Urban Legends

Tick the facts about spiders that are actually true. (The others are urban legends.)

• Female spiders can lay up to 3000 eggs at a time.

• The average person swallows eight spiders per year.

• Some spiders can jump up to fifty times their own length.

• You are never more than three feet from a spider.

• Spiders can lay eggs under human skin.

When did the legends about alligators in New York's sewer system first begin?

• 1880s

• 1900s

• 1930s

• 1970s

An urban legend is a made-up story that is told as if it's ____________.

Which of these are common features of urban legends?

• Familiarity (e.g. a setting you know, a common object, a link to someone you know)

• Factual (sometimes scientific) language.

• Vague references to authorities (e.g. the police).

• Terrifying, descriptive metaphors and similes.

• Direct speech.

Which of these is an example of a supernatural being?

• Your English teacher

• The person sitting next to you

• A ghost

• A person with hooks for hands

Give one example of a time connective (one word) implying that not much time has passed between the previous event and the next.

Explain, in your own words, how urban legends often end, and what effect this has on the reader/listener.

Which types of sentence structures work best when you're telling an urban legend?

• Mostly very short sentences to make it sound factual.

• Consistently mid-length sentences to add detail but not bore the reader.

• All very long sentences to develop descriptions.

• A mix of different sentence lengths to build tension by varying the pace.

How well have you understood the topic so far?

• Very well

• Quite well

• I need to revise a little

• I need to revise a lot

• I need some help from the teacher