The legend of Bloody Mary

• Discuss with students the concept of using a currency and why we use money. What were the origins of money and what was used prior to a standardised currency?
• Ask students what currency is used in Australia today? Have them bring examples to school and take rubbings of the coins. They could investigate how currency is minted in Australia and how it is distributed into the community.
• View the Virtual tour in the Currency Museum section of the Reserve Bank website at http://www.rba.gov.au/Museum/VirtualTour/hifi/02_befor_feder_intro.html
• Ask students to find out what currency was used in Minna's time (1860s). Have them compare how these denominations are different from those used today.

• Ask students to research and illustrate Australian coins that were available in the 1860s. They should find information about the significance of the designs used on the coinage (consider both the front and back of each coin) and what each design represented. Students could create their own coinage based on designs of important items from past and present Australia. They could pour plaster into bottle tops and then draw their designs as a relief impression. Students would then paint the coins when dry.
• Have students research newspaper advertisements from the 1860s and gather information about what a grocery item such as a loaf of bread would cost to buy in 1860s.
• Create an imaginary shop where the students can use their coins to purchase items. Students could calculate the total cost of a list of grocery items.

Student Activity Sheet H15.1: Old money

• Ask students to discuss how the clothes worn by the different characters indicate their social status.
• Ask them to identify how the difference between the particular fabrics, hairstyles and clothing reflect the level of wealth and social position of each individual.
• The following websites may be useful:

1. The Victorian Web, 'Victorian Social History: An Overview', http://www.victorianweb.org/history/sochistov.html
2. Victorian Era England, 'Late Victorian Fashion: Women, Men, Girls, Boys', http://www.victorian-era.org/late-victorian-fashion-women-men-girls-boys.html

• Ask students to find examples of fashion and clothing from the Victorian era and make a sketchbook of different styles and clothing pieces. For example, students might find information or pictures of a corset, breeches, petticoat or wig. Students could illustrate their sketchbook with images or draw pictures of the clothing items they found. Students could also write a passage explaining why this piece of clothing was worn and by whom.

Student Activity Sheet H15.2 Fashion and social class

• After watching the clip The legend of Bloody Mary, ask students to list the main events in this part of the story, thinking about what happened, why it happened and to whom. Have students share their responses and discuss, listing the main ideas for further reference. 
• Ask students to indicate by standing on a physical 'opinion continuum' whether they think it is unfair for Minna to frighten the boys. To do this, create an imaginary line across the classroom floor, or use a piece of wool or string to create a line, and then ask students to stand along the line to show whether they agree or disagree with the statement, 'It was unfair for Minna to frighten the boys'. 
• Each student can stand at any point along the line to show the strength of his or her opinion. When asked, each student must be prepared to explain the point of view indicated by their position on the line. Students can change position while listening to each other.

• Ask the students to use Student Activity Sheet E15.1: Scaredy cat to help them conduct research about the legend. They could use the first two columns before they begin their research and fill in the last column after completing the research.
• As a class, research and discuss:

1. What were the children doing at the start of the clip?
2. Had you heard of the legend of Bloody Mary before watching this clip?
3. What is a ha'penny and why was the boy holding it out?
4. What do you need to do to summon Bloody Mary?
5. What sort of mirror was Minna holding that was dropped and broken? Who do you think owned the mirror?
6. Why do you think the boy call Minna a scaredy cat?
7. Why do you think Minna decided to frighten the boys?

• Ask students to invent their own superstition and create a legend around it to justify its existence. The legend could be set in the student's own neighbourhood.

Student Activity Sheet E15.1: Scaredy cat

• After watching the clip, ask students to outline the story it tells. What does that story suggest about the beliefs of the children?
• Replay the clip, this time directing students' attention to the way the filmmaker uses costume, props, setting, camera angles and the soundtrack (including silence) to help tell the story. Then pause the clip to ask questions such as:

1. Why do you think a small, ornate hand mirror was selected as a prop for this clip?
2. Why do you think the boys are wearing suits and the girls are wearing long dresses and hats?
3. Why do you think the soundtrack changes from dramatic music to silence as the boy hands the mirror to Minna? What effect does this have on the viewer?
4. What effect do you think the close-up shot of Minna's eye has when she is under the floorboards?
5. Why might the filmmaker have included a shadowy shot looking up at the boys from beneath the floorboards?
6. How does the dark shot looking past the tree trunk make you feel?

• Organise the class into five groups and ask each group to view the clip several times to closely examine one of the following elements:

1. costume
2. props
3. setting
4. camera angles
5. soundtrack (including silence).

• Ask each group to record their findings on Student Activity Sheet E15.2: Spooky stories and then report them to the class.

• Ask each student to find out more about the legend of Bloody Mary. Suggest aspects they might investigate such as reasons why and how Mary became an evil spirit, the number of times you need to chant her name, the possible effects of chanting her name, and when and where the tale was and is usually told. Ask them to discover if there are any similar legends.
• Challenge each student to find another spooky story and to practice telling it, ready to share with the class. Seat students in a circle to share their findings about the legend of Bloody Mary and ask them to share any other spooky stories they have discovered. Encourage the students to find a mixture of stories from Australian and international sources.
• Ask each student to write a summary in their own words of the legend or story they have researched. These could be compiled into a book of spooky stories made up of contributions from the entire class.
• Alternatively, students could model an image of their spook/ghost or legend out of clay or plasticine. The model could be displayed with the story in the school library.

Student Activity Sheet E15.2: Spooky stories