CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

Празднование Дня Благодарения в
Соединенных Штатах Америки

Цель: ознакомить учащихся с традициями празднования Дня Благодарения – одного из важнейших праздников американской нации; его место в культуре страны изучаемого языка.
Данное внеклассное мероприятие может быть проведено в любом классе, особенно, в старшем звене (9–11кл.), и использовано как в Неделе (Декаде) иностранного языка так и при организации тематического вечера. Думается, при определенной корректировке оно с успехом может быть использовано в среднем и младшем звене.

Задачи:

a) воспитательные: воспитывать у учащихся чувство уважения к истории и культуре страны изучаемого языка (в данном случае – США);

б) образовательные: провести практику речевой деятельности: монологической, аудирования; активизировать лексику по теме “День Благодарения”;

в) развивающие: развитие творческой фантазии и инициативы в осуществлении иноязычной речевой деятельности, а также развитие познавательных интересов учащихся и умения сотрудничать в осуществлении совместной деятельности.

Оборудование: плакаты и рисунки, выполненные руками учеников, книжка-раскладка, демонстрирующая историю Дня Благодарения, материал на доске в виде лексических карточек, кроссворды, тексты с лексико-грамматическим заданием.

ПЛАН УРОКА

I. Warming up:

Teacher: Hello, everybody. Please take your seats. How are you today?

Pupils: We are fine. And you?

Teacher: I am fine. Thanks. Let’s begin our lesson.

II. General part:

Teacher: People have always given thanks at harvest time. They are glad to have food for the winter and celebrate it 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 and have a lot of fun. Now we’ll start! Sasha, Sergey, and Luisa! Please come here and recite your rhymes.

Pupil 1: (reciting rhymes) Thank you
Apples red and melons gold,
Yellow corn both ripe and sweet,
Peas and beans so good to eat.

Pupil 2: Thank you
For all my eyes can see
Lovely sunlight, field and tree,
White cloud boats in sea deep sky,
Soaring bird and butterfly.

Pupil 3: Thank you
For all my ears can hear –
Birds’ song echoing far and near,
Songs of little stream, big sea,
Cricket, bullfrog, ducks, and bee!

Teacher: Thank you very much. You may take your seats. Now Lena, it’s time for you to speak.

Pupil 4: There is one day a year when all Americans stay home with their families and have a big dinner. This is Thanksgiving Day.

Teacher: Let’s remember the history of this holiday. Dear guests! Please pay attention to the display. It was made by our talented artists: Katya, Luisa, and Oksana. Are you ready?

Pupil 5: Thanksgiving started about 350 years ago with the Pilgrims in the fall of 1621.The Pilgrims sailed to America from Plymouth, England in September, 1620.The name of their ship was Mayflower. They were looking for religious freedom. So the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, in what is now the state of Massachusetts in December, 1620.

Pupils 6: The Pilgrims’ first winter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late in the year to grow any crops. Without fresh food many of the Pilgrims died.

Pupil 7: The following spring the Indians taught them 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.

Pupil 8: They prepared a three-day feast of turkey, corn, beans, and pumpkins. They invited their Indian friends who brought food to the feast to share with them too.

Pupil 9: Nowadays Americans still celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the fall. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. And turkey is still the main dish and pumpkin pie is the most popular dessert.

Teacher: Do you know who promoted Thanksgiving as a national legal holiday?

Pupil 4: Thanksgiving became a national holiday because a woman named Sarah Hale for 40 years wrote to each President asking for a holiday of Thanksgiving. At last she succeded.

Pupil 1: In 1863 President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

Teacher: We have some more rhymes. Will you recite them? Please, Lyosha, Dinar, Katya.

Pupil 10: (reciting rhymes)
Apple pie, pumpkin pie, turkey on the dish!
We can see, we can eat everything we wish!

Pupil 11: Grandma’s here, grandpa’s here, cousins bright and gay.
Aunts and uncles share with us, this Thanks-giving Day.

Pupil 4: Thank you God, thank you God!
For good things to eat.
Thank you also for this day
When we with friendly hearts do meet!

Teacher: Are there any symbols or special food for this day?

Pupil 2: Thanksgiving Day is associated with certain symbols, such as a horn of plenty, a turkey or Pilgrim, and Indian figures and food: roast turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, and cranberries or cranberry sauce.

Teacher: Though there are many Thanksgiving recipes, we’d like to offer the simplest ones.
(One pupil delivers recipes of classic roast turkey to the guests.)
You can guess that American children enjoy this holiday. We are glad to present you some simple games.
The simplest one is called “Pin the feather on the turkey”.
(Blindfolded children should try to pin the feather on the tail of the turkey.)
The next game is called “Mr. Turkey”.
(One child sits on a chair in the middle of the circle with his eyes closed. Another child then knocks on the back of the chair. The child on the chair asks, “Who’s there?” The second child then answers, “Mr. Turkey!” The first child must then guess who Mr. Turkey is.)
Do you know what Thanksgiving Quickies is? We are glad to present you this game now.
(First player: “I am going to Thanksgiving dinner and I am having turkey.” Second player: “I am going to Thanksgiving dinner and I am having turkey and stuffing”, etc. Continue repeating and adding. Players forgetting items or changing the order are eliminated.) Thank you. Now let’s review all the facts about Thanksgiving Day. I suggest you take a quiz.

Teacher: Can you add anything to this information?

Pupil 3: This day people do not only have dinner together and go to church to give thanks for the good things that they have. Charitable organisations also serve dinners to needy people. They also send baskets of food to the elderly and sick.

Teacher: We have some more activities. There is a small crossword (see below) devoted to Thanksgiving Day. Look attentively and fill in these spaces across and down with appropriate words. I wonder who is the quickest? (Pupils are working with crosswords.) OK. To sum everything up, I suggest you read a text about Thanksgiving Day. Look through this text and fill in the gaps with the words below it. Read your results. It’ll be the history of this holiday. (Pupils read the text and fill in the gaps.) Well done. Lena, your turn.

Pupil 4: Imagine you are having a Thanksgiving feast. Listen to the sentences what we would do:
(pupils 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are acting out each sentence)

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 the meal.
10. Say: “I am full.” (say and act out with pictures)

Teacher: Thanksgiving is the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season. Shops offer sales and discounts. People begin to buy presents for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas carols are played. To make your spirits bright we shall sing one because Christmas is coming. (All pupils sing “Jingle Bells!”)

III. Rounding off:

Teacher: Now I thank all the participants for taking part in this holiday celebration. I thank you for being so nice and of course you will get excellent marks. The bell has rung. Our lesson is over. Good-bye!

Pupils: Good-bye!

Приложение

Thanksgiving Day

The Pilgrims ... the first Thanksgiving Day in 1621. For ... Americans held Thanksgiving Day on different days.
In 1827 Sarah Hale began a ... to have a Thanksgiving Day celebrated as a national ... . For many years she wrote letters to every ... and other important people.
She finally won the ... of President Lincoln. In 1863, he ... that the last ... in November should be observed as Thanksgiving Day.

The words are: campaign, celebrated, centuries, had, holiday, support, President, Thursday, proclaimed.

By Natalya Kulakhmetova,
Novoagansk, Tumenskaya Region