Unit 14 Festivals
(Senior 1B)

Part 1 Topic : Festivals
I （ Knowledge）
1.Can remember the following words and expressions (by pronunciation, spelling and writing):
theme, parade, holy, Easter, symbol, fighting, conflict, argument, opinion, destruction, major, probably, honour /honor(Am.E), ancestor, principle, nation, purpose, creativity, faith, commercial, joy, light (v.), similar, generation, salute, kiss, cheek, nod, celebration, respect, gift, cycle, fool, invitation, self-determination, reminder
dress up, in one’s opinion, play a trick on /play tricks on, take in, in common
2.Can use the following structures in different situations:
1)Useful expressions in the text
in my opinion, play a trick on /play tricks on, take in, in common, have something/nothing in common with …,as well as, get together.
2)Expressions on expressing and supporting an opinion
In my opinion, we should… I believe we should…
I don’t think it is necessary to… We must decide…
I hope we can make a decision. If we do this, we can…
3)Modal verbs (2): must, have to, have got to.
3.Can be familiar with the following world festivals and talk about them:
Chinese festivals: the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao), Tomb Sweeping Festival (Qingming), Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu), Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival (Chongyang), National Day, New Year’s Day, Chinese Youth Day, Party’s Day, Army’s Day, Teachers’ Day, Tree-planting Day…
Foreign festivals: Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, Easter, Valentine’s Day, April Fool’s Day, Ramadan, Day of the Dead (from Mexico), Bon Odori Festival/ Ghost Festival (from Japan) (盂兰盆节), Mardi Gras, Kwanzaa…
4.Can read the reading materials correctly, including pronunciation, intonation, pause and fluency. And recite five to eight beautiful or important sentences.
5.Can understand the teaching material well, and retell the text and have a discussion according to the text after class.
6.Can get further information about festivals through classes, magazines, newspapers, related books, Internet and so on.

II ( Affect )
1.To get Ss to enjoy festivals and customs from different countries, and enlighten Ss to enjoy the beauty and the importance of festivals and customs.
2.To encourage Ss to show positive and healthy attitude towards festivals and customs from different countries.
3.To get Ss to know how to hold effective and successful festivals.
4.To get Ss to further understand the differences between Chinese and foreign cultures by comparing Chinese and foreign festivals and customs.

III 技能目标 ( Skills )
1.To train Ss’ four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) in different periods.
2.To make Ss’ know how to write an invitation in English.
3.To help Ss to develop the ability of learning English through different ways, such as reading newspapers, magazines and books, surf the Internet, etc.

Part 2 Pre-unit Activities: Preview Task
1.Find information about the following festivals as much as possible through newspapers, magazines, related books and Internet.
Chinese festivals: the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao), Tomb Sweeping Festival (Qingming), Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu), Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival (Chongyang), National Day, New Year’s Day, Chinese Youth Day, Party’s Day, Army’s Day, Teachers’ Day, Tree-planting Day…
Foreign festivals: Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, Easter, Valentine’s Day, April Fool’s Day, Ramadan, Day of the Dead (from Mexico), Bon Odori Festival/ Ghost Festival (from Japan) (盂兰盆节), Mardi Gras, Kwanzaa…

2. Read the following introductions of some famous foreign festivals.
Mardi Gras The Americas most favorite celebration, and famous Mardi Gras takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Carnival has religious roots associated with Judeo-Christian tradition. Mardi Gras is set to occur 46 days (the 40 days of Lent plus six Sundays) before Easter and can come as early as February 3 or as late as March 9. Known as the "biggest free show on earth", people there dress up in costumes for these events and enjoy this celebration by going to public parades where they catch "beads, doubloons, cups, and trinkets" that are all thrown from floats. They also have private celebrations, masquerade balls, held by clubs called krewes. The official colors of Carnival are purple, green and gold, chosen in 1872 by that years Rex. The colors have meaning: purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power. King Cakes are eaten during this holiday.
Valentine’s Day February 14th, Valentine’s Day, is sweethearts’ day, on which people in love with each other express their tender emotions. People sometimes put their love message in a heart-shaped box of chocolates, or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons. Words or letters may be written on the flower covered card, or something else. Whatever the form may be, the message is almost the same —“ Will you be my valentine?” The symbol of valentine is a picture with a Heart and Cupid armed with bow and arrow. Many universities, high or elementary schools hold a sweethearts’ Ball for the young students to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Bon Odori Festival (Ghost Festival) Japanese has been looking upon Ghost Day Ceremony originating in Buddhist Ullambana. These two festivals were not only public holidays with enthusiastic festivities but also times when people gave presents to each other and enhance amity between them. The custom of giving presents might root in the transfer from the kind-heartedness of giving alms to the concern for the living families and friends. The Japanese also hang lanterns on July 15 to lead the spirits back to the earthly world and have them enjoy grand banquet. It is like our custom of releasing water lanterns and firing lanterns. Besides, they hold a “pot” ceremony, called “pot-reciting”, which praises Buddhist sutras, singing and dancing, receiving the departed spirits and sending away the solitary ghosts. Today, there are various scales of “pot ceremony” all over Japan, which is kind of an amusement gathering. However, current Ghost Day Ceremony is not full of gloomy atmosphere in its form, remaining only enjoyable sentiment in spite of the existing original meaning.
Halloween 1,000 years ago, the Celts living in the Great Britain believed that human is mastered by gods. They also believe that Samhain, the death god, would come back to the earthly world with the dead at the night on October 31. The Celts built bonfires and fired animals as sacrificial offerings to the death god. Some Celts were dressed in costumes made from animal heads or furs, which was the origin of contemporary Halloween masquerade. The night of the death god was a horrifying time that signified the coming of winter and was the beginning of Halloween eve. Today, the religious meaning of Halloween has been weakened; instead, the holiday expresses man’s cherishing memory of Halloween via innovative, ever-changing modern masquerade.
Day of the Dead, Mexico On November 2nd, each house roasts bread of animal forms, broiling chicken, hot chocolate and sweet corns, plus laying some toys on the altar because Mexicans believe that the dead children will come back to their own homes in the midnight. The altar for the dead elder is stocked with belongings of the merriment as they do; therefore, their Ghost Festival is just like a carnival when people walk around with masks, eating skull-shaped candies. And even a ghost image is put on the bread. In the evening, the whole family goes to the cemetery and clears the grave. Women praise all night in kneeling or sitting position while men are talking or singing. The flickering midnight candlelight is filling up the cemetery whereas walki