vocabulary task (all levels) worksheet 1 · photocopiable vocabulary task (all ... due to the high...

Match the following definitions with one of the words in the box.

PHOTOCOPIABLE© Macmillan Iberia, S.A. 2015. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom.Macmillan Secondary e-Toolkit

VOCABULARY TASK (ALL LEVELS)

WORKSHEET 1

pumpkin · trick-or-treater · bobbing for apples · prank · autumn · bat

haunted house · ghost · jack-o-lantern · skeleton · spider · cobweb ·

witch · wizard

a) A game children often play on Halloween in which they have to catch an apple from a basin filled with water without using their hands.

b) A net that a spider makes out of thin sticky strings.

c) An empty pumpkin with a face cut into it and a light inside that can be seen through the holes and which is made as a decoration for Halloween.

d) A silly trick that you play on someone to surprise them.

e) A model of the set of bones that supports a human or animal body.

f) A person who goes trick-or-treating on Halloween.

g) In stories, a woman who claims to have magic powers.

h) In stories, a man who claims to have magic powers.


LISTENING: the origins of Halloween (A1-B1)

Watch the video and decide if the sentences below are true or false. Then correct the false ones.WORKSHEET 2

a) The origins of Halloween go back 200 years.

b) The night before Samhain people left candy at their doorsteps to keep the spirits away.

c) Samhain was turned into All Saints’ Day in the 18th century.

d) The name “Halloween” is the short form for “All Hallows Eve”.

e) Souling and guising are two other traditions related to Halloween.

f) Trick-or-treating started in the 18th century in America.

g) People in the US spend 2.5 billion dollars on candy every year.

h) Halloween is even more commercial than Christmas.


LISTENING: the origins of Halloween (B1+-C1)

Watch the video and answer the following questions: WORKSHEET 3

1. What happened on the night before Samhain (pronounced sow-in)?

2. Why did people put food and drink on their doorsteps on Samhain? Why did they wear masks?

3. Who turned Samhain into All Hallows in the 8th century?

4. What were soul cakes? Who asked for them and what did they give in return?

5. What was guising?

6. When did Halloween become the family-friendly celebration it is nowadays?

7. How much money do people in the US spend annually on Halloween in total?


JIGSAW PAIR READING (A1-B1): the story of Halloween

THE STORY OF HALLOWEEN

Adapted from http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

WORKSHEET 4

STUDENT A

to · was · millions · and (x2) · a

In the second half of the nineteenth century, America flooded with new immigrants. These

new immigrants, especially the of Irish fleeing Irelands potato famine of 1846, helped

popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish English

traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes go house to house asking for food or

money, practice that eventually became todays “trick-or-treat” tradition.

STUDENT B

to · for · the · more · a · of · and (x2)

In the late 1800s, there was move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday

about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks witchcraft. At the

turn of the century, Halloween parties both children and adults became the most common

way celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of season and festive

costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers community leaders to take anything

“frightening” or “grotesque” out Halloween celebrations.


THE STORY OF HALLOWEEN

Adapted from http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

WORKSHEET 5JIGSAW PAIR READING (B1+-C1)

STUDENT A

to · was · millions · and (x2) · a

In the second half of the nineteenth century, America flooded with new immigrants. These

new immigrants, especially the of Irish fleeing Irelands potato famine of 1846, helped

popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish English

traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes go house to house asking for food

or money, practice that eventually became todays “trick-or-treat” tradition. Young women

believed that on Halloween they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by

doing tricks with yarn, apple parings or mirrors.

In the late 1800s, there was move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday

about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks witchcraft.

At the turn of the century, Halloween parties both children and adults became the most

common way celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of season and

festive costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers community leaders to take

anything “frightening” or “grotesque” out Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts,

Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth

century.

to · for · the · more · a · of · and (x2)


JIGSAW PAIR READING (B1+-C1)

STUDENT B

treats · could · young · by · limited · mainly · played · continued · during

the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular, but community-centered holiday,

with parades and town-wide parties as the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many

schools and communities, vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities

this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully vandalism and Halloween

had evolved into a holiday directed at the young. Due to the high numbers of

children during the fifties’ baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or

home, where they be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-

old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for

an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks

being on them by providing the neighborhood children with small . A new American

tradition was born, and it has to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion

annually on Halloween, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday.

The American Halloween tradition of “trick-or-treating” probably dates back the early All

Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families

give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for promise to pray for the family’s

dead relatives. The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as way to

replace the ancient practice of leaving food wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which

was referred as “going a-souling-” was eventually taken up by children, would visit

the houses in their neighborhood and be ale, food, and money.

given · who · and · a · their · to (x2) · would


WRITING (ALL LEVELS)

Answer the following questions. Then compare your answers with a partner. WORKSHEET 6

a) Do you usually celebrate Halloween?

b) Do you do anything special?

c) Have you ever been to a Halloween-themed costume party?

d) Have you ever spent Halloween in an English-speaking country? How did people celebrate it there?

e) Are there any typical autumn festivals in your country? If so, which?

f) How do people celebrate them? What do people do/eat/wear?

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