Halloween

Purpose:   To give learners a brief introduction to an often mystifying American holiday

Note: The accompanying handouts deal with Halloween in a superficial way.  With more advanced learners, you may decide to talk about the pagan roots of the holiday, the symbols associated with Halloween, why some are associated with death and considered “scary”, and observances in other cultures that resemble Halloween in different ways, such as the Day of the Dead in Mexico.

Prep time: dependent on time needed to gather materials (see below)

Materials:  real-life items or additional pictures to help explain vocabulary; copies of handouts, candy, if desired, for role play

Prep: Decide on vocabulary you think you’ll need to pre-teach and make sure you can either model it or show examples

Procedure:

1) Ask learners what they already know about Halloween and write words and phrases on the board.

2) Have students who were in the U.S. in previous years share what they saw and did on Halloween.

3) Make a list of types of characters that a person could dress up as for Halloween. Explain that the holiday is a fun time for children, but that adults often have parties and dress up, too.

4) Hand out the reading.  Ask students to look it over and circle words they don’t know. 

5) Discuss the words as a group.  Practice pronouncing them.

6) Give students time to read the piece on their own silently, then read it out loud together.

7) “Find someone who…” (page 2 of reading) can be used as a follow-up activity.  Be sure to model the questions first. 

Extensions:

• Act out Trick or Treating.  Some people play the roles of neighbors, who open the door for others who knock and say “trick or treat”.  Have them give out small candies or pieces of fruit.  The visitors say “thank you” and the neighbors say “You’re welcome.”

Note: Explain to learners that if they want children to come to their door, they should turn on an outside light.  If they don’t want children to come to the door, keep the lights off!

• Halloween presents an opportunity to talk about nutrition and food safety.  Many learners may not realize the importance of looking at what their children bring home to make sure that everything is wrapped and safe to eat.  You could also talk about ways to limit the intake of sugar by allowing children to eat a limited amount at a time.  Suggest establishing guidelines with kids before they go out.