Pumpkin, Ghost, Witch, October, Holiday, Costume: RD TH

Lesson Plan
Teacher: Augusta Bejenaru

School: Scoala cu clasele I-VIII Nr 2, Sighet
Date: 23rd October 2007
Grade: 8th
Lesson: Halloween
Type of lesson: Introduction of new knowledge and vocabulary
Aims:
 To learn about the history of Halloween
 To learn and extend vocabulary related to Halloween
 To practise the new vocabulary
Materials: handouts, board, chalk
Steps of the lesson:
Activity 1 - warm-up (5min)
 T writes the following words on the board and the Ss guess what the lesson is about:
pumpkin, ghost, witch, October, holiday, costume
 Ss take the true/false quiz.

 T goes over the answers together with the Ss.
Activity 2 – reading (15 min)
 Ss are given a text about Halloween.

 After reading, T uses the comprehension questions to assess students' understanding.
1. When did Halloween originate?

2. When is it celebrated?
3. What are the two things children love doing on Halloween?
4. How do children know which houses to go to trick or treat?
5. Does everyone choose a scary costume?
6. Besides children, who else enjoys celebrating Halloween?
Activity 3 – vocabulary (5 min)
T writes some words on the board and the Ss must find their synonyms in the reading text. They
write them on the board to check their answers.
festivity, hell, to walk (without a destination), to empty, frightening, threatening, clothes, dark
Activity 4– vocabulary in writing (10 min)
 Ss are given a poem “Little Monsters” and a set of words that they have to fill in the
poem. If Ss don’t know the meaning of a word, they may see the corresponding definition
written next to the words.
 Ss read the poem out loud to check their answers
Activity 5 – homework (5 min)
Ss must choose one of the three story starters below and write a short Halloween story containing
as much new vocabulary as possible.
1. It was a dark and stormy night when....
2. You won't believe this story, but it is true...
3. My friends and I like to go trick-or-treating because...
If there is time left, Ss will do a cloze exercise.

Activity 1
Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Halloween?

Indicate whether the following statements are true or false by writing the word in the blank
preceding each statement.
1) _________ When children ring a doorbell, they say "Trick or Treat."

2) _________ Orange and Black are considered Halloween colors.
3) _________ On Halloween, most people carve a pineapple to put on their front doorstep.
4) _________ Halloween is celebrated on November 1st.
5) _________ Halloween costumes must be homemade.
6) _________ Most people give out vegetables on Halloween.
7) _________ Most schools are closed on Halloween.
8) _________ A Jack O'Lantern is made from a pumpkin.
9) _________ The word Halloween comes from All Hallow's Eve.
10) _________ Halloween is a religious holiday.
Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Halloween?

Indicate whether the following statements are true or false by writing the word in the blank
preceding each statement.
1) _________ When children ring a doorbell, they say "Trick or Treat."

2) _________ Orange and Black are considered Halloween colors.
3) _________ On Halloween, most people carve a pineapple to put on their front doorstep.
4) _________ Halloween is celebrated on November 1st.
5) _________ Halloween costumes must be homemade.
6) _________ Most people give out vegetables on Halloween.
7) _________ Most schools are closed on Halloween.
8) _________ A Jack O'Lantern is made from a pumpkin.
9) _________ The word Halloween comes from All Hallow's Eve.
10) _________ Halloween is a religious holiday.
Activity 2
Halloween
Halloween began over 2000 years ago in Ireland, France, and England as a celebration for the
Celts to mark the beginning of winter. It was on October 31st that the Lord of the Dead would
allow the dead to return to earth from the netherworld. The humans dressed in skins of animals
to protect themselves from these other worldly creatures. Two thousand years later, Halloween
is a favorite holiday among American children. This should come as no surprise since it is a
holiday that combines two things that children love: dressing up and eating candy!
On Halloween, you will hear "Trick-or-treat" everywhere. Children dress in costume and head
down the streets as soon as it gets dark. Small-brained goblins and sharp-witted ghosts wonder
around the streets and demand candy from the neighbors. Not everyone chooses a scary
costume; you might see a silver-eyed princess, Superman, a movie star or a hippie. In groups,
these creatures of the night make their way searching for miniature chocolate bars and other
sweets. How do they know which houses to go to?
Another ritual of Halloween is to buy a pumpkin, hollow it out, and carve a scary face on the
front. With a candle in the center, these pumpkins are transformed into Jack O'Lanterns that are
placed on front porches or in windows. Children know to look for these lights because they know
that they will find a willing host to give them candy. Some families decorate their houses for
Halloween. They play scary music, hang spider webs, and suspend bony-white skeletons from
their windows. But with their dancing flame, the Jack O'Lanterns prove to be the most
frightening and menacing of all.
Pumpkin carving is truly an art. Some people will create entire families of pumpkins to greet the
gypsies, witches, and vampires who come on Halloween night. The tradition began with the
English and Scottish immigrants who came to America and brought their tradition of carving out
beets, potatoes and turnips use as lanterns. While some people today prefer to paint pumpkins,
perhaps as a safety precaution with younger children, carved pumpkins yield many other
benefits. For example, the fruit of the pumpkin can be used to make Pumpkin Pie, and the
seeds can be dried and toasted as a snack.
Halloween is a holiday that is enjoyed by people of all ages. Many adults go to costume parties
and balls and rent elaborate outfits. While the history is not often discussed, people are
generally aware that this pagan holiday signals the beginning of the long, cold winter. But it is
easy for children to forget the upcoming months of cold and gloomy weather when they return
home with a bag full of every possible "treat."
Activity 4
Little Monsters
Choose your ______________________ and carve it right,

For tonight is the night of fright.
A most dangerous eve is ______________________ ,
Disguise yourself from dangers unseen.
Beware!
The witches and ______________________ prepare their brews,
Deadly mixtures and magic stews.
Those without ______________________ should run and hide,
Or, better yet, stay inside,
For the darkest night is the night of fools,
Souls unprepared for bone-eating ______________________,
Ghosts and ______________________ who seek to annoy
Or, perhaps, even destroy.
Listen!
Hear the sounds of laughter and little feet,
As they threaten you with "______________________."
Give them candy, they will go away.
Lock your doors and pray
That the ______________________ candle stays lit,
And the devilish children quit.
E. Martin
Halloween Vocabulary
N. a holiday celebrated on October 31 in which people dress in scary

Halloween
costumes
to carve V. to cut with a large knife
pumpkin N. a large, orange vegetable associated with Halloween
Jack-o-
N. Americans traditionally cut out scary faces in pumpkins and put a candle
lantern
inside. These pumpkins with faces are called "Jack-o-lanterns." Jack-o-
lanterns are made to scare away evil spirits on Halloween.
costume N. scary clothing or disguises worn on Halloween

"trick or On Halloween, children go from house to house and say "trick or treat."
treat" This phrase means give me candy or I will play a trick on you. Families
usually give the children candy. If the children don't get candy, they
sometimes play mean tricks like breaking the house's Jack-o-lantern or
putting soap on its windows.
a costume
N. a party where everyone dresses in scary costumes
party
This is a traditional Halloween game. You put apples in a barrel of water
bobbing for
and people try to take the floating apples out of the water using only their
apples
mouths.
a skeleton N. a body of nothing but bones
a ghost N. the spirit of a dead person which appears again
a ghoul N. an evil spirit which takes bodies from graves and eats them
a goblin N. an unkind spirit which plays tricks on people
a witch N. a woman with magic powers (usually evil)
a warlock N. a man with magic powers (usually evil)
A Cloze Exercise for Halloween
American | bad | costume | don't | eyes | give | holidays | house | I | is | knock | learned | like |
making | October | or | out | pumpkins | so | the | too | very
Halloween is one of the most famous __________in the U.S., and it is on

___________31. People carve ____________ and make funny faces on them.
These are called "Jack-O-Lanterns." On October 31, children wear a special
__________such as a witch, ghost, ____________clown. They go to many houses
and they ____________on the door saying, "Trick or Treat!" It means that if
people _____________give them a treat, they will play some kind of trick on the
household. So, usually people _____________candy to them. I carved my first
Halloween pumpkin at my Friendship Family's ______________. First, I cut open
the top of _______________pumpkin and pulled the seeds ___________. It was
not good for me because it was sticky and smelled __________. I had never
carved a pumpkin, ____________it was interesting for me. Next,
__________carved the _____________and the mouth. I wanted to make a face
__________a pirate. When I finished ____________the face, I put a candle inside.
It was ___________beautiful, so I was happy. I had a good experience because I
_____________one new idea about ____________culture by taking part in it. I
think Halloween _______________an interesting American holiday which
involves all family members and neighbours __________!

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Lesson Plan

Teacher: Augusta Bejenaru

Steps of the lesson:

Activity 1 - warm-up (5min)

pumpkin, ghost, witch, October, holiday, costume

 Ss take the true/false quiz.

Activity 2 – reading (15 min)

 Ss are given a text about Halloween.

1. When did Halloween originate?

Activity 3 – vocabulary (5 min)

Activity 5 – homework (5 min)

If there is time left, Ss will do a cloze exercise.

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Halloween?

1) _________ When children ring a doorbell, they say "Trick or Treat."

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Halloween?

1) _________ When children ring a doorbell, they say "Trick or Treat."

Choose your ______________________ and carve it right,

N. a holiday celebrated on October 31 in which people dress in scary

costume N. scary clothing or disguises worn on Halloween

Halloween is one of the most famous __________in the U.S., and it is on

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