December – It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Contents

Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 1
1. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer – Listening → Speaking – A1 → A2 ................................................ 2
2. Christmas vocabulary – A1 → A2 ........................................................................................................ 4
3. Reading – A2 → B1 – Celebrating Christmas ...................................................................................... 6
4. Speaking → Listening → Reading – B2 → C1 – Celebrate the spirit of giving by VOLUNTEERING! .... 7
5. Answers ............................................................................................................................................. 12

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1. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer – Listening → Speaking – A1 → A2

Ask your pupils to listen to the Christmas song below :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM6mDRhKAcA

As they listen to the song, ask them to underline the correct word in these lines:

1. You would even say it glows / toes

2. They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer names / games

3. Then one soggy / foggy Christmas Eve

4. As they shouted out with glee / bee

5. You’ll go down in mystery / history

Now, have your students match the sentences from section A, with their correct second half from
section B.

A B
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?
All of the other reindeer Santa came to say:
Then one foggy Christmas Eve had a very shiny nose
Rudolph with your nose so bright used to laugh and call him names

Synonym challenge! – hand out a thesaurus to your students and ask them to find as many
synonyms as they can to the following words:

Word Synonyms
Shiny
Laugh
Lead (verb)
Say
Shout

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Ask your students to listen to the song again and read the lyrics:

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer Translate the below words in the box into Spanish:

had a very shiny nose.

And if you ever saw him,

Shiny –
you would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer Glow –

used to laugh and call him names.

Foggy –
They never let poor Rudolph

join in any reindeer games.

Bright –
Then one foggy Christmas Eve

Santa came to say: Glee –

"Rudolph with your nose so bright,

Shout –
won't you lead my sleigh tonight?"

Then all the reindeer loved him

as they shouted out with glee,

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,

you'll go down in history!

Ask your students to discuss the following questions in pairs:

1. Why did the other reindeer laugh at Rudolph?

2. What did Santa ask Rudolph?

3. When did the other reindeer become Rudolph’s friends?

4. Tell your partner another famous Christmas story you read about or heard in a song.

5. What other Christmas songs do you know? What are they about?

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2. Christmas vocabulary – A1 → A2

Tick the correct word next to each picture.

Sleigh

Snowman

Snowflake

Cookie

Cake

Gingerbread

Bush

Wreath

Circle

Christmas ornaments

Christmas lights

Furniture

Mistletoe

Holly

Cherries

Christmas stockings

Gloves

Christmas hat

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 Horse

Donkey

Reindeer

Oak tree

Christmas tree

Pine tree

Rooftop

Fire

Fireplace

Christmas card

Postcard

Letter

Chocolate

Sweets

Candy canes

Candle

Light

Lamp

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3. Reading – A2 → B1 – Celebrating Christmas

Read Daniela’s description of how she and her family celebrate Christmas. Then:

 Put the paragraphs into the correct order

 Fill in the gaps with the vocabulary from Activity 2 on pages 4-5. You may have to put
some words in the plural
 Using the vocabulary from pages 4-5 (if possible), write a short text about how you and
your family celebrate Christmas

A On Christmas Eve, I bake (1) _______________cookies with my Dad. Then, I

decorate the (2) _________________ with my older brother, Julian. Together, we hang

colourful lights and ornaments on it. We also hang a (3) ____________ on our front door

and four (4) ___________________________ on the (5) __________________, one

for each member of the family. When we are finished, the house looks very pretty and

smells delicious!

B My name is Daniela. I’m 6 years old and I live in Cambridge. I love Christmas! Every

year before Christmas Day I go shopping with my Mum. We buy (6)______________,

decorations, and (7) __________________________ for our family and friends.

C On Christmas Day, my whole family wakes up really early. We all go downstairs in

our pyjamas and open our presents in the living room. It’s so much fun! Then, we all have

breakfast together.

D Before I go to sleep, I leave a glass of milk and some cookies for Santa on the

kitchen table. I leave some carrots too, for his (8) _____________________.

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4. Speaking → Listening → Reading – B2 → C1 – Celebrate the spirit of giving by
VOLUNTEERING!

Traditionally, Christmas is a time when we think about different ways of helping those who are in
need. Below are images showing people volunteering in different ways. Discuss each image with
your partner and try to answer the following questions. Remember to use the vocabulary and
expressions from the box below!

 How have these people chosen to volunteer?

 How does the voluntary work they do benefit society, as well as the volunteers?
 What kind of volunteer work most appeals to you?
 Have you ever volunteered for a certain cause?
 Can you think of any other ways of helping others?

Tutoring children with special

Residence for the elderly
Offering classroom support at
local schools
Food donation
Soup kitchen
needs
Natural disaster Wildlife/Animal sanctuary
Doctors without borders Charity organisations

1 2

3 4

7
5 6

8
7

9 10

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View this video and listen to a couple of young people talking about their experience as
volunteers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp_ecF6tC4M

Now, decide whether the sentences below are true or false.

Workaway is an organisation which sends volunteers all over the

1 T F
world.
With Workaway, the country where you travel is chosen for you
2 T F
by the organisation.
The programmes offered by Workaway allow for volunteers to
3 T F
share their daily life with their hosts.
4 Workaway doesn’t organise stays longer than two weeks. T F
5 The programmes organised by Workaway are expensive. T F

Listen to the recording again and complete the sentences below:

1 Workaway allows you to work and really ……………………………………………………………………………………

2 Workaway gives you the chance to get in touch with …………………………………………………………………

3 When volunteering, you’re helping yourself at the same time because ……………………………………..

4 Workaway’s founder has always believed that ……………………………………………………………………………

5 The organisation’s aim is to .......................................................................... wherever they are.

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You and your best friend are looking for a volunteer programme that you can join abroad, and you
find out about Workaway1. You decide to visit their website on https://www.workaway.info/ and
compare various offers in different countries.

Read each offer carefully and try and guess from the description which country the hosts are from:

Canada Bolivia China Nepal

A.

If you are passionate about nature and would

like to join a group of people who have worked
for many years in wildlife management, then
this project is for you! We are currently building
a Wildlife Sanctuary which we would like to run
in coordination with the indigenous
communities in the area.

For this reason, we are looking for volunteers

who would like to contribute to the cleaning and
preparation of the main buildings and jungle
trails, and work in our vegetable garden. You are
particularly welcome if you are a vet or are
studying Veterinary Science, and have
experience working with wildlife!
B.

Are you looking for an opportunity to live with a

family and work on an organic tea farm during
your stay in one of the most famous tea-growing
countries? Consider spending time with us at
our Tea Garden located in Ilam, a region famous
for the production of high-quality tea, sold
under the brand name of Ilam Tea.

As a volunteer, you will gain hands-on

experience in helping the tea farmers and local
communities to cultivate and harvest organic
tea through sustainable farming methods. Tasks
and projects vary depending on the season and
current needs. Farm maintenance chores
include soil preparation, weed control, starting
seedlings, tea planting, pruning, harvesting,
processing and packaging.

We look forward to hearing from you!

1
Workaway is an organisation which organises volunteer and cultural exchange programmes. The texts from
this activity have been adapted from authentic offers posted on https://www.workaway.info/

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C.

Come to our Ranch in the Clear Lake area of

Riding Mountain National Park! If you are a true
adventurer, have a passion for experiencing new
environments and learning new skills, we'd love
to have you join our team this summer!
We are looking for people who are not afraid of
working on the land. This coming 2017 summer
season, we'd like to continue upgrading the
vegetable garden, plant berry bushes, install a
dog kennel, and continue to maintain the
fencing in the horse pasture. Cutting and logging
storm damaged trees out of the bush areas,
with horses and tractors, is another activity we
require help for. Also, learning how to raise,
train and ride horses can be worked into your
volunteer stay at the ranch!
D.

Hello! My wife and I run a private kindergarten

and are looking for volunteers who are willing to
teach English to 3 to 7-year-old children, and
supervise them in the playground. You will be
required to work 4 hours a day from Monday to
Friday. We are looking for enthusiastic and
creative individuals who enjoy working with
children. Choose our project to gain new
experience and learn about our language and
culture!

Now, for questions 1–6, choose the correct option (A – D).

Which volunteer programme:

includes many physically challenging tasks 1

needs an animal specialist who has experience in working with wildlife 2
aims at involving volunteers in the fabrication of a famous regional
3
product
requires volunteers to work only on weekdays 4
would like to attract volunteers by offering additional activities with the
5
animals
is committed to cooperating with the local people 6

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5. Answers

Reading – A2 → B1 – Celebrating Christmas

1. Gingerbread
2. Christmas tree
3. Wreath
4. Christmas stockings
5. Fireplace
6. Sweets
7. Christmas cards
8. Reindeer

1. B
2. A
3. D
4. C

Speaking → Listening → Reading – B2 → C1 – Celebrate the spirit of giving by VOLUNTEERING!

A. Bolivia
B. Nepal
C. Canada
D. China

1. C
2. A
3. B
4. D
5. C
6. A

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