Методическая разработка урока английского языка по теме "Customs and traditions of Great Britain: holidays"

Customs and traditions of Great Britain: holidays.

1. Good morning, students! Good morning our guests! You may take your seats!

I am glad to see and greet you all at the lesson again. Our today's lesson is unusual because we have guests here. They would like to see our work and how you know English. 

- Before we start a new topic of today's lesson, please tell me, what is the name of our main theme?

Student - Our main theme is called “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.

-Yes, you're right. We have already known a lot about this country: its geographical position, industry, its political system. But every country and nation has its own traditions and customs. And it is very important for us to know them. Why do you think it is necessary?

Students

1. They are part of people’s culture and history. They make a nation special.

2. It is very important to know customs and traditions of different peoples, especially if you want to know their language.

3. We can’t say that we know English if we don’t know English traditions.

4. They are very important in the life of English people.

That is fine. The British are proud of their traditions and keep them carefully. To know customs and traditions means to understand better the people and their culture. That’s why we are going to know more about them today.

2

Traditions and customs of Great Britain

. When you hear the word-combination «traditions and customs of Great Britain», what comes to your mind? Olga, go at the blackboard and write down all associations.

Royal family Five o’clock tea Fish and chips Football Red telephone box

Queen Christmas Halloween Tennis London buses

So there are many kinds of celebrations in Britain, ranging from royal to religious and from traditional to modern.

- What other British holidays do you know?

Students

Christmas, Halloween, Easter, New Year, St. Valentine's Day.

So, the topic of our lesson is british holidays.

And now watch a video and name all British holidays that you haven’t mentioned. Work in pairs. Make notes, please.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you need to watch the video one more time?

Well. Let’s begin!

How can we translate the name of this holiday?

What holiday is it?

Translate it into Russian, please.

3. And now look at the screen. What holidays are presented there? Why do you think so?

New Year's Day, Boxing Day, St. Valentine's Day, Shrove Tuesday, Mother’s Day, Good Friday, Easter, April Fool's Day , St George's Day, Father's Day, Halloween, Guy Fawkes' Night, Christmas.

- Why was it very easy for us to guess these holidays?

4. Each holiday has its own characteristics, its own symbols, its own traditions. Fill in the table with the symbols of some British holidays. Use the following phrases. I’ll give you five to do this exercise. Well, time is up. Ex.3

1) In my opinion … the symbols of ……are …..

2) There are many things associated with …. They are ….

-       pumpkins

-       egg rolling game

-       sweet hearts

-       a fir tree

-       Santa Claus

-       painted eggs

-       Resolutions

-       roast turkey

-       funny costumes of witches, ghosts and skeletons

-       Queen`s  speech

-       Bunny (a rabbit)

- a house party

-       fireworks

-       the tradition of receiving gifts (presents)

-       fluffy chick

-       cards without a sign

-       pudding

-       hot cross bun

-       church services

-       «trick» or «treat»

-       stockings

-       outdoor decorations

- chocolate

- flowers

- red roses

New Year`s Day	St. Valentine`s Day	Easter Day	Halloween	Christmas Day

5. And do you know when do British celebrate these holidays? Match the dates with the names of the holidays. Work in chain. Use the following phrases to answer the question.

1) I think the British celebrate…... on the……..

2) I believe that ……. is celebrated on/in ……

New Year's Day Boxing Day St. Valentine's Day Shrove Tuesday Mother’s Day Easter April Fool's Day St George's Day Father's Day Halloween Guy Fawkes' Night Christmas

the 1st of January the 26th of December the 14th of February on Tuesday in February or March on the day before Ash Wednesday in March, three weeks before Easter in April or May the 1st of April the 23rd of April the third Sunday of June the 31st of October the 5th of November the 25th December

1. Read the following texts and guess what holiday they describe. Explain your choice. Write down the key-words.

 1)  For more British families, this holiday is the most important festival of the year. It combines the celebration the birth of Christ and the traditional festivities of winter.   On the Sunday before churches hold carol services. Carol singers can be heard on the street as they collect money for charity. People decorate their houses with a holly wreath and put a fir tree.  Children find presents in their stockings.    

2)      This holiday means «holy evening». At parties people dress up in strange costumes and pretend they are witches. People make up lamps of pumpkins and other vegetables. Some children dress in white sheets, knock on doors and ask if you would like a «trick or treat». If you give them some money or some sweets, a «treat», they go away. If not, they play a «trick» on you, such as making a lot of noise or splashing water in your face!

3)      The name of this holiday comes from “Eostre”, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ; many people celebrate the beginning of spring. This holiday is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring. That’s why it’s on a different date each year.

     People dye eggs in various colours. Bunnies, chicks, lambs and flowers are associated with it because they are born in the spring. Egg rolling game is very popular.      

4)  There is a lot of dancing, eating and fireworks. Before the holiday people write the «resolutions», the list of the things should be made next year. On this day people usually visit their friends. In Scotland they bring a piece of coal for good luck.

Holiday	Key-words
1)
2)
3)
4)

7. All British holidays can be divided into several types. And what types of holidays do you know? Match the terms in the box with the definitions.

A public holiday	is an often periodic celebration or program of events or entertainment having a specified focus.
A religious holiday	is a day when almost everyone in a particular country does not have to go to work or school.
A festival	is a day celebrated to help followers of the confession remember important events from their history.

What public holidays in Great Britain can you name? And what about religious holidays? What are they? What festivals in Great Britain do you know?

8. In small groups choose one of the holidays from the diagram below and make a short presentation of it.

Boxing Day St. Valentine's Day Shrove Tuesday April Fool's Day Guy Fawkes' Night

Useful phrases: This holiday is celebrated on/in …. It is ….. It is dedicated to…. It is the traditional day to …. The origin of this holiday is rooted …. The symbol(s) of this day is/are…. In this day British people usually …

Useful words: 1. the following day after Christmas Day, the 14th of February, Tuesday in February or March on the day before Ash Wednesday, the 1st of April, the 5th of November. 2. a national holiday in England, the most romantic holiday, a day also known as Pancake Day; not a national holiday;  one of the most popular festivals in Britain. 3. giving money and gifts; St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers ; pancakes, one of the favorite breakfast foods in Great Britain ; laughter and good sense of humor; the discovery of the so-called Gunpowder Plot 4. to recover from the excesses of Christmas Day and an opportunity to spend time with family, friends, and neighbors; to show their love and appreciation to all those whom people love — parents, relatives and even pets; to eat pancakes and take part in pancakes races; to have fun trying to make other people believe things that are not true; to enjoy bonfires and fireworks displays. 5.  in England in the middle of the nineteenth century under Queen Victoria; in the history of the Roman Empire; rather obscure; rooted in the history of France; in the period of the reign of King James 6. Christmas hampers and different boxes with gifts; hearts, red roses, lace, gloves, rings, chocolate sweets and flowers; rich, tasty foods such as butter, eggs, sugar and fat pancakes with fruits, honey, chocolate and ice cream; different practical jokes and tricks; the figure of a dummy, made of straw and old clothes, called Guy. 7.  go shopping, simply have rest, visit their relatives or friends and give them presents; express love for each other by sending cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery; go to the church and confess their sins to a priest; jokes and tricks on acquaintances, relatives, and Friends, as well as play various small dirty pranks; have a supper or a barbecue in gardens and go about the streets with their faces blackened and wear some fancy clothes.

- I think we’ve done a lot. You were active at the lesson. Now it’s time to discuss the results of our lesson. What have you learnt today? I’ll give you good and excellent marks today.

- Write down your homework, please. Your home task will be to make a short report on one of the holidays of the USA using the information of the lesson and other sources. Pay attention that the same holidays in the USA and the UK have their national peculiarities.

- Our lesson is over. Have a nice day.