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UNIT 6: World Festivals and Celebrations
Objectives: Students should be able to;
- Describe famous world festivals and celebrations through speaking and writing
- Listen and read in order to get main ideas and minor details
- Appreciate festivals and celebrations of people from different cultures
Scope & Sequence
Part 1 Building vocabulary
Vocabulary Exercise: Match the words with meanings
Part 2 Listening for main ideas and minor details
Listening
Topic: Festivals around the world
Part 3 Describing festivals using action verbs
Language Use Exercise: Write/compose action verb sentences
Part 4 Reading for main ideas and supporting details
Reading Topic 1: Oktoberfest
Topic 2: Holi Festival
Warm-up!
In your opinion, how do you classify festivals?
Cultural Festival Religious Festival
Music Festival Holiday Festival
Can you give some well-known examples of each type of festival?
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Part 1 Vocabulary
Vocabulary tips!
In order to deal with unfamiliar or difficult words, students can try these techniques.
Use schematic knowledge/ background Use linguistic elements > to help
knowledge/ knowledge of the world > to understand meanings
help guess meanings
e.g. fun > funny / mess > messy
e.g. Oh! I have seen the word “special” in
the restaurant menu.
Exercise: Match the words with meanings.
A B
________ 1. special a. extremely large in size or amount; great in degree
________ 2. building b. to go to see a person or a place for a period of time
________ 3. sculpture c. to send something from your hand through the air by
moving your hand or arm quickly
________ 4. huge d. a structure such as a house or school that has a roof
and walls
________ 5. visit e. making you laugh; amusing
________ 6. famous f. making somebody/something dirty and/or untidy
________ 7. throw g. more important than others; deserving or getting more
attention than usual
________ 8. funny h. covered with or containing liquid, especially water
________ 9. messy i. a work of art that is a solid figure or object made by
carving or shaping wood, stone, clay, metal, etc.
________ 10. wet j. known about by many people
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Part 2 Listening
Listening tips!
When focuses of listening are about getting main ideas and minor details, it is
suggested that students pay close attention to key words.
Main Verbs Important Nouns
e.g. visit, throw e.g. sculpture, tomato
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzRHpJ6tXEI
Exercise: Watch the clip, listen carefully and fill-in all information in the table below.
Name of Festival Country Main Activity
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Part 3 Language use
Action verbs!
In times that students are required to talk about or describe festivals, the main point that
needs to be clarified is the activity people do, during participating that particular festival. At
this point, it is quite necessary that students know how to describe activities, and this is when
action verbs come into play.
What is action verb?
Action verbs are used to express or describe an action whether it is physical or mental.
An action verb explains what the subject of the sentence does, is doing or has done.
How is it important?
Action verbs are used to deliver important information in a sentence and add impact
and purpose. These verbs play an important role in grammar and signal to the reader what
action the subject is performing in the sentence.
Examples of action verb
There are endless action verbs used in the English language. Action verbs can describe
something that a person, animal or even object can do. To determine if a word is an action verb,
look at the sentence and ask yourself if the word shows something someone can do or
something someone can be or feel. If it is something they can do, then it is an action verb.
The following are examples of how action verbs are used in sentences, keep in mind
that you can use more than one action verb in a sentence. The action verb is in bold in each
sentence.
• Close the door!
• The bird sings a cheery song every morning.
• The teacher reads a book to her students then asks them questions about the story.
• Anthony is throwing the football.
• We ate dinner then walked around the park.
• John visited his friend for a while and then he went home.
• In the summer, we will swim in our pool.
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Action verb tenses
Action verbs can be used in various tenses depending on contexts. These verbs can
appear in the form of present, past and future tense. The important thing is that you have to
make sure that the “verbs” appear in the correct form to each tense. The following are
examples:
Action verb:
Present: S + V.1
Tony usually releases lanterns in Yee Peng Festival.
Past: S + V.2
Last Yee Peng Festival, Tony released two lanterns.
Future: S + Will + V.1
Next Yee Peng Festival, Tony will release more lanterns.
Adapted from: https://examples.yourdictionary.com/action-verb-examples.html
Exercise: In your own words, write/compose action verb sentences in present, past and future
forms (2 sentences per each form).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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Part 4 Reading
Reading tips!
To read effectively, students can use two effective reading techniques namely
skimming technique and scanning technique.
Skimming > read very quickly to understand Scanning > scan the text with focus points
the main idea
How?: look at specific info. needed e.g.
How?: look at key sentences (first/second dates, months, numbers, examples,
sentence) reasons, causes, effects, characteristics
Exercise: Read the passage and answer all following questions.
Oktoberfest
The famous beer festival and, at the same time, the biggest public festival in the world
“Oktoberfest” takes place in late September and early October. It is not only in Munich,
Germany but also far beyond its borders. The festival lasts for 16 days, during which beer flows
like a river and the music does not stop all day long. During the festival, you can see the colorful
costume parades and live performances of the best musicians, participate in various
competitions, and, of course, taste hundreds of varieties of beer. If you are planning to visit this
festival, it is worth booking a hotel in Munich in advance.
Adapted from: https://planetofhotels.com/guide/en/blog/best-festivals-in-the-world
1. According to the passage, what is the gist of Oktoberfest?
a. It is held in October.
b. It is the biggest beer festival.
c. It starts from September.
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2. When do people celebrate Oktoberfest?
a. September
b. October
c. Between September and October
3. How long does this festival last?
a. 16 days
b. 20 days
c. Two months
4. From the passage, apart from beers, is it possible to taste other kinds of drink?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Not given
5. What do people do in Oktoberfest?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Holi Festival
Holi is undeniably one of the biggest religious festivals around the world. Held in India
and Nepal, this festival is celebrated between the end of February and the middle of March.
The Festival of Colors, Holi is a springtime celebration of all things good prevailing over evil.
The festival also marks the end of winter and the anticipatory celebration of the abundance of
the upcoming spring harvest season.
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For locals and tourists, Holi offers a chance to play, dance and sing without any worries.
Commemorated each year on the day after the full moon in March, people spend the day
spreading colored powder on strangers, friends and relatives, throwing colored water at each
other, and dancing under water sprinklers. Great emphasis is placed on Hindu tales about the
burning of the demoness Holika and its relation to the festivities. Holi celebrations end with
large bonfires with singing and dancing in the evening of the festival.
Adapted from: https://www.roadaffair.com/best-festivals-in-the-world/
1. From the passage, it can be inferred that Holi Festival is __________?
a. the biggest cultural festival
b. the biggest music festival
c. the biggest religious festival
2. Where does the festival take place?
a. India
b. Nepal
c. Both India and Nepal
3. What is the purpose of the Holi celebration?
a. To celebrate the victory of good things
b. To mark the beginning of harvest season
c. To show the end of winter season
4. According to the passage, bonfires mark the end of Holi Festival.
a. Ture
b. False
c. Not given
5. What are activities that local people and tourists usually do in Holi Festival?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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Wrap-up!
Now, let’s talk about your favorite festival and describe activities that people do during
participating in that particular festival.
In ___ festival, people will
My favorite festival is _____.
________________.
End of Unit!
