Christmas Films in Emojis (A1+)

Objective & content

A one-page puzzle: ten Christmas films told in emojis. A box at the top holds the ten titles in a mixed order (Home Alone, Elf, The Grinch, The Polar Express, The Snowman, Frozen, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Carol, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Arthur Christmas). Pupils read each line of emojis and write the right title under it, using each title once. They score themselves out of 10, then turn the page upside down for an elf joke. About 10 minutes, alone or in pairs.

Pedagogical guide

This is a quick, low-stress activity that every pupil can finish. Pupils do not need to produce new English: they match a picture story to a title they can read in the box, and then copy it correctly. The fun is in the emojis, and the talk in pairs can be in simple English ("Number 3 is The Grinch. He's green!"). Use it as a warm-up, a calm end to a lesson, or a task for fast finishers. The teacher key is the small line at the bottom of the page, with the ten answers in order.

Suggested procedure

1. (1 min) Hand out the page. Read the instruction and the titles in the box aloud.
2. (1 min) Do number 1 together (a house, a boy and a scared face: Home Alone).
3. (6 min) Pupils find the other films, alone or in pairs, and write the titles.
4. (2 min) Read the answers aloud. Pupils mark their score out of 10 and read the joke.

Adaptations

[S] Pupils work in pairs and write only the number of the title, not the whole title.

[A] Pupils cover the box and try first without it. Then they choose another film and draw their own line of emojis for a partner to guess.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy per pupil or per pair, in colour or in the low-ink version. No preparation. Some films may be new to some pupils; the box of titles means they can still find every answer.