Holidays and Traditions
Class Discussion
Objectives: to involve students in the process of communication in the target language, to teach them to cooperate with classmates, to give them an opportunity to overcome shyness and feel free to express themselves.
INTRODUCTION
Teacher: Do you like holidays? Oh, I know you are very fond of them, especially when you don’t have to go to school or prepare your homework. Holidays bring you so much fun and joy. Am I right?
Students respond.
Warm-up Activity
Teacher: What is the role of holidays in our life? Do you think holidays make our life better?
Students 1, 2: …
Teacher: Do you think a holiday is a perfect change?
Students 3, 4: …
Teacher: Do you think holidays help us to battle with the problems of life?
Students 5, 6, 7: …
Exercise 1
Teacher: I’ll give you some statements, and you decide if you agree or disagree with them. Give one or two further supporting or refuting statements of your own.
1. The ways in which a person spends holidays characterise him.
2. In their leisure time, people do what they really want to.
3. People’s real selves are reflected in their actions.
4. People relax in the way their families want them to.
Teacher: What holidays do we have in Russia?
Students 1, 2: …
Teacher: What holidays do the Americans have?
Students 3, 4: …
Teacher: What holidays do the British have?
Students 5, 6, 7: …
Teacher: Do you want to know more about the holidays in these countries?
Exercise 2
Group work. The class is divided into groups. Each group is given a short text about the holidays in Russia, America, and Great Britain.
Group 1. Text “Ivan Kupala in Russia”.
Group 2. Text “Thanksgiving Day in America”.
Group 3. Text “Halloween in Great Britain”.
IVAN KUPALA IN RUSSIA
This holiday dates back to pagan times in Russia and is associated with the sun, water and fire. People jumped over tall bonfires, which were the common symbols of the holiday. They also bathed in rivers and collected herbs, which held magic powers and protected against diseases. The legend says that fern comes out at Kupala’s Night. Beloved young guys and girls look for it in the forest. Those who find the fern will be happy in their life. Another tradition is associated with telling fortunes. Girls weave wreaths and throw them into the water. They must run along the bank of the river watching who of the young boys catch her wreath. That boy is considered to be her future husband.
THANKSGIVING DAY IN AVERICA
Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November. It’s a time for big family reunions and big dinners, a time to eat turkey, stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. But between endless bites of food, Americans also take time to feel grateful for whatever is good in their lives. Some people thank God, others thank fate or their loved ones. And most people remember the small group of English colonists who gave Americans this delicious and meaningful holiday. Today’s Thanksgiving holiday was inspired by a harvest festival in Plymouth, Massachusetts, almost 400 years ago. The small group of colonists, residents of the second permanent English settlement in the New World, had very little by today’s standards but they were thankful for receiving what they valued most – a good harvest and the freedom to live and worship as they pleased. The Plymouth colonists began their journey to America in September of 1620 on a ship called the “Mayflower”. Some of the passengers were members of a persecuted religious sect. They were called Separatists because they had separated from the Church of England in order to practice their religion in ways they considered closer to the message of the Bible. The other “Mayflower” passengers came to America for non-religious reasons.
HALLOWEEN IN GREAT BRITAIN
31 October is Halloween. This pagan holiday celebrates the return of the souls of the dead who come back to visit places where they used to live. In the evening, there are lots of Halloween parties or fancy dress parties. People dress up as witches, ghosts, devils, cats, bats or anything scary. Houses are decorated with carved pumpkins with candles put inside. Some children follow the American custom called “Trick or Treat”. They knock at your house and ask, “Trick or treat”? If you give them some money or some sweets (a treat), they go away. Otherwise, they play a trick on you, like squirting water in your face.
The leaders of the groups give emotional response to the texts.
Exercise 3
Teacher: I’m sure it will be interesting for you to know about holiday traditions. Keep interrupting one another with questions to get more information about traditions connected with these holidays. Keep in mind the following expressions and rules of interviewing people.
Cards with expressions
Expressing personal opinions:
In my opinion…
From my point of view…
Personally, I think that…
Asking for clarification:
I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand
Did you mean that…
Did you say…
Giving clarification:
Well, what I’m trying to say is…
What I mean is…
All I’m trying to say is…
Round-table discussion about the traditions and holidays in these countries.
Exercise 4. Classroom Surveys
Brainstorming Activity
Teacher: How much do traditions influence your daily life?
Students respond.
Teacher: Is it a positive or negative influence?
Students 3, 4, 5: …
Small-group Work
Each group is given a slip of paper with one questions.
Group 1:
1. What family traditions are celebrated in your family?
Group 2:
1. Do you prefer to celebrate holidays with your family or with others?
Group 3:
1. Is there any connection between the inner climate of the family and the number of family traditions?
Students make sets of questions appropriate for a class survey; interviewing students in the class they record each other’s responses. Then groups present their survey results and give a short summary.
Hometask.:
Follow-up Writing Task:
Teacher: You are experts in celebrating holidays, invent a new holiday, describe the traditions that will be practiced.