Related pages :

Superstitions (civilization) :
Conversation Questions - Common superstitions -
Animals - Death - Flowers - Friday 13th and Mirrors - Love - Sports - Theatre

+ Astrology + 'Halloween' + Ghosts + Vampires
+ VOCABULARY Pages

Examples :

• 13 Common (But Silly) Superstitions + 13 Superstitions and Traditions Explained + 13 Strange Things That Happened on Friday the 13th
  (livescience.com)

• Sporting superstitions: Why do we have them? (BBC)

• The Origins of 7 Common Superstitions
  Friday The Thirteenth
  Breaking A Mirror Causes Seven Years Bad Luck
  Knock on wood
  Black Cats
  Walking Under A Ladder
  Throwing Salt Behind Your Shoulder
  Lucky Rabbit’s Foot
  (neatorama.com)

  

• FRIDAY 13th and mirrors :
  
  
  • Superstitions - Mirrors and Number 13 (eslteachersboard.com)
    "If you have 13 letters in your name you will have the devil’s luck."
    Oh dear! I have got 13 letters in my name!!!
    
    
  • What is the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition?
    "FRIDAY has been an inauspicious day for a very long time, and in many varied cultures.
    It has been held to be both unlucky and as a day when evil influences are at work..."
    (wiki.answers.com)
    
    
    
    
• The 7 Most Bizarre Sports Rituals in the World
  (ranker.com)

  

• Palmistry
  (vaastuinternational.com)

  

• Bonsai Trees (tomsvariety.com)
  - with Links to History and Facts
  
  

  	Bring Luck With Lucky Bamboo, Give Luck to a Friend.

• What Superstitions do you have in England? (woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk)

• Old Superstitions :
  Good Luck | Bad Luck | Acting & Stage | Animal | Card | Christmas | New Years Baby | Wedding | New Home | Halloween | General | Hair | Death
  (bored.com)
  
  

• Animal superstitions - (doghause.com)

• Birds as Symbols and Omens (factmonster)

• Death Superstitions (bored.com)
  
  

• Creatures associated with fortune, wealth and wishes (wikipedia)

• Paraskevidekatriaphobia - (macmillandictionary)
  'Touch wood, cross your fingers, and pop that lucky rabbit's foot in your pocket - and there will be an almost five-to-one chance that you will not then be troubled today with paraskevidekatriaphobia ­- fear of Friday the 13th.'
  (Tim Radford, The Guardian, Friday 13th June 2003)

• Salem Witch Trials (school.discovery)
  
  
  
  with The story of the Witch Hunt - a FLASH movie :
  
  
  

• Salem Witchcraft Trials Word Search - interactive (surfnetkids.com)

   

Idioms :

• Knock On Wood by Otis Redding or Eric Clapton
  (elyrics.net)

Listening :

• Friday the 13th - AUDIO
  "Does the phrase "Oh no, it's Friday the 13th!" mean anything to you?
  Does this date fill you with fear, anxiety and foreboding - or is it simply another day on the calendar?
  Whether you're superstitious or not, join us as we try to find out why Friday the 13th is such an infamous date."
  - with the script and a quiz
  (BBC)
  

INTERACTIVE exercises :

• Superstitions
  "Emma, an American assistant in Decize (France), is talking about superstitions in America.
  Listen to her and do the activities."
  Created by Renée Maufroid

  

• Quiz: Friday 13th (BBC)
  
  
  
  
• Superstitions - 20 questions (a4esl)

• Superstitions (British Council)
  "At the top are nine pictures related to superstitions.
  Below the superstitions are explained.
  Can you put the pictures in the right boxes?"

• Superstition game (British Council)

• Star Signs Characteristics -
  "Find out which are the typical characteristics of the Star Signs" (adjectives) - (isabelperez)
  
  

Exercises TO PRINT :

• Ladders and stairs -
  "Write the interview.
  The answers are given, fill in the questions.
  You are a reporter for the large British paper 'The Independent'.
  Recently there have been a large number of accidents relating to ladders and stairs.
  You are interviewing a very superstitious young man.
  What do you ask him about?"
  (fuv.hivolda.no)

Lesson plans :

• Fortune teller
  "This lesson, suitable for pre-intermediate students, follows on from presentation and controlled practice of the future ‘will'.
  It is an extended role-play activity which is simple to set up and fun for the students."
  (teachingenglish.org.uk)

• Superstition forces airline logo change
  - a lesson plan
  (Breaking News English)

  

• Superstitions
  "Take a look at the article, story, cartoon, word games, trivia and links."
  (British Council)

  

Conversation Questions :

• Why do we believe in luck ? Are you a risk-taker ? - an article + a video
  (BBC)

  Take the Big Risk Test (BBC)

  

• Supernatural, Ghosts & Superstitions (iteslj)

Songs :

• Crystal Ball by Keane :
  "Oh, crystal ball, crystal ball,
  Save us all, tell me life is beautiful,
  Mirror, mirror on the wall."
  
  
• Good Luck Charm by Elvis Presley :
  "Don't want a four leaf clover
  Don't want an old horse shoe..."

• Knock On Wood by Otis Redding or Eric Clapton
  (elyrics.net)

• Life by Des'ree - with activities

• My Wish Came True by Elvis Presley

• Superstition by Stevie Wonder :
  "Very superstitious, ladders bout’ to fall,
  Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin’ glass
  Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past."
  + a gap fill writing activity - interactive (esolcourses.com)

• The Witch Queen of New-Orleans by Redbone :
  "she'll put a spell on you..."
  (cduniverse.com)

• What's your sign ? by Des'ree - with activities

Poems :

• SNEEZE
  "Mémorise ce poème et interroge-toi...
  Clique sur le texte pour qu'il s'efface!"
  (Hervé Humbert)

Cartoons :

		Preventing terrorism in the US (cagle.com)
Lucky (tds.net/~waldo)	Bad luck (bottomjob.com)	I wish for... (funnyhub.com)
Can I interest you in nine life policies ? (cartoonstock.com)

INTERACTIVE games :

• Superstitions - interactive crossword
  (BBC)

• Superstition game (British Council)

Stories :

• Lucky escape for crash victim speared by post with four-leaf clover on it
  "Medical staff treating a crash victim who survived being speared through the chest by a fence post found a four-leaf clover stuck to the back...
  The crash survivor now has the four-leaf clover framed on his bedroom wall."
  (telegraph.co.uk)
  
  

Jokes :

• "Teacher: Can people predict the future with cards?
  Student: My mother can.
  Teacher: Really?
  Student: Yes, she takes one look at my report card and tells me what will happen when my father gets home."
  ( Weekly Tips for Teachers )

Videos :

• (Animaniacs) Wakko's Wish - The Wishing Star (You Tube) - UPDATED
  - with lyrics : a few and here (cruzio.com)