You can use this lesson as a conversational lesson or you could expand it with your own extra ideas. It's a lesson about celebration with some vocabulary, some reading and retelling of some strange festivals, awareness days and celebrations throughout the world.
This lesson is aimed at adults, at intermediate level and upwards, but can be adjusted for teens. You will need to explore the answers your students give in feedback a lot to allow for lots of speaking. Depending on the size of the class you might decide to lead this lesson yourself.
Another thing is to check which festivals you want to use in your class as a couple of the ones I have choose could be too rude for your students. Of course, you could find more appropriate ones and feel free to change anything. Here is a big list of festivals and celebrations from around the world.
All the material including a PPT and this lesson plan can be found at the bottom of this post.
1. Show Ss the mixed up letter on the first slide and ask them in pairs to see if they can come up with as many words they can see in 60 seconds. Tell them the topic of the lesson is one of the words.
Note: the topic word is celebration and other words connected to this are party, beer, hangover.
2. Elicit the meaning of the word hangover and then put your students in pairs or groups and have them ask and answer the questions. You might want to clarify each question before they start.
Dress up in this question refers to fancy dress and not formal wear, but if you prefer the other, feel free to clarify that one.
3. Show Ss the different types of celebration and then give them 90 seconds to try and guess the name of each celebration (without a phone) When asking for the students' answers, don't confirm or deny their answers, but tell them they will see the correct name on the next slide
4.Go around each celebration and ask Ss for their experience of each celebration and what happens in their country.
Depending on the number of students you have you could put them in pairs or groups and ask them to talk about each of them before bringing it in for feedback.
5. Show Ss the next slide and elicit the word fireworks (and then what they sound like as a joke) and ask what kind of celebration would you need fireworks(New Years Eve) and then ask how important it is. Then put Ss in pairs and ask them to come up with the top 7 things that make a celebration good. Excluding alcohol.
6. Go over the Ss ideas and ask them why it's important. Then go over the list on the slide, stopping and asking students how and why its importance and what celebration it would be needed for.
Alternatively after getting their ideas you could show them the list on the slide and put them in pairs and ask them to connect the two most important things to a celebration. For example: Cake and presents..... Birthday
7. Tell Ss there are many unusual celebrations around the world and then show them the slide with the carton of the human tower on. Ask if anyone knows about this if they do let them explain to the class before you add some more information. If they don't, go over the what, why, where and when. WIKI
You could find a YouTube video at this point for a listening where Ss have to listen for the what, why, where and when.
8.Tell Ss you are going to give them a strange celebration and it is their job to not show anybody, read it, and prepare to tell other students the what, why, where and when of their celebration. Allow Ss time to read, and become familiar with the celebration. Encourage Ss to use their telephones for any unknown words and researching for their own purposes
9.Put Ss in groups (if you have a big number) or finalise the class by letting each student share their information about there celebration.
eXtra: I have included a picture of each celebration, and if time allows you could end by showing them and clarifying any of the ones that weren't picked.
Cheers
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