today, I’m going to the gallows!

I have always been a loving person and I ___________________ animals more than anything else.

I got married when I was very young and I was happy to find my wife loved animals as much as I

did. We had all sorts of birds, gold fish, a dog, and a cat. A beautiful, large cat. It was black, black

all over…and very intelligent. Some people ________________ that black cats are evil.

Pluto was my favourite and we were best frineds: he followed me everywhere.

But during those years I was slowly changing: I started to drink and I grew more and more selfish. I

was often suddenly angry about unimportant things, I began to use bad language, I hit my wife, I

did horrible things to my animals. I began to hurt Pluto too.

One night I was drunk and I cut out one of his eyes.

He ____________________, he got slowly better, but then I did it again…and this time I did it just

because it was evil: I hung the cat from a tree in the garden.

That night a fire burnt my house down. My wife, the servants and I were lucky to escape but the

house burnt down completely, except for one single wall. This had fresh plaster on it.

That night, after the fire, a lot of people got next to that wall. I was shocked: _________________ a

black shape on the white plaster…the shape of a large cat, hanging by its neck!

I could not forget that shape for months and I even saw it in my dreams. I was sad about the animal

and I started looking for another one.

One night, I sat in a pub. I was drunk. I saw a large black cat near some bottles: _______________.

He had a large white shape on its chest. I took it home.

He loved us and loved my wife most of all.

But I _____________ to hate that cat too: I hated the way he loved me! I hated him because he had

only one eye. I was afraid of him. A strange fear. It slowly became horror.

Slowly his white shape _________________: after a few weeks he looked like THE GALLOWS!!!

I started hating everyone and everything, my wife too. I had no rest, no dreams, no sleep at night.

One day, my wife came down, in the cellar, with me to chop some wood. The cat came between my

feet and I nearly fell down the stairs. I took my axe and tried to cut it in two. My wife stopped my

arm and I lifted my axe again and buried it into her head. She was dead.

I decided to hide the body: the walls of the cellar were perfect. One of them was wet and the plaster

was soft. It was easy: I took the plaster down, I ___________________ some stones, I put the body

in and I put everything back, with new plaster.

Then I went upstairs to look for the cat and kill it, but I couldn’t find it.

That night I _____________________ well.

Three days passed and still I couldn’t see the cat.

On the fourth day the police came. They searched the house everywhere but I was not worried. I

walked calmly up and down and helped them.

They found nothing and were ready to go. I was so happy that I couldn’t stop talking:

“This is a very old house, isn’t it? Very well built, isn’t it? And these walls? So strong!!!”

I ______________________ loudly on the wall where my wife was…and suddenly…

Use the following verbs/ expressions to complete:

there was removed began slept have always

loved

didn’t die it was sleeping knocked was changing believe

WORKSHEET N°2

Duration or simple form in the past

1) First I was a lovely person, then, during those years I ________________ and then I became

selfish.

2) One night I sat in a pub: I was drunk. When I saw a cat, it _____________________.

3) The cat had a large white shape on his chest. Slowly, the white shape __________________:

after a few weeks it looked like the gallows!

4) While my wife and I _____________________ downstairs to chop some wood, the cat came

between my feet and I nearly fell down the stairs.

5) While the police _______________________ everywhere for my wife, I walked calmly up

and down and helped them.

TEACHER’S MATERIAL

1) The author’s ending:

A voice came from inside the wall, a cry, like a child’s voice. The police began to knock the

wall down. My wife was standing there, with my cat on her head, his mouth opened in a

scream: his voice was sending me to the gallows!

2) Quiz on Superstitions

Scores:

Answers YES to questions n° 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 = 2 points each

Answer NO to questions n° 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 = 0 points each

Answers NO to questions n° 1, 2, 4 = 2 points each

Answers YES to questions 1, 2, 4 = 0 points each

Between 10 and 16 points = You are a very superstitious person!

Between 6 and 10 points = While you may observe many of these superstitious beliefs, you do

not let them govern your life.

Between 0 and 6 points = You prefer to live firmly in the world of reality without letting any

superstitious beliefs prevent you from living your life.

WORKSHEET N°3

How superstitious are you?

for your test and

1) Would you like to have an oral test at school on Friday 13th?

2) Do you open an umbrella when you are inside a building/ your house ?

3) Do you turn around to prevent a black cat from crossing your way ?

4) Do you easily walk underneath a ladder ?

5) Do you throw salt over your left shoulder if you have spilt some on the table ?

6) Do you say, "God Bless you," after somebody sneezes ?

7) Do you knock on wood when you talk about accidents ?

8) Do you carry a rabbit's foot for good luck ?

From The Encyclopedia of superstitions, Richard Webster

HAND-OUT N°3

1) In Japan, if you drop a bottle of Scotch (or any spirit) on the floor and it crashes by

accident, people are very happy and cheer. Well, that’s good luck. It means the whiskey is

going to flow during the night and the bar will make a lot of money. At the table, it is

considered bad luck to stick chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice, or to pass them person

to person. In England is bad luck if you cross cutlery on your plate.

2) In India, people don’t look at cats in a favourable way. While dogs are considered faithful,

cats are supposed to be unfaithful and sly, well that is the general belief in India. It is

considered a bad omen if a cat crosses your path . It is supposed to mean that you will not

finish the task you have set out to do! A black cat is especially considered bad and sinister,

as black cats have been associated with witches and witchcraft. It is also said that one should

never challenge a cat in a closed room - it will go straight for your throat!!

3) In Taiwan, there is a superstition that says being a bridesmaid more than twice is considered

bad luck: if you are invited to be a bridesmaid for the third time you must say “no! thank

you”. In Italy people should not leave on a trip or get married on Tuesdays or Fridays: it

would be bad luck!

4) Friday the 13th There are many theories about how the number 13 came to be considered an unlucky

number. According to Valhalla, an ancient religion, during a feast the home of Gods had 12

guests. The God of Deceit was not invited. However, he turned up at the gathering as the

thirteenth guest. According to Christianity, The Last Supper had 13 guests, Judas the

betrayer being the thirteenth guest. Also since Jesus Christ died on a Friday, Friday the 13th

is considered very unlucky by the Christians.

5) Walking Under a Ladder Common sense would justify that it is best not to walk under a leaning ladder in order to

avoid getting hurt, in case the ladder slipped and fell on you. However, according to

Christian belief, a leaning ladder formed a triangle with the wall and the ground, that was

supposed to represent the Holy Trinity. Walking under such a ladder, was equivalent to

violating the Holy Trinity and was supposed to bring bad luck. In Britain and in America,

ladders were associated with the gallows and executions.

6) Breaking a Mirror According to Roman culture, one's reflection in the mirror was believed to represent one's

soul. Hence breaking the mirror or looking into a broken mirror was supposed to bring seven

years of bad luck. The bad luck would be over after seven years as the soul was believed to

renew itself every seven years.

7) Spilling Salt It is believed that spilling salt brings bad luck. To undo the bad effects of spilled salt one is

advised to throw some salt over the shoulder to prevent bad spirits from following him. The

origin of this superstition lies in the fact that salt used to be a very expensive commodity in

olden times and was also used to make medicines. Hence, this superstition arose to check

people from wasting salt.

From The Encyclopedia of superstitions, Richard Webster

HAND-OUT N°3

8) Opening an Umbrella Indoor Opening umbrellas indoors was supposed to bring bad luck because in ancient times, the

umbrella was supposed to be used only as a protection against the sun. Hence, opening it

indoors was considered as a mark of disrespect to the Sun god.

9) Putting New Shoes on the Table There were many beliefs associated with shoes in the ancient times. Most of the time, these

beliefs didn't have an ounce of truth in them. However, superstition regarding putting new

shoes on the table traces its origin to the traditions of mining community. If a miner had

succumbed to death while on the job, the workers brought his boots back and placed them

on the table at his home. With time, this practice came to be regarded with a sense of bad

luck omen.

10) Putting Your Hat on the Bed If you place a hat on the bed, then bad luck will follow. In the ancient times, people believed

that evil spirits lived on your head, so removing a hat and keeping it on the bed was believed

to be an invitation to the evil spirit to haunt the person who sleeps in that bed.

11) “God Bless you”. This superstition started in the 16th century in Europe, wherein it was

believed the person throws the evil spirits within his body out when he sneezes. This was ry

popular in the Elizabethan Era.

12) In England, If a black cat crosses your path, it is a sign of bad luck. This is a very old

superstition which dates back to the Elizabethan Age: the color black was associated with

evil and cat was considered as a witch’s pet.

But black cats are not always a bad sign!!! When a black cat walks towards you, it brings

good fortune.

Similarly, when a black cat walks away from you, it takes away your good fortune. If you

own a black cat it brings good luck to you! The superstition has been strengthened by

incidences like that of the king of England, Charles I, who owned a black cat and was so

afraid of losing it that he had it guarded. He was arrested on the day after it died and was

executed soon after.

13) In Romania, people never give an empty wallet as a present: they always put some money

in it. In Russia people never give sharp objects as presents: they must be paid in exchange,

at least a very small amount of money.

14) In Albania, people never cut their nails or their hair in the night. It would bring very bad

luck.

15) In China, left eye twitching is considered to be a good sign, while the same in India is

considered to be a sign of bad luck. In India, where people eat most of their food with their

hands, don't eat food or pass objects with your left hand: The left hand is considered to be

impure.

From The Encyclopedia of superstitions, Richard Webster

HAND-OUT N°3

16) In Ireland, a black cat crossing your path in moonlight meant death by epidemic.

- It was also said that if a black cat left a house, misfortune would befall its occupants.

- Dreaming of a black cat meant a warning about something unfortunate that was about to

happen.

- Wives of sailors and fisherman would keep a black cat at home so as to ensure that their

husbands would avoid danger at sea, but then people used to steal black cats!

17) Australian Indigenous people believe in The Dreaming, a time when the Ancestral Beings

moved across the earth, creating the animals, plants, rock formations and features of the

landscape. Indigenous stories of creation are founded in Dreamtime myths and the

supernatural. They form an integral part of Aboriginal spirituality, and in some areas there

are separate beliefs for men and women. Many Indigenous Australians are very

superstitious people, and their connection with the land leads them to believe certain animal

spirits can harm people. One belief is that killing a willy-wagtail bird makes the bird’s spirit

angry; creating storms of violence that can kill people.

18) Don’t Get Swept Away

In Venezuela, some people believe that if someone pushes a broom over your feet while they are

sweeping, they also sweep away your chances of ever getting married. In addition, you are never

supposed to sweep your house at night. It is believed that you will sweep your good luck away.

19) Cats are untrustworthy

In the Netherlands, private matters should not be discussed when a cat is in the room. People

believe that cats are untrustworthy and spread gossip.

20) The Spooky Numbers 4 and 17

In Japan, it’s the number 4, not 13, that makes hearts race. The number four is considered

inauspicious because it is pronounced the same as the word for death (shi). Therefore, one should

not make presents that consist of four pieces, etc. In some hotels and hospitals the room number

four is skipped, to prevent guests and patients from unnecessary pessimism.

21) Russian people have a lot of superstitions about travelling:

1) After someone has left on a long journey, his/her room should not be cleaned up until he/

she has come back home.

2) It’s bad luck to return home for forgotten things. It is better to leave what was forgotten

behind. If you must return, you also must look in the mirror before leaving again.

3) If it's raining when you begin a journey, it is good luck.

4) If you leave something behind, it means you are coming back.

WORKSHEET N°4

Homework:

Read the passage about superstitions and complete using the following word/ words:

animals old wives’ tales religious ladder irrational folklore

A superstition is anything that people believe that is based on myth, magic, or __________thoughts.

They are beliefs that are immersed in ____________ or tradition, and it is usually difficult to trace

the exact origin. Superstitions are also known as “______________”, legends, and traditions. They

may involve ____________, graveyards, ghosts, inanimate objects, or even other people.

Most superstitions start in fact, and then become distorted over years and years of use. Others

formed from ____________beliefs. For example, a popular superstition, that it is bad luck to walk

under a ____________, came from Christian religion. The ladder makes a triangle with the wall and

ground, representing the Holy Trinity. Walking through the triangle, under the ladder, meant that

you were in league with the Devil, and this could lead you to be condemned as a witch.

HAND-OUT N°4

It is bad luck if this animal crosses your path. black cat

It means good luck if you cross these. fingers

It is bad luck if you walk under this. ladder

It is bad luck if you break this. mirror

This animal's foot brings good luck. rabbit

It is bad luck if you spill this on the table. salt

It is bad luck if you open this indoors. umbrella

You knock on this to keep bad luck away. wood

It is a very unlucky day. Friday 13th

You say this when a person sneezes. “God Bless you”

It brings good luck if it hangs outside your house. horseshoe