Christmas

A special lesson at Christmas time, linked to the language of study is another fantastic opportunity to build children’s cultural capital as referred to in the Age Related Expectations. At Christmas, take the chance to talk to your class about the traditions they follow and compare these with other countries.

Here are some ideas which you might want to include as part of a special Christmas lesson:

Show film clips of cities around the world at Christmas time.
Play traditional Christmas songs in French/Spanish/German.
Set up an ‘El Gordo’ the Spanish lottery, award the children with chocolate money or pretend euros made from paper.
Share typical Christmas foods from France, Spain or Germany and ask children to state their preferences in the target language.
Create a typical Christmas menu in the language of study.
Share information with the children about traditions for a country then test knowledge with a quiz and offer a prize to the winning team!
Learn to sing a French/German or Spanish Christmas song with the children and present it as part of Christmas carols or performances.
Create bingo games with images and words/phrases linked to Christmas in the target language.
Set up some Christmas cooking sessions where children create something to eat and have to follow the recipe in French/Spanish or German. If allergies are a problem, recreate picture versions of ingredients and hold them up as part of instructions given in the target language!
Create Christmas cards in French/Spanish or German but ask children to follow simple instructions in the target language. Use visual as well as verbal cues to support the process!
Share photographs of places around the world at Christmas time!
Play pass the parcel with images and vocabulary/phrases linked to Christmas in a bag, each time the music stops, a child removes an item with a word/phrase attached and this is repeated by the whole class.
Watch adverts in the target language, often these might be linked to something such as a toy brand or something which happens traditionally in a country at Christmas time for example ‘EL Gordo’ in Spain.
Look at Christmas around the world, think about Mexico for example if you are learning Spanish or Guadalupe if you are learning French. Show photographs, compare what is similar and different, how does the climate differ at Christmas time compared with the United Kingdom.
Look at a simple version of the Christmas story in Spanish/French or German.
Make a decoration and add labels in French/Spanish or German.

The following are all website links for ideas for teaching about Christmas.