Parade of English traditions

Урок з англійської мови

Тема: Парад англійських традицій.

Мета: удосконалювати знання, вміння, навички, набуті на уроках англійської мови, практикувати учнів у здійсненні усного спілкування, тренувати їх в аудіюванні, розширювати світогляд учнів; виховувати позитивне ставлення до вивчення англійської мови та формувати повагу до традицій країни, мову якої вивчаємо.

Обладнання: сковорідки, млинці, панчохи, плакат з інструкціями для приготування тіста для млинців, гілочка сосни чи ялинки, плакат із завданнями про Різдво та Новий Рік, поштова листівка, комп’ютер для показу слайдів.

Хід уроку

T: Good morning, dear friends, guests, and participants! I am very glad to see you! You are welcome to our party! Today we are going to have unusual lesson a so-called ‘’ Parade of English traditions ‘’. Every country has its own traditions and customs. In Britain traditions play a very important role in the life of people mostly because the British are very conservative. They are proud of their traditions and keep them carefully. Today we are going to present you some of the most popular English traditions. There are many legends about St. Valentine. Legends are stories that are handed down from the past. No one really knows the actual origin of Valentine’s Day. Let’s get acquainted with some versions of this holiday.

P1: Many historians seem to trace it to an ancient Roman festival called “Lupercalia”. This was held on the February, 15^th to honor Faunus the God of animal life, hunting, herding, the patron of husbandry, and the guardian of the secret love of nature. After Christianity spread, some think this pagan festival eventually become St. Valentine’s Day.

Other experts connect Valentine’s Day with Two saints of the early Christian Church. According to one story, St. Valentine was a priest who would marry young couples against the orders of the Roman Emperor Claudius II who believed that single young men made better soldiers. This story goes back to about 200 A.D. There was also another St. Valentine who was a good friend to children. Because he would not worship the gods and decree of the Roman emperor, he was put in prison. While he was imprisoned, the children missed him. They wrote notes and sent them to prison. He also wrote notes from his jail cell to children and friends. He was supposedly executed on February 14^th 270 A.D. Some people think this is why the exchange friendly and carrying messages on this day.

Other believe what the word “valentine” came from a Norman word “galantine”, which means
“a gallant” or a “lover”. Some people connect the celebrating of Valentine’s Day with an old English belief that birds choose their pair on February 14^th.

P2: There are a lot of traditions, customs and games on St. Valentine’s Day. The custom of sending valentine cards start in the middle ages. – Written valentines begun about 1400. The oldest one we know was made in 1415. A Frenchman, Charles, of Orleans, was captured by the English in a battle. He was put into prison in the Tower of London. There he wrote valentine poems. Many of them were saved and can be seen today in the British museum. Now I read one of the poem.

•          My Valentine

by Mary Catherine

I have a little valentine

That someone sent to me

It’s pink and white

And red and blue,

And pretty as can be.

Forget-me-nots are on the edge,

And tiny roses, too, and

Such a lovely piece of lace

The very palest blue.

And in the centre there is a heart.

As read as read can be!

And on it’s written

All in gold, “To you with Love, From Me”.

P3: The idea of the paper time valentines spread through Europe. They begun to take the place of Valentine’s gifts. Nowadays (students) people make their own valentines and present them to their nearest and dearest.

For a long time valentines were made by hand. In the early 1800’s factories began to make valentines. Each valentine card has its own verse or sign. Look at the board, please and read aloud special valentine signs! (надрукувати і почепити на дошку)

1. My love is Endless!
2. Welcome Spring!
3. You are at the top of My list!
4. I’m crazy about you!
5. I Fully agree with you!
6. You Stole my heart!
7. My Heart is Filled with Love for You!
8. Be happy on Mother’s Day!
9. I’ve got My Eye on you!

Another valentine tradition is a lovely tradition of singing songs of love. Such greetings were popular even in the Middle Ages. At the time few people could read or write. Lovers usually sang their valentines to their sweet hearts.

T: Now listen to the song(and lets sign together)(прослухати 1 куплет “My heart will go on”).

P3: Different games are very popular at Valentine’s Day. Now let’s play special games!

1. Find the right word.(На листках на дошці. Прочитати, потім учні з’єднують.)

1. A part of your body    a) Chocolates
2. A heart-shaped     b) Lace
3. A man who cared for people   c) arrow
4. A boy, who shoots arrows   d) Bouquet
5. A kind of flowers     e) smile
6. A bunch of flowers    f) rose
7. A friendly look     g) Cupid
8. Used with a bow     h) St. Valentine
9. A fancy material     i) valentine
10. A kind of candy     j) heart

2. Correct a valentine card contest! (записати на дошці)

Deer Mary!      Dear Mary!

I hope that F(v)alentin’s Dai(y) will bring you lots ou(f) fun! I think(s) you are veri(y) nice. (учні виправляють помилки)

Thank you very much for your active participation.

P4: One of the customs the young people liked was name-drawing. The names of the girls were written on slips (пагін) or papers and put into a jar. Each young man drew a slip. The girl whose name he drew was his sweetheart for a year.

In England in the 1700’s young ladies wrote men’s names on scraps of paper, rolled each in a ball and dropped them into water. The 1^st paper to appear on the surface had the name of the ladies true love.

In Italy a young girl would stand at her window for half an hour before sunrise. The first young man to appear would be her husband. If no one went by, she would not be married that year.

In Germany girls tried another way of learning whom they would marry. They planted onions on St. Valentine’s Day. Each onion had the man’s name. She thought she would marry the man whose onion sprouted first.

A symbol of Love is a Heart, you know but sometimes heart can be broken. In these envelopes there are separate pieces of broken hearts. And on the board you can see a big heart with another pieces of the heart. Please make them alive.(підходить 9 учнів, беруть частинки сердець і з’єднують).(звучить музика “My heart will go on” кінець).

T: Thank you for your presentation and now pupils of the 7^th form tell you about another interesting English tradition – Pancake Day!

P1: Pancake Day is celebrated on Shrove Tuesday in Spring at the beginning of Lent. Lent is a period of 40 days before Easter. Well, on this day on England families usually have pancakes for dinner. At schools the children and teachers have pancakes for school dinner, and in restaurants customers ask for pancakes, too. Everyone knows that pancakes are delicious to eat but do you know how to cook them.( на дошці хаотично прикріплені аркуші з інструкціями для приготування тіста для млинців. Скласти попорядку рецепт приготування млинців).

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.

Make a small hole in the centre of the flour/salt mixture and add the egg.

Now beat the mixture with a wooden spoon, adding the milk gradually until well mixed.

To make pancakes, heat a little butter in an 18cm frying pan with a heavy base.

Wait until the butter is very hot, running it round to coat the sides of the pan. Pour away any surplus.

Pour in a little batter, moving the pan round until there is a thin coating of batter all over the pan.

Cook until the pancake begins to curl round the edges, showing the golden brown color underneath. Ease a palette-knife under the centre and flip it over.

Next fry the other side until it is golden brown, then turn the pancake onto a warm plate and cover.

Continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used, adding more butter each time.

Serve immediately with sugar and lemon juice or fill a sweet or savoury filling.

Let’s arrange the instructions for making pancakes in the right order. OK. Thank you.

P2: So let’s imagine that we have already made our pancakes. Do you know that in England people not only eat them but race with them! Now we are going to have a pancake race at our class. I invite those who will take part in the race (two pupils from two groups). Take the frying pans with pancakes on them. Take places at the end of the classroom. You must run towards me tossing your pancakes 3 times during the race. The winner is a pupil who comes first and doesn’t drop his pancake. So be careful. (перемагає той, хто першим досягає фінішу, не впустивши млинець на підлогу).

Another tradition is the Pancake fight when a cook tosses a pancake high into the air. Two or three boys fight for the pancake. The winner is the boy who gets the biggest piece of the pancake. So, now I invite three pupils to fight for the pancake. Even if you don’t win, you will get a present.(учні підходять до ведучого, він підкидає млинець високо вгору, і кожен намагається відірвати якнайбільший шматок).

T: The winner is the pupil from group … Come here and take your present. And the rest pupils also come to me. I’ll give you presents too. Thank you for your interesting presentation. Take your seats.

You know that in England the most popular holiday is Christmas.

P1: Today we are going to talk about Christmas. The Christmas season is the most festive time of the year in Britain. Students at schools and colleges usually have two week vacation. Although no one knows exactly when Jesus was born, Christians everywhere in the world celebrate his birthday on December 25. Every year the people of Norway give the city of London a present. It’s a big Christmas tree, and it stands in Trafalgar Square. Central streets of London are beautifully decorated long before the holiday arrives.

Christmas is a family holiday. Relatives usually meet for the big dinner of turkey and Christmas pudding. And everyone gives and receives presents.

P2: You see, I’m holding a pair of stockings in my hand. Some of you may think I’m cold and I’m going to put them on. But you’re mistaken. Does anybody know what they are meant for a Christmas? Yes, they are for Christmas presents. Children in Britain put their stockings by the side of the chimney for Father Christmas or Santa Claus to put their present in. Now, let’s peep into our stockings. Will you do it and see if there is a present for you? (ведучі підходять до кількох учнів, пропонує їм заглянути всередину панчох та дістати невеличкі подарунки для себе).

P3: Oh, I see some of you have already got Christmas presents. It’s very good tradition, isn’t it? But there is one more pleasant thing people do before Christmas: they send Christmas Cards to their friends, relatives to congratulate them with the coming year and to express their wishes on this occasion. Now I suggest having a competition for the best Christmas Card. I invite one pupil from each group to come up to me. Here you can see some posters and colored pencils. During three minutes you will be writing a Christmas Card to any person you want. Try to make your message humorous, mind your grammar and spelling. (учні підходять до постерів та пишуть вітальні листівки).

P4: While the participants of our competition are busy writing, I will tell you about the history of sending Christmas Cards.

In the middle 19^th century in London there lived a man, Henry Cole by name. Every year he sent short notes to his friends at Christmas, but in 1843 he had no time for letter writing, so he asked an artist John C. Horsley, to design a card with the printed message that would substitute his annual greeting. His request inspired a billion dollar industry and added a tradition of sending Christmas Cards.

T: Thank you. Now let’s see what the results of our competition are. We should take into consideration spelling, grammar mistakes. Read your message, please. (учні вибирають найкращу вітальну листівку і вітають переможця).

The winner is …

So you’ve got Christmas presents and Christmas Cards. What else do people usually do at Christmas? Yes, they sing carols. Let’s sing carol and see video.

Well our party is over. I am grateful to our participants and all those who help to organize this lesson and our guests too. Thank you for your attention. Good bye!