Easter Traditions

Вiдкритий позакласний захiд 

з  англійської мови

в 6 – 7 класах з поглибленим вивченням англійської мови

Оbjectives and goals:

Teaching goals:

-         engagement into intercultural communication

-         acquiring knowledge about cultural traditions of other  peoples

-         mastering basic skills in listening, speaking   

Developing goals:

-         development of speaking, intellectual and cognitive abilities

Educational goals:

-         moulding positive attitude towards cultural traditions of

                                 other people

-         encouraging mastering culture of communication

Equipment:      

-         multimedia whiteboard

-         projector

-         laptop computer

-         decorations for the scene of celebrating Easter

-         tape-recorder with a record of ethnic music

                      Хiд заходу

1.     Dear guests!

Winter has passed, the birds return,

There is the end of winter’s reign.

There is a way to the light!

Easter is a festival of hope and joy,

It’s a festival of awakening life!

The group of students perform the song “Spring”.

Out of cave! Out of hole!

Bear, rabbit, little mole,

 Hatch from egg in nest in trees!

The birds are back and so are bees.

The flowers are in blossom,

The leaves are green,

How do they know when it is spring?

Build your web! The bugs are back!

Little spider dressed in black,

Bears, rabbits, birds and bees,

Flowers and grass, leaves and trees,

Just like me they all have fun,

That’s how they know spring has come!

2.     No matter, what a person’s religion is Easter for everybody is a great festival.

Come and join our festival saying together

Christ has risen! He has truly risen!

3.     Easter is much fun for children as there are egg games and egg contests.   Players may role hard-cooked eggs down a slope, each trying to have his/her own egg  reached the bottom unbroken.

4.     Though the egg itself has a deeper meaning the games are played mostly for fun. They express the joy of Easter. In families with children parents hide chocolate eggs on the front lawns or in the garden, and in the morning it’s always much joy for children to find and put them into their Easter baskets.

5.     Besides Easter eggs other Easter symbols are chickens, rabbits, lambs, beau – tiful flowers – lilies and hot-cross buns. Have you ever tried them? Surely, you wonder why rabbits are other Easter symbols. Listen to me, please.

Little rabbits are usually called bunnies. As you know rabbits have large families. Certainly you know how fast little bunnies grow up and then have babies of their own until there are more and more and more. And most people believe that the hare or rabbit of Easter is a symbol of new life as it probably was in religions far older than Christianity.

       (Somebody is knocking at the door.)

6.     Can you hear it? Somebody is knocking at the door. Let him in, please. Wow! How lucky we are! How happy we are! Look here! We  are having a special guest today! Who is this? – This is Easter Bunny! Welcome, dear friend! Let’s invite Easter Bunny to our festival! Kids, say together once more

                 Welcome, Easter Bunny! Glad to meet you!

Easter Bunny:  Hi, guys! How are you? I am so happy to meet you too! I see you are celebrating Easter,a great holiday! I have brought you a magic basket full of different things: presents and hot-cross buns, delicious spicy buns with raisins inside and shiny brown tops decorated with crosses of white icing. My dear friends, help yourselves!

Children:         Thanks a lot, Easter Bunny! They are really fantastic and smell so sweet!  Please, tell us more about Easter.

Easter Bunny: OK, with great pleasure! Easter is the time for giving and receiving presents. Traditionally these presents take a form of an Easter egg,a new hat for Easter Parade or a hot-cross bun. Children usually get chocolate Easter eggs or Easter  rabbits. They are either hollow or have a filling and are usually covered with brightly coloured silver paper. One can buy them at any sweet shop in the weeks before Easter. Kids, do you know the colours most often used in Easter decorations are different? They are white, yellow or gold, green and purple, they are wonderful!

( Pupils ask Easter Bunny to show them a new game ).

Easter Bunny: Then let’s play the game which is called “ Guess what symbol I am”. The symbols are written on the slips of paper. I want you to come up to me, pick one of the notes, read it silently and then show the symbol through your gestures. The rest of the pupils should guess what symbol you are trying to show.

        ( Easter Bunny presents the participants with sweets and prizes. He is interested if Easter traditions are the same in Ukraine.)

7.     In Ukraine Easter has been celebrated over a long period of history and has had many rich traditions. The last Sunday before Easter is called Willow Sunday (Verbna Nedilia). On this day pussy-willow branches are blessed in church.

8.     It should be said one of the traditions is particular. Tapping each other with the branches of willow people repeat the wish. It sounds like that,”Be as tall as the willow, as healthy as water and as rich as the earth. Not I am tapping, the willow is tapping. Easter is in a week.

9.     Traditional Easter breads – pasky, pysanky and krashanky (decorated or coloured Easter eggs) are blessed in church. People exchange Easter greetings, give each other krashanky and then hurry home with their baskets of blessed food. Easter is a feast of joy and gladness, it is celebrated for three days and spring songs (vesnianky) are often sung.

          ( The group of pupils dressed in national clothes sing Ukrainian vesnianky).

10.                       Now, friends, get ready to take part in a special contest “The best painter”. Some volunteers are needed. We’ll blind you and then you’ll try to paint Easter symbols as nicely as you can.

    (Pupils are engaged in this activity, after that they are given some sweets  or prizes).

11.                       There are different ways of celebration Easter in European countries and in the USA. They differ and have something in common at the same time. Certainly     we invited some of our pen friends from  Italy, Hungary, Greece, Iraq, Panama,     Sweden, Australia, the USA, Norway and Spain. They all are smart with speaking     English and are happy to visit our festival. They are going to share some information about their traditions with you.

                Let’s greet them,kids! ( The guests introduce themselves and tell their stories).

12.                       In Italy Easter fireworks represent light coming out of darkness, bringing with it  new hope and new life.

13.                       In Hungary painted eggs are hung from the twigs of trees, like decorations in a Christmas tree.

14.                       In Greece people eat a round, flat loaf of bread, marked with a cross and decorated with Easter eggs.

15.                       In  Iraq families make their homes beautiful decorating them with wild tulips called lilies of the field.

16.                       In Panama children believe that a painted rabbit called the conejo brings them Easter eggs.

17.                       In Sweden people light bonfires, shoot fireworks into the sky, paint crosses, stars and other holly symbols on their doors. In western provinces of Sweden there is still a competition of the biggest Easter fire.

18.                       In Australia Easter is celebrated too. They play the game called ‘Egg Knocking  Game’. In Sydney the agricultural show known as ‘The Royal Easter Show’ is held every year.

19.                       In the USA one interesting tradition is that every year in Washington DC children         roll eggs down the grassy slopes of the White House lawn in an Easter contest.         A band plays, there are prizes, and the President of the United States is there.

20.                       In Norway yellow chickens re everywhere at Easter time. Drawn chickens, plastic        chickens,cotton ones, chickens made of  all sorts of  materials can be seen in  private homes, shop windows, newspapers and magazines, on television. It’s  no won der, yellow has become the colour of Easter in Norway.

21.                       In Spain mostly every city or town has its own traditions and there are thousands

of processions throughout Spain.

(All say many thanks and applaud).

22.                       Look! Such pretty girls are wearing  lovely hats, unusual amazing hats! Oh, it seems I guess what it means. Do you guess too? Some women and girls in Britain decorate their hats, called bonnets. They put lots of spring flowers on them and wear them during Easter bonnet parades.

23.                       Now we are having our Easter bonnet parade just here. Welcome, dear guests, join  the parade and enjoy yourselves! Let’s greet our participants!

(Music is playing and all are dancing).

     

  Easter Bunny: Have fun, everybody! Easter is a festival of hope and joy!

                          It is a festival of awakening life!