Starting off

What traditions are popular in your country in each season? Work with a partner and try to make a list.

• spring

• summer

• autumn

• winter

Which of these traditions do you take part in? Are there any traditions you try to avoid?

Before you read

What do you know about the British tradition of `Bonfire Night' (the 5th of November)? Look at the words below and try to guess what the connection of each is with Bonfire Night.

apples prams gunpowder

potatoes old clothes the Houses of Parliament

First reading

Read the text quickly to check your ideas.

Second reading

Read the text again more slowly and decide which of the sentences below fit into which gaps (1-5 in the text).

1. The bonfires are built in the week before and lit after dark on Bonfire Night.

2. As in Britain, however, few people remember the real story these days.

3. But where does the tradition come from?

4. The conspirators aimed to do this by blowing up the Houses of Parliament by exploding gunpower in the cellars

5. If the owner of the house thinks the Guy is well made then he or she will give the children a few coins or something nice to eat or drink.

Vocabulary 1

Find words or phrases to complete the sets. All the words and phrases you need are in the text.

Vocabulary 2

Complete the sentences below using one of the words from the lists in Vocabulary 1.

1. George Walker Bush is the _______________ president of the United States.

2. Christmas falls on the 25th of December _______________.

3. “This really is a wonderful watch. It is just _______________ made.”

4. Everyone had been quiet at lunch, but _______________ the meal the conversation was lively.

Third reading

1. Bonfire Night is popular

a. with adults only

b. with children only

c. with both adults and children

2. What is the Guy made from?

3. Why do the children put the Guy into a pram?

4. Toffee apples are

a. soft

b. hard

5. How was Fawkes caught?

6. Do British children remember the true story of Guy

Fawkes?

Speaking

What do you think? Discuss the questions below with a partner:

• Why are traditions important?

• Is it important to maintain traditions, even if no-one can remember the reason?

• How many of your country's traditions are unique to your country?

• Do you have any personal or family traditions - any things that you do at the same time every year? What

are they? How did these traditions start?

A Monthly Newsletter for Teachers of English

November 2008

© Pearson Education Polska 2008 PHOTOCOPIABLE

A C T I V I T I E S S H E E T

November 2008

some years

most years

__________

__________

current

future

light

medium

__________

__________

during

following

badly

reasonably

__________

superbly

The hurricane season is upon us again and it might be another record-breaking season. But what are hurricanes and how are they formed?

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder, Treason and Plot, I know of no reason Why the gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot. Bonfire Night Every year on the 5th of November British people celebrate `Bonfire Night' with large bonfires, fireworks and special food. It is a very popular tradition, especially with children. (1) _______________________ __________________________. The answer might be surprising… The Traditions In the weeks leading up to Bonfire Night, British children make a `Guy' out of old clothes, paper, straw and anything else they can find. The Guy is put into a pram and in the days before Bonfire Night the children take it to houses in the neighbourhood asking for `a penny for the Guy'. (2) ____________________. The Guy is thrown onto the

fire after the bonfire is lit. Another tradition is the building of bonfires in gardens, parks and town centres. (3)_____________________ ______________________ . Fireworks are set off and toffee apples - apples covered in crunchy toffee - are eaten, together with very dark and hard toffee called `Bonfire Toffee'. Other foods are popular as well: potatoes roasted in the embers of the fire, parkin (ginger cake) and marshmallows toasted on sticks by the fire, for example. The History The celebrations on Bonfire Night are related to real events in history and date back over four hundred years, to November 5th, 1605. The Guy of Bonfire Night represents Guy Fawkes, one of the most wellknown characters in English history.

Who Was Guy Fawkes? Guy Fawkes was a soldier who had fought in the Netherlands on the side of the Spanish Catholic forces against the protestant armies of the Dutch. He was a Catholic nationalist and, when the protestant James I of Scotland became King of England, Fawkes joined a plot to kill the King and the protestant English aristocracy. (4) _______________________. The plot was betrayed and Fawkes, who was guarding the gunpowder, was captured, tortured and killed. Around the World Bonfire Night is celebrated in many former colonies of Great Britain, including New Zealand and South Africa. (5) ____________________ ______________________. Perhaps if they did they might treat their Guys a little bit more gently!

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