BLACK FRIDAY: AN EFL LESSON PLAN

 CONSUMERISM

Black Friday  "is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States (the fourth Thursday of November), often regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season." 




- Initial questions to introduce the topic:

Do you…………...?
a. buy discounted goods b. return goods c. do online shopping d. have a budget when you go shopping e. like waiting in line f. bargain g. like window shopping h. try on clothes i. use a shopping cart j. go shopping alone



- Watch a video so that students can understand the craziness of Black Friday HERE (2 min)

- Answer the poll on shopping HERE Students can also ask and answer the questions in pairs.


Cyber Monday: Cyber Monday is a marketing term for the Monday after Thanksgiving in the United States. The term "Cyber Monday" was created by marketing companies to persuade people to shop online.

RECOMMENDED ESL LINKS AROUND THE TOPIC CONSUMERISM:

ESL Discussions: Discussion questions on "Consumerism"
ITESLJ: Conversation questions on money and shopping
ESL Library: ESL Podcast: How Much Stuff Do We Need?
Breaking News English: Men Suffer from Shopping Too! - reading and activities
YouTube: The Story of Stuff 
Teaching English: Consumer - Society Lesson Plan
ESL Right Now: Consumerism-supermarket-psychology lesson plan
ESL Ect: Reading activities on Black Friday and Consumption
ESL Video: 10 minute documentary on consumerism
ESL Holiday Lessons: Reading and activities on Buy Nothing Day
ESL Lab: Short video with 3 questions on Black Friday
YouTube: What is Black Friday All About! Watch and discuss
ESL Fast: Black Friday reading with follow up activities
English Blog: Reuters Video on Cyber Monday with full script
English Post: Reading on Black Friday and Cyber Monday with questions
Daily Infographic: Learn all about Cyber Monday - get your students to write summary sentences

Other interesting resources:

You can listen and read different dialogues at a shop HERE


Really good activities on being smart when shopping (for advanced students) HERE

The smart teen shoppers quiz HERE

THANKSGIVING ACTIVITIES FOR THE EFL CLASS

Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November. It is a federal holiday in the US, so schools, banks, post offices, and government offices are closed. Thanksgiving was the first holiday celebrated in America. It was first celebrated in the autumn of 1621 when the Wampanoag Indians and the pilgrims got together for a three-day feast and festival of fun. Today, families celebrate Thanksgiving by eating turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams, corn, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and an NFL football game are special Thanksgiving Day events.

What is Thanksgiving?

• It is a federal holiday that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

• The first Thanksgiving was in 1621 when the pilgrims invited the Indians to a three-day feast to celebrate the autumn harvest.

Who were the pilgrims?

• The pilgrims were a small group of people who sailed to North America in order to start a new life.

• They sailed on the Mayflower ship and landed on Plymouth Rock.

• They wanted religious freedom.

The following activities are intended to cover at least a complete lesson:

- The journey on the Mayflower: Watch and listen HERE

- The first Thanksgiving: Watch and listen HERE 

If you don't have much time to talk about Thanksgiving you can do the following one:

- Listen and read about Thanksgiving. Fill in the gaps. HERE
                                                              Comprehension check HERE

Recipes

Thanksgiving Recipes for KidsKids can help mom, dad, brother, or sister make sweet potato pie, marshmallow pilgrim hats, and turkey cookies.

Pass the Dessert: America's Thanksgiving Recipes Find seven recipes for old fashioned Thanksgiving desserts and listen to an audio clip as the some of the finished recipes are tasted and rated.

Online Quizzes

Turkey Trivia Quiz
Answer 20 questions on the turkey and have your quiz graded.

Thanksgiving QuizTake and grade these 10 question quizzes.

Thanksgiving TriviaTest your Thanksgiving savvy with this 80 question trivia test.

REMEMBER, REMEMBER.... THE 5th OF NOVEMBER!

Bonfire Night  

Bonfire Night is a uniquely British event when we celebrate the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot against the King and Parliament in the early 17th Century.

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot,

We see no reason,

Why gunpowder treason,

Should ever be forgot!

Glossary HERE

Primary

Gunpowder Plot Comic Kit

A build-your own comic kit based around the gunpowder plot – a set of professionally drawn images that can be rearranged to create comic strips, posters, colouring sheets and much more. Ideal for creating worksheets for students – or even get the kids involved and have them build their own story!

Bonfire Night Lesson Plan
Bonfire Night Activities

A bonfire night lesson plan and a wide range of activities covering fireworks safety and the gunpowder plot. There are several interactive quizzes and games to get the kids thinking about the origins of Bonfire Night – and about how to stay safe when they’re celebrating!

Secondary

Guy Fawkes Lesson Plan
Gunpowder Plot Presentation

A detailed lesson plan and presentation covering Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. The presentation would work well as part of a lesson on the history of the plot or as a the basis for a special assembly.

Who was James I?

This is a great set of resources, comprising a presentation and activities aimed at getting kids to start thinking critically about the reliability of different sources of information.

Investigation into the Gunpowder Plot – Easy

Investigation into the Gunpowder Plot – Difficult

Two stunning resources based around an investigation into the Gunpowder Plot, and whether the plotters were framed. Great for getting students really engaged in the topic and encouraging critical thought. 

Bonfire Sticks Recipe

Toffee Apples Recipe

Baked Potatoes

Fancy cooking with your students? These recipes are very easy to follow!

Post-Secondary

Do the webquest and the worksheet that you'll find HERE

Resources to practise literacy skills:

[Story]
[worksheet]
[News report - no punctuation, newspaper layout] 
[News report - no punctuation, no layout] 
[News report - punctuated, no layout] 
[News report - punctuated, newspaper layout (finished sample)]

HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES FOR THE ENGLISH CLASS (ESO)

October 31st. It's Halloween! Halloween isn't just costumes and candy; it's a cultural holiday rich in tradition!

When you think of the holiday, what images come to mind? Do you think of pumpkins carved into jack-o-lanterns? Do you picture costumed kids running from house to house yelling, "Trick or treat?"


LISTEN HERE to know more about the history of Halloween (03:11). You'll find a worksheet to check your students' comprehension of the text  HERE



Do you believe in ghosts? Do you enjoy scary stories? Do they give you nightmares? 

You can divide the class in groups of 4 max. and give a different scary story to every student in the group, so that every student can read and retell a story to the rest of the group. (You'll find many ghost stories HERE) 


LET'S TALK! Questions to promote interaction in the English class 

Do you celebrate Halloween?

Do you think all countries should celebrate Halloween?

Do you think it’s dangerous for children to go trick-or-treating?

Why don’t Christians celebrate Halloween?

What do you think is the best costume for Halloween?

Do you think Halloween was better a few decades ago or is it better now?

How old is too old to go trick-or-treating?

Do you think Halloween is scary?

What would an alien think of humans if it came to Earth and saw Halloween?

What do you think the black and orange colors of Halloween mean? 

What do you think about Halloween?

What do you know about the history of Halloween?

How does Halloween affect American culture?

What do pumpkins have to do with Halloween?

Why do people trick-or-treat on Halloween?


Do you think it’s dangerous these days to open your door to a trick-or-treater?

How did Halloween get its name?

What’s the best Halloween movie you’ve seen?

What are the best Halloween games?


What is the best Halloween food?

Some optional exercises for those whose classes are not up to speaking that much:


A spooky activity to practise past tense verbs!
Complete the story with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. 

It was a dark and stormy night, just after midnight. It 1__________ (rain) heavily and every time the lightening 2__________ (flash), you could see the outline of the dark, winter trees. Earlier in the evening, Ron and his five friends had collected a bag of candy and were excited about eating it. They 3__________ (hop) over the locked fence and ran through the muddy schoolyard on their way to the empty old school. Then, they suddenly 4__________ (remember) stories of the ghost teacher. “We shouldn’t go in!” Ron shouted, but the others 5__________ (not stop). He had to follow. They 6__________ (find) an empty classroom. It was cold and dark. The boys 7__________ (break) the old wooden desks so they could build a fire. Some boys 8__________ (build) the fire, and others put on loud music. They started playing - throwing chalk, yelling, drawing pictures on the board and singing. They 9__________ (not notice) that a dark, scary form was slowly appearing behind the desk. It was the ghost teacher! He 10__________ (frown) and his eyes were red. He screamed loudly as he rushed towards the boys. The frightened boys 11__________ (run) out of the building. They never went there again



Idioms related to the topic:

Read the sentences below. The underlined words are idioms. Match the idiom with its meaning:


1. I don’t recommend that horror film. It will scare the living daylights out of you! 
2. My old car finally gave up the ghost, so I’ll have to buy a new one. 
3. When she saw the dark shadow in the moonlight, she was scared stiff. 
4. What’s the matter? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost! 
5. Oh, don’t be such a scaredy-cat. Nothing bad is going to happen. 
6. That spooky old house gives me the creeps. 
7. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It will come back to haunt you. 
8. No one lived there anymore. It was a ghost town.

be a mistake 
very frightened 
coward 
make (someone) uncomfortable 
make (someone) scared 
very white, pale 
deserted 
stopped working 

Online Horror Story Plot Generator.

Advanced students can write their own spooky story following a template. You'll find it HERE

Advanced students can also read books full of scary stories. Click HERE to read online or download some of them. 

A bit of Ireland!

St. Patrick's day!