(3) How to Celebrate Diwali. Valentine's Day Is Almost Upon Us! Kids News Article. A British Easter: Traditions. Easter Facts For Kids. Unique Valentine's Day Traditions From Around The World Kids News Article. Learn English through Story: Halloween history with subtitles. Halloween Facts for Kids | Fun for ALL Children! Halloween History - Animated for Kids. Learn American Holidays - Halloween. British English Holidays - Halloween. Halloween in The USA - Haunted and Scary Travel Destinations. Intermediate English - Superstitions About Friday The Thirteenth. Webquest: Halloween: History and traditions.
By Luke Vyner This spooky webquest includes activities on popular Halloween traditions, global celebrations and terrifying tales. Warmer What do you know about Halloween? Activity 1: Halloween’s history Visit www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween and read the first section entitled Ancient origins of Halloween. Look for the answers to these 13 (unlucky for some) questions. Where is the celebration of Halloween thought to have come from? Discussion Are you surprised by the history of Halloween? Activity 2: Popular Halloween traditions Jack-o’-lantern Read the introductory paragraph at www.history.com/topics/jack-olantern-history and describe the jack-o’-lantern tradition to your partner.
The jack-o’-lantern tradition originated from which Irish myth? Apple-bobbing Read the first paragraph of this website link about the rules of apple-bobbing: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_bobbing. How do you set up the game? Trick-or-treating Have you ever practised any of these traditions? Live from London: Halloween. By Luke and James Vyner Set in Kings Cross, London, this video includes interviews with Londoners talking about Halloween and things they find scary. Note: If your device isn’t Flash compatible, then click on the link under ‘Related files’ at the bottom of the page to download the video. You can then play it through the media player on your device (e.g. iTunes).
We’ve put together a video for you to use as part of a Halloween-themed lesson. Get your students’ attention by playing the video as a warmer and then after a few comprehension questions, ask your students to discuss the same questions in pairs or small groups. If you’d like more ideas for how you can use these videos, have a look at the rest of the Live from London video series. There are plenty of video ideas under each video. Or if you’d like more Halloween resources, go to our special Halloween collection where you’ll find downloadable lesson plans, worksheets, audio and video. Related Resources. Christmas Customs and Christmas Traditions, The History of Christmas -- whychristmas?com.
A Christmas card from England. Video Of The Week - The History Of Thanksgiving. By Meera Dolasia on November 24, 2014 CCSSNCSS-1Grades: K-3Grades: 3-8Word Search On November 27th, North Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving, an annual holiday during which families and friends get together for a scrumptious feast and reflect on all the things they are grateful for. The ancient tradition dates all the way back to 1621, when the pilgrims celebrated their first harvest with a feast that lasted for three days. While most people are aware of that, very few know that the holiday was once celebrated several times a year or that Thanksgiving as we know it today, is possible thanks to 19th century writer, Sarah Josefa Hale.
Though best known for the nursery rhyme "Mary had a little lamb", it is her 20-year crusade that led President Abraham Lincoln to make a proclamation on October 3rd, 1863, declaring the last Thursday of November, as the "Day of Thanksgiving" for entire United States of America. Article Comprehension:Who started the tradition of Thanksgiving? Pumpkin Carving Maestro Ray Villafane Creates Yet Another Masterpiece. No Halloween celebration would be complete without a peek at pumpkin carver extraordinaire Ray Villafane's incredible masterpieces. As has been the case for the past three years, the artist and his team of equally talented carvers, spent the weekend of October 18th and 19th at the New York Botanical Garden transforming, some of the world's largest pumpkins into scary zombies. Ray's team, which includes professional sculptor Andy Bergholtz and pumpkin artist Chris Viera, began their carving extravaganza on October 17th, with a demonstration at Manhattan's Grand Central Station.
Thousands of commuters watched in awe as the apocalyptic sculpture began to emerge from the robust albeit, ordinary pumpkin. The following day, the team along with their partially completed project, moved to the New York Botanical Garden, where they continued to morph giant pumpkins into grotesquely scary creatures. Ray's path to this unusual career was accidental. Critical Thinking Challenge: Diwali, India's Glittering Festival Of Lights! India is known for many colorful and fun festivals. But none are as popular as Diwali, a festival that spans over five-days and extends across many cultures and beliefs.
It is therefore not surprising that the ancient observance, which is also referred to as Deepavali, (row of lights) is the biggest and most eagerly awaited of all Indian celebrations. The festival, whose date varies according to the lunar calendar, began on Tuesday, October 21st, with Dhan Teras. For those that love to shop, this is the best day of the celebration. That's because in addition to paying homage to Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, the day is also considered auspicious for buying everything - from gold and silver ornaments to new clothes and utensils. The following day is Kali Chaudas or Narak Chaturdasi. Diwali begins with a visit to the temple (for Hindus and Jains) or gurudwara (for Sikhs). The folklore behind the origin of Diwali differs in every State.
Happy Diwali! Critical Thinking Challenge: Halloween - ESL Listening Comprehension Exercise. The Valentine's Day Song: A Cute, Funny Valentines Song by Bryant Oden. Song for christmas lesson. New Year's resolutions. CBBC Newsround - Christmas traditions around the world. This page was made on Thursday 8th December 2011Last updated at 16:25 We're used to turkey, mince pies and presents on 25 December in the UK, but Christmas can be a very different affair in other countries around the world. Newsround checks out festive traditions from all over the globe. Christmas comes early in the Netherlands, as St Nicholas (called Sinterklaas) arrives by boat on the last Saturday in November with his helper Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), who is said to punish bad children.
Sinterklaas doesn't live at the North Pole like Santa though - he comes from Spain! Farmers also blow long horns at sunset to announce the coming of Christmas. Fresh basil is wrapped around a wooden cross, and used to sprinkle water around the house to keep away the Killantzaroi - mischievous goblins that are believed. Some people also keep a fire lit to stop them making mischief, like turning milk sour, or riding on people's backs. Gifts are given on 1 January. CBBC Newsround - Guide: How to reduce Christmas waste. CBBC Newsround - Santa quiz - how much do you know about Santa Claus? CBBC Newsround - Christmas quiz. Haunted History of Halloween — History.com Video. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Washington Irving) Text & MP3 File. Www.manythings.org/voa/stories Download MP3 Todays story is called "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It is about something strange that happed long ago in a valley called "Sleepy Hollow". It was written by Washington Irving.
Narrator: The valley known as Sleepy Hollow hides from the world in the high hills of New York state. Near Sleepy Hollow is a village called Tarry Town. Ichabod did not make much money as a teacher. Among the ladies Ichabod taught was one Katrina Van Tassel. Ichabods eyes opened wide when he saw the riches of Katrinas farm: the miles of apple trees and wheat fields, and hundreds of fat farm animals. But there were many problems blocking the road to Katrinas heart. Sometimes late at night Brom and his friends would rush through town shouting loudly from the backs of their horses. Such was the enemy Ichabod had to defeat for Katrinas heart. Stronger and wiser men would not have tried. Time passed, and the town people thought Ichabod was winning. "Who are you? " Happy Valentine's Day! It's Valentine's Day! The special day of the year when we show our appreciation for people we care about, by exchanging cards, chocolates and even exorbitant gifts.
So how did this love fest begin? Read on . . . . . History . . . . . . There are many legends about the origin of Valentine's Day. However, Bishop Valentine did not concur and performed many secret marriage ceremonies. Today . . . . . . . Cards Over one billion cards are sold and exchanged on Valentine's Day worldwide making it one of the biggest days for greeting card companies, second only to Christmas, which takes the lead at 2.6 billion. Flowers Roses of course, are the preferred flowers of the day. Candy Chocolates first became popular in the 1,800's when physicians routinely 'prescribed' them for their heart broken patients. While it is common to express 'kisses' with the letter 'X', the origin of this symbol has nothing to do with Valentine's Day or love. Letters To Juliet Are Real! Best Valentine's Gift Ever. 14+ Activities & Resources for Celebrating Valentine’s Day.
“Life’s greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.” ~ Victor Hugo Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide. The holiday is named after the martyr, St. Valentinus, who often performed secret weddings for soldiers for which he was imprisoned. Lovers worldwide celebrate the holiday by giving each other gifts to show how much they care about each other. It is a time when children eat candy hearts and send heartfelt messages to each other. ESL-Library has collected all of their resources on the theme of love and relationships in this NEW collection. Below are a few more activities with these themes in mind.
Explore Heart, Love, or Romance Idioms Valentine’s Day is a perfect excuse to teach idioms. Use this infographic with visuals to teach various idioms like, “Pop the question,” or “Get back together.”After learning some idioms, have students choose a few to explain in a comic, with tools like ToonDoo, Make Beliefs Comix, and Creaza. Heart Candy Activities Explore Love in Art. Watch Out! It's April Fool's Day. While April 1st, better known as April Fool's Day, is technically not a holiday, it is a favorite especially for people who like to pull pranks. While the origin of this tradition is a little sketchy, some believe that the light-hearted fun began in 1582, when the Julian calendar (which began the New Year in April), was replaced with today's Gregorian calendar.
Others think it was to mark the change of seasons. No matter what its origins, the day can be a lot of fun! Though it began with individuals fooling each other with small pranks, over the years, even large corporations have gotten into the spirit. Here are examples of some of the best pranks that have had people fooled for days, if not months. The fact that Thomas Edison was a genius was confirmed in 1877 when he invented the phonograph. In 1915, a French pilot flew over a German camp, dropping what looked like a bomb. In 1962, Swedenonly had one television station that broadcast in black and white. Happy Fools Day! Great Great Grandmother Celebrates 101st Birthday Paragliding. By Isabelle Berkopec on March 25, 2012 Word Search Most people don't live to see 100. Those that do can barely walk, let alone handle any strenuous activities.
A few however, seem to be like the Energizer bunny - They keep going and going! Utahresident Mary Hardison believes that people should always be cheerful and more importantly, take on all kinds of adventures while they physically still can. So on September 1st, 2011, cheered on by four generations of her family, the daredevil strapped on in tandem with expert instructor Kevin Hintze, and leaped down fearlessly from the skies near her home in Ogden, Utah. This is not the first time that Mary has done something 'wild' and 'crazy'.
Not surprisingly, this feat has resulted in a lot of fame for Mary and also earned her a spot in the Guinness World Records where she replaced a 2007 record set by a 100-year old British woman. Resources: msnbc.msn.com, telegraph.co.uk.