Is St'Valentine's Day really special?
методическая разработка (8 класс) по теме

Муниципальное казенное общеобразовательное учреждение

 "Средняя общеобразовательная школа №6"      

  г. Людиново Калужской области

                                                                                    Методическая разработка          

                                                                        внеклассного    мероприятия в 8 – 11 классах  

                                                                                          по УМК  “Enjoy English”

                                                                                          Макаровой Н.В.

                                                                                          учителя английского языка

                                                   г. Людиново   2012    

    THE MAIN GOAL OF THE LESSON:

 To speak about holidays in general and about St Valentine’s Day in particular; to give answers to the following question: Is St Valentine’s Day really so special ;to give a personal opinion on the topic.

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 THE MAIN TASKS OF THE LESSON :

1. 1. To make practice in speech activities – listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

2. To activate the lexical material on the topic”Holidays”.

3. To teach students to express their own opinion, to analyze other people’s sayings.

4. To practice work in pairs and groups.

5. To develop and test students’ listening skills and speaking abilities.

      II.        1.To bring up in respect to the traditions and customs of  English-speaking countries.

                   2. To develop students’ cognitive interest.   

      III.        1. To develop mentality, initiative in carrying out foreign speech. 

EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES:  cards with tasks, colourful pictures on the topic, posters.                                     

THE PLAN OF THE LESSON:

    1. THE BEGINNING OF THE LESSON

a) Greeting the class and guests: Good morning, dear boys and girls! How are you? I’m glad to see you and  invite you to our CURIOSITY PAGE.                                                                    .                                                               b) Introduction of the lesson’s theme: We’ll revise all you know about holidays  and we’ll try to find out if one of the most popular holidays in the world-St Valentine’s Day- is really so special. You will learn some new curious facts about this holiday and its history, express your opinions of the way people celebrate it. We’ll speak about love and flowers, legends and traditions. You will try to compose your own love messages and do many other interesting and useful tasks. Now let’s start. First answer my questions

     2. ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOLIDAYS.

1. Would you like to speak about holidays?

2. Holidays are fun, do you agree?

3. What holidays do you know?

4. What is your favourite holiday?

5. What sort of presents do you prefer to get? What was the most impressing present for you?

6. Name traditional British holidays.

7. Have you ever dreamt of coming to any traditional British festival?

    3. LISTENING COMPREHENSION

1. listening to the text which  includes some curious information. (the text follows)

February 14th is St Valentine’s Day. It is a happy little festival in honour of St Valentine, patron of sweethearts and lovers. It is widely celebrated among people of all ages by the exchange of presents.

     You can send candies to someone you think is special. Or you can send roses, the flower of love. Most people send “valentines”, a greeting card named after the notes that St Valentine wrote from jail. Valentines can be sentimental, romantic and heartfelt. They can be funny and friendly. They are heart-shaped, or have hearts, the symbol of love.

      St Valentine’s Day has roots in several different legends. One of the earliest popular symbols of the day is Cupid, the Roman god of Love, who is represented by the image of a young boy with a bow and arrow. According to one of the legends St Valentine was a Christian priest thrown in prison for his teachings and then beheaded on February 14th. His farewell letter was signed “From Your Valentine”. Another legend says that this same Valentine, well-loved by all, wrote letters from his jail cell to children and friends who missed him. February 14th was also a holiday, held in honour of a goddess.

       British people also love this holiday. In spite of unromantic reputation of the British, over 16 million Valentine cards are sent each year on February 14th. Originally cards were only sent by men to women. Now about 39% of Valentine cards are sent by women and 61% by men.

       The old existing Valentine card can be found in the British Museum. It was sent in the year 1415.

2. testing students’ listening skills

Very interesting, isn’t it? Now let’s see how well you understood the text. Each of you has 2 cards. Card 1 has beginnings of statements, card 2- their endings. Try to match the two proper parts and you’ll get 7 main facts from the text. Please work in pair with your deskmate and make pairs like 1c, 2a etc. Then we’ll check.    

CARD 1    

1. A young boy with a bow and arrow is. . .
2. You can show your love in different ways:
3. Several legends. . .
4. The British are known as. . .
5. Most of the Valentines. . .
6. The British Museum keeps. . .
7. The old existing Valentine card. . .

CARD 2

1. . . . Are sent by men to women.
2. . . . present your sweetheart with candies, roses or send him or her a “valentine”.
3. . . . was sent by someone in 1415.
4. . . . Cupid, the best-known symbol of love and St Valentine’s Day.
5. . . . show us the history of St Valentine’s Day.
6. . . . the old existing Valentine card.
7. . . . unromantic people.          

                         KEY   :    1d), 2b), 3e), 4g), 5a), 6f), 7c).  

     4. WRITING

1. make up sentences

Now I suppose you know enough to continue our talk. The next topic is LOVE SYMBOLS

You have cards with statements which are broken. Your task is to put words in the right order so as to make up sentences. Then read them - they hold information about love symbols. It’s really curious, believe me! Let’s start!

CARD 3

1. pink, a, pierced, red, or, heart, denotes, with, eternal, an, love, arrow.
2. to, heart, the centre, be, is, emotions, of, considered, our /  love, because, in, it, are, beats, you, faster, when.
3. passionate, love, of, Roman, a, symbol, of, Cupid, the, is, god, Love.
4. ribbon, person, a, that, is, a, up, tied, means.
5. red, rose, the, love, is, most, of, romantic, a, sign.

 KEY  

1. A red or pink heart pierced with an arrow denotes eternal love.
2. Heart is considered to be the centre of emotions because it beats faster when you are in love.
3. Cupid, the Roman god of Love, is the symbol of passionate love.
4. A ribbon means that a person is tied up.
5. A red rose is the most romantic sign of love.

 b) work in groups

OK, thank you. Now let’s rest a little. Imagine you are in love with somebody or just remember your sweetheart. Write a love message to him or her. It is nearly ready but just unfinished. So complete it with the necessary word(s).  I think you’d better work in groups.    

CARD 4                                                                        

Honeysuckle’s yellow,

And leaves are green.

You are the sweetest thing

I’ve ever . . .

                  (seen)

CARD 5

Honeysuckle’s yellow,

And leaves are green.

You are the sweetest thing

I’ve ever . . .

                  (seen)

CARD 6

Some people just know

Right from the start,

How to bring joy

To another . . .

                (heart / part)

CARD 7

I dream about you

Every night.

Be my Valentine

And hold me . . .

                 (tight)

CARD 8

You stepped into my heart

Turning it from stone,

And I will always love you,

For now I’ll never be. . .

                 (alone)

Roses are red, violets are blue, we know how Valentine’s Day got its name,

                                          do you?

1. Where did St Valentine live?

    a) in Greece

    b) in Rome

    c) in Great Britain

2. What date is St Valentine’s Day?

    a) 15th of February

    b) 14th of February

    c) 8th of March

3. How do you spell 14th?

    a) forteenth

    b)  fourtienth

    c) fourteenth

4. According to a popular belief, why was St Valentine beheaded?

    a) because he secretly married young couples

    b) because he ran away with Emperor Claudius’s daughter

    c) because he was always in love with someone

5. When St Valentine was in prison, who did he fall in love with?

    a) his prisoner’s daughter

    b) his prisoner’s wife

    c) his prisoner’s sister

6. The girl St Valentine fell in love with was

    a) deaf

    b) blind

    c) blind and deaf

7. What colour is associated with St Valentine’s Day?

    a) orange

    b) purple

    c) red

8. Which Roman God is one of the symbols of St Valentine’s Day?

    a) Eros

    b) Cupid

    c) Apollo

9. Which are the most common flowers given on St Valentine’s Day?

    a) roses

    b) sunflowers

    c) snowdrops

10. What greeting is often said on this day?

    a) Happy love wife!

    b) Good luck!

    c) Happy Valentine’s Day!

                                                KEY: 1.b) , 2.b) , 3.c) , 4.a) , 5.a) , 6.b) , 7.c) , 8.b) , 9.a) , 10c).

    5. READING AND SPEAKING

                         Do this puzzle and read the message.

1. Roses, tulips and other plants with colourful blossoms. Very pretty when arranged in a bouquet!
2. A special card sent on St Valentine’s Day, usually anonymous.
3. A sweet brown treat that is made from cocoa powder, milk and sugar – very tasty!
4. An organ in your body that pumps blood. If you put your hand over this organ you can feel it’s beating!
5. This verb means” to make an offer of marriage”. A true man will always kneel in front of a woman before asking her to become his wife!
6. A jar or container that you use for displaying flowers. This is often filled with roses on St Valentine’s Day.
7. A person whom someone loves. This word is often used in Valentine poems:                        

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Honey’s sweet

And so are you.

I’ll be your -------------

If you’ll be mine,

All my life

I’ll be your Valentine.

8. A very strong feeling of liking someone.
9. If a boy is completely, uncontrollably in love with a girl, we say: ”He is head over ---------- in love with her!”
10. Valentine’s Day is celebrated during this month.
11. A man who is about to be married or just married.
12. A woman who is about to be married or just married.
13. This colour is the symbol of love.
14. Something that is given as a gift on Valentine’s Day, like a box of chocolates. 

                                KEY: LOVE CROSSES ALL BORDERS.

There are some other idioms and proverbs about love. Have a look !

LOVE CANNOT BE FORCED. –Насильно мил не будешь.

LOVE IN A COTTAGE. – С милым рай и в шалаше.

LOVE WILL CREEP WHERE IT MAY NOT GO. – Для любви нет преград. (На любовь закона нет.)

SALT WATER AND ABSENCE WASH AWAY LOVE.-С глаз долой – из сердца вон.

WE NEVER KNOW THE VALUE OF WATER TILL THE WELL IS DRY.-Что имеем, не храним, потерявши ,плачем.

HAPPINESS TAKES NO ACCOUNT OF TIME.-Счастливые часов не наблюдают.

Now read what kids and teenagers from the UK, The USA  and Russia think about St Valentine’s Day.

First some ideas for this holiday:

1. I think Valentine’s Day is so sweet! It’s a good opportunity for people to let out their feelings or have a bit of fun!        

                                                                      Lucas, 16, UK

2. Valentine’s Day’s great! The feeling you get inside when you receive a gift, card or rose is so special!

                                                                      Rachel, 15, US

There are also opinions against:

3. I think Valentine’s Day is a holiday made up by the greetings cards industry. It’s just a way for them to make money, nothing to do with people’s feelings.

                                                                       Irina, 15, Russia

4. To me, Valentine’s Day is just like any other day. I don’t see why people are romantic for only a short period of time.

                                                                       Andrew, 16, Russia

And what about you? What’s your idea of the Day? Are you for or against it? (students express their points of view, share their ideas).

6. THE END OF THE LESSON.

Now I suppose we spoke quite enough about love and love holiday. Did you like our talk? Would you like to continue it sometime? Thank you very much for your work. See you later.