Online Friendly ESL Discussion Worksheet: Myth of Arachne

Halloween is the best time of year to watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, don’t you think? It’s the spiders… Those creepy crawly spiders… Ever wonder where they came from? Well, if you’re a science nerd, this worksheet won’t help you out. But if you’re a fan of mythology then read on! Enjoy this ESL discussion worksheet on the myth of Arachne as an interactive PDF for your online classes or offline as a printable.

Today you and your students will be talking about the myth of Arachne from Greek mythology, AKA the origin of the very first spider.

If you like warmers (it’s basically my favorite part of the lesson), ask your students to try and name some of the gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon and their fields of influence. The first few are easy, but the true mythology geeks will quickly show themselves! Not super familiar with the Pantheon yourself? Here’s a simplified family tree from National Geographic: Click here >>

After the warm-up, start by distributing the PDF to your students and follow the directions.

1. Watch the video once and ask your students to tell in their own words the lesson from the story. The link to the video is also on the PDF.
2. Look at the vocabulary on the PDF and answer any questions.
3. Watch the video again, this time with the subtitles because there are quite a few new words for your students in here that will make more sense in context. Then answer the questions on the PDF in pairs.
4. Put students in pairs to perform the speaking activity.
5. At the end, put your students in pairs or small groups to do the group activity where they will give punishments to 21st century mortals.

The video: https://youtu.be/XvUHcsZOhJ8

We hope you enjoy this ESL discussion worksheet on the myth of Arachne 🙂

Looking for more spooky topics for Halloweek? Check out our other Halloween activities >>