Christmas Fun (A2+)

Objective & content

Christmas Fun is a pack of eight Christmas activities for pupils aged 13 to 15, at A2+ to B1- level. It gathers a projected team quiz, a one-page mini escape game, an emoji puzzle of Christmas songs and films, a crossword, word ladders, a detective puzzle, a listening sheet with its recording (chapter 4 of our A Christmas Carol audiobook) and Would you rather? cards. Each printed activity fits on one A4 page, and each one is also on the site on its own. Pupils speak, listen, read and spell, with a quick reward at the end of every activity.

Pedagogical guide

The pack starts from what pupils enjoy at Christmas: songs, films, food, Santa, a mystery to solve. Every activity is short, and nobody needs special knowledge to take part. The order goes from talking and listening to puzzles and games: a speaking warm-up, a listening, a detective puzzle that makes pupils read for detail, then three word puzzles and an escape game, with the quiz as the finale. The answer keys are on the last page of each sheet, in a small line at the bottom of the one-page games, or in the quiz deck. Everything is secular, and there is no religious content.

Suggested procedure

1. (10 min) Lesson 1, warm-up: Would You Rather: Christmas, in groups of 3 or 4.
2. (15 min) The Ghost of Christmas Present: predict, listen twice, then speak or write.
3. (20 min) Who Ate the Christmas Pudding?, in pairs. Fast finishers do Christmas Word Ladders (10 min).
4. (15 min) Lesson 2: Christmas Songs and Films in Emojis, in pairs.
5. (15 min) A Christmas Crossword, alone or in pairs.
6. (15 to 20 min) The Missing Star, in teams of 3 or 4: the first team with the code wins.
7. (20 to 25 min) Last lesson before the holidays: The Big Christmas Quiz, 2 to 4 teams.

One lesson only? Play The Missing Star, the emoji puzzle and the quiz.

Adaptations

[S] Do the first item of each activity together, read texts and questions aloud before pupils start, and give a word bank for the crossword. In the quiz, read the options aloud.

[A] Ask for full-sentence reasons all through the pack. Pupils who finish early write their own ladder, crossword clue or emoji line for a partner.

Materials & prerequisites

Photocopies of the sheets you choose, in colour or in black and white, and scissors for the cards before the lesson. A projector for the quiz, and speakers for the MP3 of the listening sheet (download it from its page). Pupils should know the past simple and how to tell the time; the listening's writing task uses the present continuous.