Myths that we still believe in!

Class Aims To understand what a myth is from last lesson. To see how myths have changed the way we view things in modern times.

Goal Setting In your books, read through the comments I have made about the work you have done so far. Write down under today’s lesson: Goals for English 2 things you have done well 2 things you need to improve on 1 thing you need help with in English/ or would like to do.

What I remember from last lesson Starter In your books draw a quick spider diagram: What I remember from last lesson

Thinking Time Can any one think of a myth related to today? If you can write it down in your book!!

Friday 13th! Today is Friday the 13th, the most superstitious day of our calendar! Why do you think Friday the 13th is seen as unlucky?

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is seen as unlucky because it is a myth! The myth surrounds the number 13, what other myths are related to the number 13 that you can think of?

Interesting Friday Facts Write out ... Write out in your books a spider diagram, and for each slide we go through regarding Friday the 13th I want you to write down one interesting thing: Interesting Friday Facts

Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the term used for the specific fear of today – Friday the 13th! 5-6 million people are said to suffer from this in the UK! Can you list other myths like this?

The Calendar There is always at least one Friday the 13th in each year. In some years there are two. Rarely there are three. Most recently 1998 had three.

Count the letters in your name. Jack the Ripper Charles Manson Ted Bundy If you have 13 letters in your name you’ll have the devil’s luck. Saddem Hussein = 13 letters.Captured on 13th December.

Is it coincidence or is it myth? In your books I want you to write down whether you think Friday the 13th is a myth or it is really unlucky! I think Friday the 13th is .................... Because ...................................................

The origins of the myth Primitive man had only 10 fingers and 2 feet so could count no higher than 12. What came beyond that – 13 was an impenetrable mystery hence an object of superstition. Persistent old instincts – even today we stop at 12 x 12 in school multiplication tables – for no real reason.

Is Friday unlucky too? Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles). Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive. Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays because Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Additionally, some theologians hold that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit on a Friday, and that the Great Flood began on a Friday.

Myths of Tradition There are 13 witches in a coven Tarot – number 13 is the card of death, meaning change Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.

Old Fashioned you say? In many hotels and skyscrapers, there is no 13th floor Most airplanes have no seat No. 13. In Italy, it is usual to leave out 13 in numbering the lottery tickets. Thirteen for dinner? Not in France. A party of thirteen can hire a professional a fourteenth person, from an agency. In some big hospitals, there is no Operating Room 13, to spare the patient added anxiety being wheeled into Room 13.

Against Friday the 13th? Ultimately, the complex folklore of Friday the 13th doesn't have much to do with people's fears today. The fear has much more to do with personal experience. People learn at a young age that Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, for whatever reason, and then they look for evidence that the myth is true. The evidence isn't hard to come by, of course. If you get in a car wreck on one Friday the 13th, lose your wallet, or even spill your coffee, that day will probably stay with you. But if you think about it, bad things, big and small, happen all the time. If you're looking for bad luck on Friday the 13th, you'll probably find it.

Is it true? Now we can see the many ways in which the myth of Friday the 13th has been made up, do we believe it?

Before You Go! Have any unlucky things happened to you today? Write them down!