Halloween Lesson

The past two weeks' lessons were on Halloween. Each lesson was slightly different from the rest- different levels of English, lots of material. I just went with what seemed to work for the particular group. So, I'll just post all of what I used and leave it at that!

--Started each class by drawing a calendar showing October on the white board and indicating Oct 31. What's this? What's this day?
--Brainstorm words about Halloween
--Show a short series of pictures depicting American Halloween (I googled 'Halloween images' and just chose about 6 of those, plus used a pic of friend's daughter and her Trick-or-Treat haul.)
--Short audio about history of Halloween (this could be worked up in quite a bit more detail; I picked out words/phrases I wanted them to understand and wrote them on the white board as they heard them and then asked the students about them. Also asked if they needed other words explained) note- this is actually a National Geographic video on YouTube but I can only play audio, don't actually have access to the video.
--When using the Dracula text, asked leading questions about vampires first. Read text, cover new words and phrases (there are MANY). They tend to ask a lot of questions about the text itself which lead to discussion.
       The Terrifying Truth About Dracula

How a 15th-century Wallachian prince became a frightening modern legend

by David Johnson

The rugged Transylvanian Alps provide one of the most spectacular landscapes in Europe. Hawks soar around the craggy, snow-covered peaks, while bears and chamois take refuge in the dense forests below. Medieval villages and the ruins of once-proud castles can abruptly materialize through the mist, as if daring outsiders to uncover their secrets.

Transylvania also produced a leader known as a defender of the Christian faith, a Romanian hero, and a subhuman monster. His name was Prince Vlad, but the world knows him by his nickname: Dracula.

The Order of the Dragon

Vlad, or Dracula, was born in 1431 in Transylvania into a noble family. His father was called "Dracul," meaning "dragon" or "devil" in Romanian because he belonged to the Order of the Dragon, which fought the Muslim Ottoman Empire.

"Dracula" means "son of Dracul" in Romanian. Therefore young Vlad was "son of the dragon" or "son of the devil." Scholars believe this was the beginning of the legend that Dracula was a vampire.

Warrior in Chains

Dracula lived in a time of constant war. Transylvania was at the frontier of two great empires: the Ottoman Turks and the Austrian Hapsburgs. Treachery, vindictiveness, and revenge ruled the day, as young Dracula soon discovered.

Dracula was imprisoned, first by the Turks, who hauled him away in chains, and later by the Hungarians. Dracula's father was murdered, while his older brother, Mircea, was blinded with red-hot iron stakes and buried alive.

Vlad the Impaler

From 1448 until his death in 1476, Dracula ruled Walachia and Transylvania, both part of Romania today. Twice he lost and reclaimed his throne, once by fighting his own brother, Radu. Although the Vatican once praised him for defending Christianity, it disapproved of his methods, which soon became infamous.

Dracula earned another nickname, "Vlad Tepes" (pronounced tsep-pesh), which means "Vlad the Impaler." Dracula's favorite method of torture was to impale people and leave them to writhe in agony, often for days. As a warning to others, the bodies would remain on rods as vultures and blackbirds nibbled the rotting flesh.

During one battle, Dracula retreated into nearby mountains, impaling people as he went. The Turkish advance was halted because the sultan could not bear the stench from the decaying corpses.

Another time, Dracula was reported to have eaten a meal on a table set up outside amidst hundreds of impaled victims. On occasion he was also reported to have eaten bread dipped in blood.

Defender of the Faith

At that time it was believed that religious charity, and a proper burial, would erase sin and allow entry to heaven. Dracula surrounded himself with priests and monks and founded five monasteries. Over a period of 150 years, his family established 50 monasteries.

Killed in December 1476 fighting the Turks near Bucharest, Romania, Dracula's head was cut off and displayed in Constantinople.

The Corpse Disappears

Dracula was buried at the isolated Snagov Monastery near Bucharest, which was also likely used as a prison and torture chamber. When prisoners prayed before an icon of the Blessed Virgin, a trap door opened dropping them onto sharp stakes below.

In 1931 archaeologists searching Snagov found a casket partially covered in a purple shroud embroidered with gold. The skeleton inside was covered with pieces of faded silk brocade, similar to a shirt depicted in an old painting of Dracula.

The casket also contained a cloisonné crown, with turquoise stones. A ring, similar to those worn by the Order of the Dragon, was sewn into a shirtsleeve.

The contents were taken to the History Museum in Bucharest but have since disappeared without a trace, leaving the mysteries of the real Prince Dracula unanswered.

--Bad Moon Rising, lyric sheet 

Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival

I see the bad moon arising. I see trouble on the way. I see earthquakes and lightnin’. I see bad times today.

Don’t go around tonight, Well it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise.

I hear hurricanes a’blowin’. I know the end is coming soon. I fear rivers overflowin’. I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

Don’t go around tonight, Well it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise.

Hope you got your things together. Hope you are quite prepared to die. Looks like we’re in for nasty weather. One eye is taken for an eye.

Well don’t go around tonight, Well it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise.

Don’t come around tonight. Well it’s bound to take your life. There’s a bad moon on the rise.

Cover new vocab. Ask questions that get them to come up with word 'omen'. (What is the song about? What is a 'bad moon'? What bad signs does it talk about in the song? What are these things? I keep writing down words and phrases- mostly they come up with it.)

-- Discussion questions about Halloween

What legends about scary Halloween characters do you know?

Do you believe in bad omens? Why or why not? Which ones frighten you or do you believe in?

Tell us about a horror movie you’ve seen or a horror book you’ve read.

What Halloween traditions do you know about and which ones would you like to celebrate in Ukraine?

Tell me about some legendary Ukrainian scary characters.

Some people say that Halloween encourages an interest in devil-worship and the occult. Do you think Halloween is harmful or harmless? Is it ok for Christians to celebrate Halloween?

They tend to love to talk about Ukrainian 'scary' characters. Talking about the various superstitions and how to protect yourself from them is also a favorite.

--Trick-or-Treat Game 

Because they get candy in this game it's a huge hit! To get a little ESL value out of it, I make them read each square aloud when they land on it AND they HAVE to count in English....which is harder to enforce than you might think! This game is photocopied from a book of Holiday Games that we have.

This is the same game Karen referred to here

Idioms used (and which MUST be introduced. This is nearly an entire lesson on its own.)
Death/Dead/Dying idioms (student cards)
Death/Dead/Dying idioms (teacher doc)
Devil Idioms (student cards)
Devil Idioms (teacher doc) 
Sentences to illustrate these idioms 
(Many of the idioms and sentences come from here (death) (devil) although quite a few are my own)

For fun, used this playlist when student were involved in group activities (getting their skits ready, playing the games)