New Year's Beg

New Year’s Celebration
(beginner level)
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ESL Lesson Plans - Holidays (Beginner) - New Year’s Celebration
NEW YEAR'S: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
New Year's Day wasn't always on January 1st. People used to celebrate it in March. January and February were
not in the early Roman calendar. December was the tenth and final month. How do we know this for sure?
"Decem" means ten in Latin. January and February became part of the calendar around 700 BC. This brought
the number of months up to twelve.
Julius Caesar named January 1st as the first day of the year around 46 BC. It took many years before his people
accepted this day. By the 1500s, many European countries called January 1st New Year's Day. Today this is the
official start of the year in many nations. Millions of people celebrate New Year's Eve on December 31st. Some
cultures and nations still celebrate New Year's on other days.
Every nation celebrates New Year's in a different way. In Australia, New Year's parties take place on the beach.
Sydney is one of the first large cities to welcome the new year. TV viewers worldwide love to watch the annual
fireworks display in Sydney. Across the globe, New Year's celebrations are much colder. The Times Square ball
drops sixteen hours later in New York City. It takes one minute to fall. This is one of the world's most popular
countdowns. People dance and sing and nobody cares how cold it is!
In Japan, the new year is a very important time of year. Japanese families hold "forget-the-year" parties. These
parties help people forget their past troubles. The new year is a new start in life. Japanese friends send each
other special post cards. They also get together to burn lucky charms. The celebration lasts seven days. At the
end of the week Japanese people eat a special kind of soup. The soup signals a new beginning for healthy eating
after a week of feasting. Columbians also use the new year for new beginnings. They make a doll called Mr. Old
Year. They place notes about their troubles inside the doll. At the stroke of midnight they blow him up with
firecrackers. Good-bye old year!
Many New Year's traditions involve fire. Long ago people believed that evil spirits feared fire and smoke.
Townspeople made firecrackers to drive the bad spirits away for the year. Even though firecrackers are
traditional they are very expensive. In addition, they are bad for the environment. Taiwan uses eco-friendly
fireworks during their New Year's festivals. Taiwanese officials hope other nations will do the same in the
future.
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READING COMPREHENSION
A. True or False? Write T if the answer is true and F if the answer is false.
1. New Year's was always celebrated on January 1st. _______

2. All nations celebrate New Year's Eve on December 31st. _______
3. New York is one of the first cities to celebrate New Year's each year. _______
4. Times Square is a popular place to watch the New Year's countdown. _______
5. In Japan, people burn their lucky charms before the new year. _______
6. People from Japan and Columbia have similar goals for the new year. _______
7. Traditionally, fire is associated with good luck. _______
B. Who, What Where, When, Why, How? Answer the following questions.
1. Who named New Year's Day as January 1st? ___________________________________________________

2. What happens in New York City on New Year's Eve? ____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Where are "forget-the-year" parties held? ______________________________________________________
4. When do Japanese people eat special New Year's soup? __________________________________________
5. Why do Columbians blow up Mr. Old Year? ___________________________________________________
6. How is Taiwan making a difference for the future? ______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
C. Write your own 6 questions about the reading using Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. Ask
your questions to a partner.
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________?
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________?
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________?
4. _______________________________________________________________________________________?
5. _______________________________________________________________________________________?
6. _______________________________________________________________________________________?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.
____1. celebrate a) explosions of light in the sky

____2. calendar b) the one that most people use or follow
____3. official c) the counting of time (high to low) before a big event
____4. party d) an action repeated during certain times or events
____5. fireworks e) a gathering of people to have fun
____6. countdown f) to show happiness about an achievement or event
____7. trouble g) to be or to set on fire
____8. burn h) the schedule of the months and days of the year
____9. tradition i) things that went wrong; unhappiness
____10. spirit j) a power or force in the world that affects humans
B. Choose a partner. Each person should unscramble their own group of words.
Partner 1: Partner 2:
1. tirspi _____________ 1. fficlaoi _____________

2. itiradtno _____________ 2. bltruoe _____________
3. dcoutnonw _____________ 3. tyarp _____________
4. braecleet _____________ 4. nrbu _____________
5. wofirkser _____________ 5. rcalndae _____________
C. Write five sentences using the words your partner unscrambled in Part B.
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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GROUP ACTIVITIES
New Year’s Resolution
New Year's resolution: a goal or plan to make a life change in the New Year
A) Work together as a class to make a list of examples of New Year's resolutions.
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________________________________
6. _______________________________________________________________________________________
7. _______________________________________________________________________________________
8. _______________________________________________________________________________________
B) Go around the classroom with your paper and a pen. Find someone who plans to do one of the
following in the New Year.
Find someone who plans to…:

Student Name:
1. eat better this year.

_____________________
2. exercise more this year.

_____________________
3. study more this year.

_____________________
4. find a romantic partner this year.

_____________________
5. care more about the environment this year.

_____________________
6. be happier this year.

_____________________
7. make more money this year.

_____________________
8. work harder this year.

_____________________
9. be more helpful this year.

_____________________
10. ________________________(your idea)

_____________________
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Teacher’s Notes / Answer Key
These activities are designed for lower level ESL learners, but can be adapted to suit your students’ needs.
Reading - Have your students read the article about New Year’s. You can ask them to read aloud to monitor
pronunciation, or silently on their own. When they are finished the reading put them into small groups or pairs to discuss
the follow up questions.
Reading Comprehension
A. True or False
1. F 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T 6. T 7. F
B. Who, What, Where?

1. Julius Caesar declared January 1st as New Year's Day.
2. A ball drops at Times Square in New York City.
3. The forget-the-year parties are held in Japan.
4. Japanese people eat their special soup after 7 days of celebration.
5. Columbians blow up Mr. Old Year to forget their troubles and start a new year.
6. Taiwan is using eco-friendly fireworks to protect the environment.
Vocabulary Review
A. Matching
1. F 2. H 3. B 4. E 5. A 6. C 7. I 8. G 9. D 10. J
A. Unscramble the words

Parter 1
1. spirit 2. tradition 3. countdown 4. celebrate 5. fireworks
Parter 2
1. official 2. trouble 3. party 4. burn 5. calendar
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6

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New Year’s Celebration

NEW YEAR'S: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

1. New Year's was always celebrated on January 1st. _______

1. Who named New Year's Day as January 1st? ___________________________________________________

____1. celebrate a) explosions of light in the sky

1. tirspi _ 1. fficlaoi _

New Year’s Resolution

A) Work together as a class to make a list of examples of New Year's resolutions.

Find someone who plans to…:

1. eat better this year.

Teacher’s Notes / Answer Key

B. Who, What, Where?

A. Unscramble the words

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