UNIT 2
PEOPLE AND CULTURE
UNIT 2
10 CELEBRATIONS THAT YOU NEED TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE
TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
ELLs at all levels of English proficiency, and literacy, will benefit from explicit
instruction of comprehension skills along with other skills. Examples of
comprehension skills that can be taught and applied to all reading situations include
comprehension skills such as distinguishing between facts and opinion, comparing
and contrasting and self-questioning which are important for comprehending
expository reading.
Activity 1
i. Skim and scan for relevant information
BY THE END
OF LESSON,
STUDENTS
CAN:
ii. Identify main ideas
ii. Write an email
** Set specific
requirements.
objectives
according
i. Skimming and scanning
STRATEGIES/
APPROACHES
ii. HOTS - Understanding
- Analysing
- Evaluating
iii. 21st Century Learning (Think Pair Share)
iv. Values - Tolerance, Unity
LEARNING/
TEACHING
AIDS
SITUATION
TEXT FORMAT
TEXT TYPE
COGNITIVE
PROCESS
i. Flyer
ii. Graphic Organizer
iii. Video of celebrations
Public
Non-continuous
Description
Represent literal and gist meaning
to
classroom
SKILLS/
APPROACHES
ACTIVITIES
STEP 1
a. Students are shown a multimedia presentation about the
celebrations in Malaysia.
HOTS
Application
Understanding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ojEWMfOrbLs
b. Students list the celebrations that they saw in the video
and share them with the rest of the class orally.
STEP 2
a. Students read Text 1 (the flyer) and transfer
information from it into Worksheet 1 (graphic organiser).
http://www.emlii.com/78e50642/22-BreathtakingFestivals- Around-The-World-That-You-Must-SeeBefore-You-Die
HOTS:
Understanding
i -think
b. In groups (think pair share) students discuss answers
for Worksheet 1.
STEP 3
a. Students work in groups and choose a celebration they
like best and give their opinions on the celebration by
filling in Worksheet 2 (Advanced - Worksheet 3).
b. In groups, students write an email
answers in Worksheet 2.
based on ther
HOTS:
Applying
Evaluating
i-think
10 CELEBRATIONS YOU NEED TO SEE
BEFORE YOU DIE
1. The Rio de Janeiro
Carnival - Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
The Carnaval in Rio de
Janeiro is a world famous
festival held before Lent
every year and
considered the biggest
carnival in the world with
2 million people per day
on the streets. The first
festivals of Rio date back
to 1823. The typical Rio
carnival parade is filled
with revelers, floats and
adornments from
numerous samba
schools which are
located in Rio.
2. La Tomatina Spain
3. Boryeong Mud
Festival - South Korea
A South Korea cosmetics
company developed a
line of beauty products
which featured mud from
the Boryeong mud flats
as a main ingredient.
Since the company
couldn't be bothered to
spend money on
commercials, the
Boryeong Mud Festival
was born so potential
customers could feel the
benefits of the special
mud firsthand. In case
you attend and get
bored of the mud slides,
mud prison, mud pools,
and mud skiing, you can
enjoy live music,
acupuncture, and the
festival's culminating
fireworks display
4. Burning Man Black Rock Desert,
Nevada, USA
Fun, frolic, dance and
lots of tomatoes - this is
one festival you
absolutely cannot miss.
Participants throw
tomatoes at each other
and ride down those
tomato-streaked slides
having the time of their
lives. Be it tomato fights
or the enormous water
showers that follow, la
tomatina is one event
that gets you dancing
and engaging in
unlimited fun.
wooden effigy, which is
set alight on Saturday
evening. The event is
described as an
experiment in
community, art, radical
self-expression, and
radical selfreliance. People who
have gone to Burning
Man gatherings claim
you need to attend to
truly understand.
5. Harbin Ice and
Snow Festival Harbin, China
A festival exhibiting the
most exquisite ice and
snow sculptures in the
world. Every year people
build incredible things
out of ice and snow,
decorating them with
lights and lasers. This
exhibition has a lot to
offer, one can only find
out after visiting it...and
it is phenomenal!
6. White Nights
Festival - St.
Petersburg, Russia
Burning Man is an
annual event when up to
48,000 people gather in
Nevadas Black Rock
desert to create art and
express their
individuality. It takes its
name from the ritual
burning of a large
The White Nights
Festival is an annual
international arts festival
during the season of the
midnight sun. It consists
of a series of classical
ballet, opera and music
events and includes
performances by Russian
dancers, singers,
musicians and actors, as
well as famous
international guest stars.
The Scarlet Sails
celebration is the
culmination of the White
Nights season, the
largest public event
anywhere in Russia with
the annual estimated
attendance about 1
million people, most of
whom are students from
thousands of schools
and colleges, both local
and international.
7. Dia de los muertos
(Day of the Dead)
Mexico
Day of the Dead is a
Mexican holiday
celebrated throughout
Mexico and around the
world in other cultures.
The holiday focuses on
gatherings of family and
friends to pray for and
remember friends and
family members who
have died. It is
particularly celebrated in
Mexico where the day is
a bank
holiday. Traditions
connected with the
holiday include building
private altars called
ofrendas, honoring the
deceased using sugar
skulls, marigolds, and
the favorite foods and
beverages of the
departed, and visiting
graves with these as
gifts.
8. Running of The
Bulls - Pamplona,
Spain
The Running of the Bulls
is a part of the famous
San Fermin festival - a
practice that involves
running in front of a
small group of bulls
(typically a dozen) that
have been let loose on a
course of a sectioned-off
subset of a town's
streets. A first rocket is
set off at 8 a.m. to alert
the runners that the
corral gate is open. A
second rocket signals
that all six bulls have
been released. The third
and fourth rockets are
signals that all of the
herd has entered the
bullring and its corral
respectively, marking
the end of the event.
Every year between 200
and 300 people are
injured during the run
although most injuries
are contusions due to
falls and are not serious.
So you think you're up
for it?
9. Holi India
Holi is a spring festival
also known as the
festival of colors. It is an
ancient Hindu religious
festival which starts with
a Holika bonfire on the
night before Holi where
people gather, sing and
dance. The next morning
is free for all carnival of
colors, where everyone
plays, chases and colors
each other with dry
powder and colored
water, with some
carrying water guns and
colored water-filled
balloons for their water
fight. Anyone and
everyone is fair game,
friend or stranger, rich or
poor, man or woman,
children and elders.
Groups carry drums and
musical instruments, go
from place to place, sing
and dance.
10. Up Helly Aa Fire
Festival Scotland
It takes place in Lerwick,
Shetland, on the last
Tuesday in January every
year. Up Helly Aa day
involves a series of
marches and visitations,
culminating in a torch-lit
procession and the
burning of a galley. This
is followed by hours of
performing acts and
dancing in halls
throughout Lerwick. The
procession culminates in
the torches being thrown
into a replica Viking
longship or galley.
WORKSHEET 1 (COUNTRIES, ACTIVITIES AND TIME)
Complete the table below with the information from the brochure on
the places and time that the festivals take place and the activities.
FESTIVAL
1. The Rio
de Janeiro
Carnival
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
COUNTRY
Brazil
TIME
Before Lent
every year
ACTIVITY/ACTIVITI
ES
Rio Carnival Parade
WORKSHEET 2
Based on the text, discuss in your group and complete the graphic
organiser below.
THE BEST
CELEBRATION
REASONS
_____________________
ONE SIMILARITY WITH
FESTIVALS IN MALAYSIA
WORKSHEET 3
Based on the text, choose one foreign celebration and compare it with
one local celebration.
A foreign
celebration
A local
celebration
Worksheet 3
Your friend is planning to visit one of the countries shown in the flyer. Write an email to suggest a festival that he or she should not miss. Give reasons to
support your suggestion.
To:
From:
Topic:
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