CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

Тема: ПРАЗДНОВАНИЕ ДНЯ БЛАГОДАРЕНИЯ В США

Задачи:

Воспитательные

а) воспитывать у учащихся чувство прекрасного;
б) воспитывать уважение к истории США.

Образовательные:

а) провести практику речевой деятельности: монологической, аудирования;
б) ознакомить учащихся с лексикой по теме “День Благодарения”.
а) развивать творческую фантазию, инициативу в осуществлении иноязычной речевой деятельности;
б) развивать межпредметную связь (с историей) и познавательные интересы учащихся.

Оборудование: видеомагнитофон, магнитофон, тематические картины, карта, журналы.

План урока

Announcer: People have always given thanks at harvest time. They are glad to have food for the winter and celebrate with feasting and prayers of thanksgiving. Today we’ll speak about one of the major American holidays – Thanksgiving Day. You will learn some interesting facts, play games, sing songs.

Pupil 1: All in a Word

by Aileen Fisher

Т for time to be together, turkey, talk and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away, home, and health and holiday.
A for autumn’s frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N for neighbours, and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettles’ croon, kith and kin expected soon,
S for sizzles, sights and sounds, and something special that abounds.

That spells THANKS – for joy in  living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.

Announcer:

Discovery of America.

The Europeans wanted to trade with China, but the ways of getting there were dangerous and expensive. 1492, Christopher Columbus left Spain to find a new route to the Far East. He never found China, but he found some islands. He called the people there “Indians”. He had discovered a new world. Amerigo Vespucci was the first to declare it a new continent. The New World was called America in his honour.
Colonists from Spain, France, Holland, England and other countries came to the New World for many different reasons: trade, freedom of religion, political freedom and economic reasons. They founded 13 colonies along the eastern coast of North America.
The first permanent colony was Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. These colonists came from England to try to make money by trading with Europe. They believed they would be rich. Less than half of the colonists of Jamestown survived the first few years.
Listen to the song “America the Beautiful”. It’s about American natural scenery and history.

(Учащиеся исполняют песню.)

Pupil 2:

There is one day a year when all Americans stay home with their families and eat a big dinner. This is Thanksgiving Day. The Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day in the fall of 1621. The Pilgrims sailed to America from Plymouth, England, in September, 1620. They came to America for religious freedom. They were among the first European settlers in America. The name of their ship was the Mayflower. They landed at Plymouth Rock, in what is now the state of Massachusetts in December, 1620.

At first, the passengers enjoyed good weather at sea. But soon, strong winds and fierce storms developed. Our ship, the Mayflower, began to shake and leak. Finally, one of the main beams broke. Some of the passengers and sailors were afraid the ship could not cross the ocean. They wanted to return to England. But others felt confident. “If we do not use all the sails, and if we repair the main beam, we will not sink,” they promised. So everyone put his trust in God, and they all decided to continue. After a long struggle with the sea, the Mayflower came to land. What a joy the Pilgrims had when they realized where they were!

There were people living in America before Jamestown was founded and the Pilgrims arrived. These people were the Native American Indians. The Indians began settling in America about 25,000 years ago. They hunted, fished, and farmed to survive. There were many regional groups, or tribes, and each had its own customs and beliefs.
The Pilgrims’ first winter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow any crops. Without fresh food, half of the Pilgrims died. The following spring the Indians taught the Pilgrims how to hunt, fish, plant, and survive in America. The crops did well, and in the fall of 1621 the Pilgrims had a great harvest. They were thankful and decided to celebrate it with a Thanksgiving feast. They prepared a dinner of turkey, corn, beans, and pumpkins. They invited their Indian friends to share this three-day feast. The Indians brought food to the feast, too (they even brought popcorn!). Americans still celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the fall. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. Turkey is still the main dish and pumpkin pie is the most popular dessert.

Announcer: In the early 1600s, Dutch settlers brought the “Prayer of Thanksgiving” to the New World. It became popular in the colonies and today it’s a traditional Thanksgiving hymn.

Pupil 3:

We Gather Together

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens his will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,
Sing praises to his name: He forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His Kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we are winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, all glory be thine.

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
And pray that thou still our defender will be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

Announcer: American children still sing the song you are going to listen to as they look forward to spending Thanksgiving with grandparents. It was written by Lydia Maria Child in 1860.

Pupil 4:

Over the River

Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandmother’s house we go;
The horse knows the way,
To carry the sleigh,
Through white and drifted snow.

Over the river and through the woods,
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the nose
And bites the toes
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the woods,
Trot fast, my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground
Like a hunting hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river and through the woods,
Now Grandmother’s face I spy.
Hurrah for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

Pupil 5:

Thanksgiving Day is associated with certain symbols and foods. Turkey is part of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, since it is believed that the Pilgrims and Native Americans had turkey at their feast. Cranberries are also part of Thanksgiving dinner, probably because the Pilgrims had cranberries, which they found in the bogs around Plymouth. The cranberry, as it was called, was used for dye, as well as for food.
The horn of plenty, or the cornucopia, is a familiar Thanksgiving symbol. It is a symbol of the earth’s bounty, and reminds us that our food comes from the earth.
Indian corn is used as a decoration. The American Indians taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn, which the Pilgrims used to survive their first winter. To keep hostile tribes from knowing how many Pilgrims had died, the Pilgrims planted corn over graves.

Pupil 6:

Thanksgiving

Thank you
for all my hands can hold –
apples red
and melons gold,
yellow corn
both ripe and sweet,
peas and beans
so good to eat!

Thank you
for all my eyes can see –
lovely sunlight,
field and tree,
white cloud-boats
in sea-deep sky,
soaring bird
and butterfly.

Thank you
for all my ears can hear –
birds’ song echoing
far and near,
songs of little
stream, big sea,
cricket, bullfrog,
duck and bee!

by Ivy O. Eastwick

Announcer: Thanksgiving in America is not only giving thanks to God, one’s country and family members and eating too much, it also has such national entertainment as a Thanksgiving Day Parade and a professional football game broadcast on TV. The Gimbel Brothers started the parade tradition with a parade of toys in Philadelphia in 1920. The famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City is part of the traditional celebration. Millions of people watch it on TV every year.

Pupil 7:

The Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thanksgiving Day is here today,
the great parade is under way,
and though it’s drizzling quite a bit,
I’m sure that I’ll see all of it.

Great balloons are floating by,
cartoon creatures stories high,
Mickey Mouse and Mother Goose,
Snoopy and mammoth moose.

The bands are marching, here they come,
pipers pipe and drummers drum,
hear the tubas and the flutes,
see the clowns in silly suits.

It’s pouring now, but not on me,
I’m just as dry as I can be,
I watch and watch, but don’t get wet,
I’m watching on our TV set.

Announcer: Thanksgiving parades began at Plymouth. At first there were simple displays of arms at Plymouth, then later processions and rituals, especially of firemen and the military.
As for the tradition of a Thanksgiving football game, it is new. During the 1860s and 1870s local baseball games had dominated Thanksgiving holiday afternoons. But by the 1880s American football had become the national Thanksgiving sport. In 1934 the tradition of a professional football game on Thanksgiving was established in Detroit. At first it was broadcast on radio, later on TV.
Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. Even if they live far away, family members gather for a reunion at the house of an older relative. On most tables throughout the United States, foods eaten at the first Thanksgiving have become traditional.

Pupil 8:

Turkeys are as American as apple pie. No other country makes such a fuss about its native bird. But while everyone agrees that the turkey is a perfect food for Thanksgiving, no one seems to be able to agree on the way to cook it. Almost everyone seems to know “absolutely best way” to cook a turkey, and those who don’t, know the best way to eat it.
Though there are many ways of cooking Thanksgiving turkey, the way I’m going to tell you about seems to be the simplest one.
The perfect roast turkey recipe yields a bird that is tender and succulent.

1 turkey
1/4 pound (lb) butter, depending on size of turkey
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/4 cup water
poultry seasoning
5 sprigs parsley
4 stalks celery
3 onions, apples or oranges

Preheat oven.
Rinse the turkey and pat it dry. Sprinkle the body cavity with 1 teaspoon salt and Ѕ teaspoon poultry seasoning, then place in the cavity parsley, diced celery, and onions, apples, or oranges, quartered. Soften butter and rub all over the turkey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place, breast down, on roasting pan with ј cup water. Baste turkey every 20 minutes with pan drippings have accumulated in bottom of roasting pan. Cook 15 minutes per pound if turkey weighs less than 16 pounds, 12 minutes per pound if it is heavier. Turn breast up after 1 hour if the turkey weighs less than 12 pounds; after 1Ѕ hours if the turkey weighs more. After the time is up remove the turkey to a warm platter and cover loosely with a towel or foil. Let cool 15 minutes before carving.

Pupil 9:

Cranberry Pie is a traditional favourite dessert which is but one of array of pies at the annual Thanksgiving celebration.
Mixture:

1 pound (lb) whole cranberries, washed and sorted
2–3 cups brown sugar
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon

In large saucepan, combine cranberries, 2 cups brown sugar, and water. Simmer until cranberries pop and syrup has thickened, about 10 minutes. Add spices and taste. Add sugar if mixture seems too tart.

Pie Shell:

1,5  cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
cup butter
3–4 tablespoon cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in the shortening. Combine lightly. Sprinkle water over the flour mixture, a tablespoon at a time, and mix lightly with a fork, using only enough water so that the pastry will hold together when pressed gently into a ball. Shape the pie shell. Preheat oven.
Spoon mixture into pie shell and bake for 30 minutes.

Announcer: We hope you will make these recipes your own and add your family traditions so that your family and friends can enjoy the most delicious in Thanksgiving eating.

Pupil 10:

Apple Pie

by Else Holmelund Minarik

Apple pie,
Pumpkin pie,
Turkey on the dish!
We can see,
We can eat
Everything we
Wish, wish, wish, wish.

Grandma’s here,
Grandpa’s here,
Cousins bright and gay,
Aunts and uncles
Share with us
This good Thanksgiving
Day, day, day, day.

Thank you, God,
Thank you, God,
For good things to eat.
Thank you also
For this day
When we with friendly hearts
Do meet, meet, meet.

Announcer: Imagine you are having a Thanksgiving feast. Read sentence by sentence what we would do.

1. Set the table.
2. Take the roast turkey out of the oven.
3. Put all the food on the table.
4. Call your family to the table: “It’s time to eat!”
5. Sit down. Put your napkin on your lap.
6. Say prayers.
7. Carve the turkey.
8. Serve each person.
9. Enjoy.
10. Say: “I’m full.”

Announcer: People usually go to church in the morning or in the evening. At these services prayers and psalms are both spoken and sung. Some of the prayers are older than Thanksgiving Day itself; “The Aztec Prayer” originated in the 1500s. Others, like “Prayer Before Eating” of Arapaho Indians, of Minnesota, Wyoming and Colorado date well after the first Thanksgiving.
Try an old Thanksgiving ritual this year. Start your meal with the joyful noise of thanksgiving.

Pupil 11:

Arapaho Prayer Before Eating

Our father, hear us, and our grandfather. I mention also
all those that shine, the yellow day, the good wind,
the good timber, and the good earth.

All the animals, listen to me under the ground.
Animals above ground, and water animals, listen to me.
We shall eat your remnants of food. Let them be good.

Let there be long breath and life.
Let the people increase, the children of all ages,
the girls and the boys, and the men of all ages and the women,
the old men of all ages and the old women.
The food will give us strength whenever the sun runs.
Listen to us. Father, Grandfather.
We ask thought, heart, love, happiness.
We are going to eat.

Announcer: All people give thanks for the good things that they have. In this spirit of sharing, people and charitable organisations offer a traditional meal to those in need, the homeless.
Imagine the situation: you are at a Thanksgiving table. What would you express thanks for?

Возможные варианты ответов учащихся:

– I thank my friend because she understands me.
– I am thankful for being given a chance to meet so many good people.
– I thank my mother because she supports me in difficult situations.

Time for Fun
Music and Movement

These songs and dances tell about Indian and Pilgrim children.
Use pantomime to show the actions in this song sung to the tune of “The Mulberry Bush”.

This is the way we beat our drum,
Beat our drum, beat our drum,
This is the way we beat our drum,
We are the Wampanoag.
(Continue with these verses: plant our corn, grind our corn, wash our clothes).
Thanksgiving Action Poem

– When the Pilgrims sailed to this new land,
(put one arm out to represent land, use the other arm to make a boat sailing on “bumpy waves”)

– They met a friendly Indian band.
(clasp hands in a handshake)

– The Indians taught them to plant, hunt and fish,
(sow seeds, shoot arrows, cast fishing pole)

– Then they all had a feast with many a tasty dish.
(make eating gestures and pat stomach contentedly).

Announcer: Thanksgiving is the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season, and in many cities and communities Thanksgiving marks the arrival of Santa Claus. Salesmen offer sales and discounts. People begin to buy presents for Christmas. Christmas carols are broadcast. To make your spirits bright we shall sing one because Christmas is coming.
(Jingle Bells)

Announcer: I thank all the participants for taking part in the holiday celebration. I thank you for being so nice, helpful. I hope you’ve learned much about Thanksgiving traditions and, of course, you will get excellent marks.

С.П. МАРТЫНЕНКОВА,
гуманитарно-технический лицей № 60,
г. Уфа, Башкортостан