New Year’s Holidays

Lower Level New Year’s Celebration Lesson Plan

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New Year’s Holidays

New Year's: Past, Present & Future 1. New Year's Day wasn't always on January 1st. People used to celebrate it in March. January and February were not in the early Roman calendar. December was the tenth and final month. How do we know this for sure? "Decem" means 10 in Latin. January and February became part of the calendar around 700 BC. This brought the number of months up to 12. 2. Julius Caesar named January 1st as the first day of the year around 46 BC. It took many years before his people accepted this day. By the 1500s, many European countries called January 1st New Year's Day. Today this is the official start of the year in many nations. Millions of people celebrate New Year's Eve on December 31st. Some cultures and nations still celebrate New Year's on other days. 3. Every nation celebrates New Year's in a different way. In Australia, New Year's parties take place on the beach. Sydney is one of the first large cities to welcome the new year. TV viewers worldwide love to watch the annual fireworks display in Sydney. Across the globe, New Year's celebrations are much colder. The Times Square ball drops 16 hours later in New York City. It takes 1 minute to fall. This is one of the world's most popular countdowns. People dance and sing and nobody cares how cold it is! 4. In Japan, the new year is a very important time of year. Japanese families hold "forget-the-year" parties. These parties help people forget their past troubles. The new year is a new start in life. Japanese friends send each other special postcards. They also get together to burn lucky charms. The celebration lasts 7 days. At the end of the week, Japanese people eat a special kind of soup. The soup signals a new beginning for healthy eating after a week of feasting. Colombians also use the new year for new beginnings. They make a doll called Mr. Old Year. They place notes about their troubles inside the doll. At the stroke of midnight they blow him up with firecrackers. Good-bye old year! 5. Many New Year's traditions involve fire. Long ago, people believed that evil spirits feared fire and smoke. Townspeople made firecrackers to drive the bad spirits away for the year. Even though firecrackers are traditional, they are very expensive. In addition, they are bad for the environment. Taiwan uses eco-friendly fireworks during their New Year's festivals. Taiwanese officials hope other nations will do the same in the future.

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New Year’s Holidays

Reading Comprehension A. True or False? Write T if the answer is true and F if the answer is false. 1. New Year's was always celebrated on January 1st.

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2. All nations celebrate New Year's Eve on December 31st.

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3. New York is one of the first cities to celebrate New Year's each year.

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4. Times Square is a popular place to watch the New Year's countdown.

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5. In Japan, people burn their lucky charms before the new year.

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6. People from Japan and Colombia have similar goals for the new year.

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7. Traditionally, fire is associated with good luck.

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B. Who, What, Where, When, Why, How? Answer the following questions. 1. Who named New Year's Day as January 1st? ____________________________________________ 2. What happens in New York City on New Year's Eve? _____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Where are "forget-the-year" parties held? _________________________________________________ 4. When do Japanese people eat special New Year's soup? ____________________________________ 5. Why do Colombians blow up Mr. Old Year? ____________________________________________ 6. How is Taiwan making a difference for the future? _______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

C. Write your own 6 questions about the reading using Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. Ask your questions to a partner. 1. _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________________________ 6. _________________________________________________________________________________

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New Year’s Holidays

Vocabulary Review A. Match the words on the left with the correct meanings on the right. _______

1. celebrate

a. explosions of light in the sky

_______

2. calendar

b. the one that most people use or follow

_______

3. official

c. the counting of time (high to low) before a big event

_______

4. party

d. an action repeated during certain times or events

_______

5. fireworks

e. a gathering of people to have fun

_______

6. countdown

f. to show happiness about an achievement or event

_______

7. trouble

g. to be or to set on fire

_______

8. burn

h. the schedule of the months and days of the year

_______

9. tradition

i. things that went wrong, unhappiness

_______

10. spirit

j. a power or force in the world that affects humans

B. Choose a partner. Each person should unscramble their own group of words. Partner 1: 1. tirspi 2. itiradtno 3. dcoutnonw 4. braecleet 5. wofirkser

Partner 2: _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

1. fficlaoi 2. bltruoe 3. tyarp 4. nrbu 5. rcalndae

_____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

C. Write five sentences using the words your partner unscrambled in Part B. 1. _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________________________

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New Year’s Holidays

Group Activities A. Work together as a class to make a list of examples of New Year's resolutions. New Year's resolution = a goal or plan to make a life change in the new year. Example: I’m going to quit smoking. 1. _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________________________ 6. _________________________________________________________________________________ 7. _________________________________________________________________________________ 8. _________________________________________________________________________________

B. Go around the classroom with your paper and a pen. Find someone who plans to do one of the following in the new year. Find someone who plans to…







Student Name:









_____________________

2. exercise more this year.









_____________________

3. study more this year.







_____________________

4. find a romantic partner this year.







_____________________

5. care more about the environment this year.



_____________________

6. be happier this year.

1. eat better this year.











_____________________

7. make more money this year.







_____________________

8. work harder this year.









_____________________

9. be more helpful this year.









_____________________



_____________________

10. ________________________ (your idea)

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New Year’s Holidays

Teachers’ Notes / Answer Key These activities are designed for lower level ESL learners, but can be adapted to suit your students’ needs.

Reading - Have your students read the article about New Year’s. You can ask them to read aloud to monitor pronunciation, or silently on their own. When they are finished the reading, put them into small groups or pairs to discuss the follow-up questions.

Reading Comprehension A. True or False 1. F - People used to celebrate it in March. 2. F 3. F - Sydney is one of the first large cities to welcome the new year. 4. T 5. T 6. T 7. F - Long ago, people believed that evil spirits feared fire and smoke. B. Who, What, Where? 1. Julius Caesar declared January 1st to be New Year's Day. 2. A ball drops at Times Square in New York City. 3. The forget-the-year parties are held in Japan. 4. Japanese people eat their special soup to signal a new beginning for healthy eating after 7 days of feasting. 5. Colombians blow up Mr. Old Year to forget their troubles and start a new year. 6. Taiwan is using eco-friendly fireworks to protect the environment. C. Writing Answers will vary.

Vocabulary Review A. Matching 1. f 2. h 3. b

4. e

5. a

6. c

7. i

8. g

9. d

10. j

B. Unscramble the words Partner 1 1. spirit 2. tradition

3. countdown

4. celebrate

5. fireworks

Partner 2 1. official

3. party

4. burn

5. calendar

2. trouble

C. Writing Answers will vary.

Copyright 2012, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms.

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