1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.
Ja'Dell Davis is a Los Angeles native who currently lives in New York City. She works in the Youth Services Department at the Educational Alliance as the Assistant Director for Higher Education Initiatives, where she specifically oversees college prep programming for high school seniors, and academic enrichment programming for middle school students. Ja’Dell previously taught high school in Philadelphia public schools, and implemented college access programming at Chester High School in Chester, Pennsylvania. Ja’Dell received her B.A. from Swarthmore College with a special major in History and Educational Studies, and a minor in Black Studies. She completed her M.S.Ed in Secondary School Education at the University of Pennsylvania. This fall, she will begin her doctoral studies in the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to her work in the education field, Ja’Dell is a dancer, musician, avid people watcher, and Scrabble enthusiast.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: Reading Informational Text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.1Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.2Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.

2. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?
© David Santiago Garcia/Aurora Photos
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?
In 1790, King Bodawpaya ordered the construction of a large Buddhist temple near Mingun, a small village outside of Mandalay in modern-day Myanmar. Prisoners of war and slaves were conscripted to build the temple, but Bodawpaya’s own people didn’t like the toll the massive project put on the general population.
So it’s said that the king was told if the temple was completed, his reign would come to an end – either the country would dissolve or the king would die. The superstitious Bodawpaya took the warning to heart, demanding a slow-down on construction. When he died in 1819, the project was immediately abandoned. A huge earthquake in 1839 caused cracks in the structure, but visitors can visit the ruins of Mingun Pahtodawgyi, a nearly 500-foot tall monument.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?1
Map Search
Find Myanmar, the origin of the superstition followed by King Bodawpaya 2
Web Search
What is a superstition? 3
Thinking
Name superstitions that you are familiar with from your family, culture, or amongst your friends 4
Find a list of superstitions that are commonly recognized 5
Are there any superstitions that seem to come true? Why do you think it seems this way?
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?1
Map Search
Find Myanmar, the origin of the superstition followed by King Bodawpaya 2
Web Search
What is a superstition? 3
Thinking
Name superstitions that you are familiar with from your family, culture, or amongst your friends 4
Find a list of superstitions that are commonly recognized 5
Are there any superstitions that seem to come true? Why do you think it seems this way?
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?1
Map Search
Find Myanmar, the origin of the superstition followed by King Bodawpaya
Using the “maps” link on the Bing page, and the search term “Myanmar”, find the location of this country here: (

8. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?2
Web Search
What is a superstition?
(Possible queries: “what is a superstition”)
From a Bing search:
Superstition:
- irrational belief: an irrational, but usually deep-seated belief in the magical effects of a specific action or ritual, especially in the likelihood that good or bad luck will result from performing it
- irrational beliefs: irrational and often quasi-religious belief in and reverence for the magical effects of some actions and rituals or the magical powers of some objects

9. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?3
Thinking
Name superstitions that you are familiar with from your family, culture, or amongst your friends
Students may share superstitions they are familiar with that come from their family, friends, and/or culture. Some may include ideas surrounding stepping on sidewalk cracks, placing a woman’s purse on the floor, or “splitting poles” as people walk with one another etc.

10. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?4
Web Search
Find a list of superstitions that are commonly recognized
(Possible query: “common superstitions”)
The site lifescript.com ( offers a list of common superstitions which include:
Friday the 13th  – Bad Luck
Walking Under a Ladder – Bad Luck
Breaking a Mirror – Bad Luck
Opening an Umbrella Inside – Bad Luck
Knock Twice on Wood – Reverses Bad Luck

11. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?5
Thinking
Are there any superstitions that seem to come true? Why do you think it seems this way?
Students may share superstitions that seem to be true to them in their experience. Discussion around how their awareness of the superstition affects how true it seems to be.

12. Are there any superstitions that seem to come true?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question.