Teacher (T): Good morning, boys and girls!
Children (Ch): Good morning, teacher!
(T): Look at the picture. I’m sure you know who this man is. Учитель показывает картинку с изображением Деда Мороза.
(Ch): It’s Santa Claus.
(T): Can we meet him during the summer holidays?
(Ch): No.
(T): Does he come in spring?
(Ch): No.
(T): Then, when can we see him?
(Ch): In winter.
(T): Are you glad to see him?
(Ch): Yes.
(T): Why?
(Ch): He brings us presents.
(T): Presents?! Why? Does he come on holiday?
(Ch): Yes, he does.
(T): What holidays does he come?
(Ch): New Year’s Day.
(T): Look at the blackboard. Let’s complete this spider diagram.
(T): Give me the words that you can think about when you hear “It’s a New Year’s time!”
Pupil (P)1: New Year’s tree.
(P2): Presents.
(P3): Fun.
(P4): Snow.
(P5): Tangerines.
(P6): Sweets.
(T): I see that you all like this holiday. That is the most popular holiday for Russian children. But you know that the most popular holiday for English boys and girls is Christmas. Учитель стирает из диаграммы слово “New Year” и вписывает “Christmas”.
(T): At Christmas English children wait for Santa Claus and get presents. And today I want you to find out some interesting facts about this celebration. Look at the words on the blackboard:
- Custom => Tradition
- Candle =>
- Roast turkey =>
- Christmas stoking =>
Listen to the classmates very attentively and complete the notes:
- Date:
- The history of Christmas began:
- Traditional meal:
- Customs:
(P7): The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before Christ was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the giving of gifts, the candle-light services and traditional carol singers can be traced back to Greek and Roman traditions.
(P8): The British celebrate Christmas on 25th of December. One of the oldest Christmas customs in Britain is decorating houses and churches with greeny – the symbol of everlasting life.
(P9): The Christmas tree is relatively new: it originally came from Germany sometime in the 19th century although it was the Romans who decked their halls with green trees lit with candles. The custom of having Christmas tree became widespread after Prince Albert put one up at Windsor Castle in 1841.
(P10): A traditional Christmas dinner in Britain consists of roast turkey, roast potatoes followed by Christmas pudding and Christmas cake. Another feature of dinner table is Christmas crackers, which contain party hats, jokes and toys.
(T): Thank you. That was very educational. Let’s find out how the children in Britain celebrate Christmas.
(P11): For British children Christmas begins in the middle of the cold, windy month of November. They sit down in the front of the fire and write a letter to Father Christmas telling him about all the presents they want.
(P12): On Christmas Eve, the whole family helps to decorate the house, put up the Christmas tree and the decorations. Before they go to bed, they put their stockings at the end of their beds and try to stay awake as long as possible to see Father Christmas.
(P13): Christmas morning! At the bottom of the children’s beds are the stockings, now full of all kinds of small presents and sweets. After lunch the adults sleep on the sofas in front of Queen’s speech on the television. Then all the family have tea with a huge Christmas cake.
(T): Thank you. Well, now I want to check what you remember. I’ll read you 10 statements, you have to decide are they true (T) or false (F). Write your answers in your copy books.
Quiz.
- Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December. (T)
- Children put their stockings under the table. (F)
- The tradition of putting up the Christmas tree is very old. (F)
- The British always have a roast chicken for Christmas dinner. (F)
- The history of Christmas began 2000 years ago. (F)
- Christmas is always a family holiday. (T)
- In Britain Santa Claus comes at Christmas not New Year’s time. (T)
- One of the oldest Christmas customs in Britain is decorating houses with greeny. (T)
- The British watch the President’s speech on the TV. (F)
- On Christmas morning the stockings are full of presents and sweets. (T)
(T): Let’s check your answers. Учитель читает предложения по одному. Вызываемый ученик дает свой ответ, верно ли утверждение, если он ошибается, другому учащемуся дается возможность дать правильный ответ.
(T): Good work! Now let’s check your notes. Учитель вместе с ребятами проверяет информацию, записанную у них в тетрадях. В этом же упражнении отрабатывается к тому же такой навык, как извлечение и фиксирование информации при прослушивании (note-taking).
(T): Christmas is a happy day. People sing and hear many songs that create the special atmosphere of the holiday. Let’s learn one of them.
TAPE:
- I wish you a Merry Christmas
- I wish you a Merry Christmas
- I wish you a Merry Christmas
- And happy New Year.
(T): I wish you a Merry Christmas – I want your holiday to be happy.
(T): Repeat after me. Учитель произносит по одной строке, дети хором повторяют за ним.
(T): Let’s sing now. Ребята вместе с учителем поют песенку.
(T): Very well! Now I believe you can tell your relatives and friends about this date and congratulate an English boy or girl with his/her favorite holiday.
You’ve all worked hard today. Thank you and Good-bye.