Christmas Traditions- Passives Bluff Game

Passive voice Xmas traditions bluffing game

Instructions for teachers

1. Talk about Christmas traditions that the students know from various countries and draw and write important vocab on the board that they might need like “reindeer” (depending on level and L1)
2. After you tell them some surprising info (either something that will come up on the worksheets later or something else) ask them to guess if it’s true or false.
3. Divide the class into teams of two to four students, making sure there are an equal number of team As and team Bs in the class (e.g. with 13 students, 2 Team As of 3 students each and 2 Team Bs of 3 students and 4 students).
4. Give out the relevant worksheets and ask the teams of students to discuss and guess how many are true and how many are false on the sheet they are given.
5. Tell them that all of them are true, but that you want them to make them false by changing just one piece of information in each sentence, e.g. “blue” to talk about poinsettias.
6. Either with teams matched up against one another or with all the team Bs guessing the questions from each team A etc, teams have to guess which info the other team has made wrong in each sentence for one point (e.g. Poinsettias aren’t blue) and try to guess the right info for more points (e.g. they are red).
7. Let them look at both worksheets and ask about any which they don’t understand, they don’t think are true, etc.
8. Do the grammar worksheets.
9. As an extension, students can make their own bluff questions about Xmas or other traditions, e.g. testing their teacher on traditions in the students’ country or region.

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Team A

1. Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) lived in Turkey and is buried in Bari in the south of Italy

2. In Italy, Xmas presents are brought by an old lady called Befana instead of Santa

3. The first time Santa was drawn in a red and white suit was in a Coca Cola advertisement

4. Decorated fir trees were first used as Xmas trees in Germany in the 16^th They were covered with apples, roses, candy and coloured paper.

5. In Holland, children leave wooden shoes out for Santa to put the presents in.

6. In Britain, a small piece of greenery with white berries (mistletoe) is hung from the top of a doorway around the house at Xmas. Kissing under this plant brings you good luck for the coming year. In fact, if you are standing under it, you cannot refuse a kiss!

7. The red star shapes in poinsettias are not flowers – the red part is really the upper leaves of the plant. The actual flowers of the poinsettia are small and yellow.

8. Poinsettias are named after America’s first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett, who first brought the plants to America in 1828.

9. The first printed Xmas card was created by the first director of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry Cole, in 1843.

10. The Story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was written in 1939 as a free gift for customers of an American department store.

11. In Spain, Xmas presents are brought by the Three Kings rather than by Father Christmas.

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Team B

1. Although Jesus was possibly born on the 25^th, it was probably in spring. December was chosen as the date to celebrate by the Catholic Church so that the church could compete with a big Roman festival at the same time of year.

2. Male reindeer drop their antlers around the beginning of December. Therefore, all of Santa’s reindeer (including Rudolph) must be female.

3. A British Xmas cake is a heavy fruit cake, almost black inside, which is covered with marzipan and white sugar icing.

4. The British eat their Xmas turkey with cranberry jam.

5. Xmas lasts for 12 days. If you don’t take down your Xmas decorations by the 12^th day it is bad luck.

6. The first recorded Christmas mass in Japan was celebrated at Yamaguchi Church in 1552.

7. Traditionally, British families sit down at three PM after Xmas dinner to watch the Queen give a speech on TV.

8. There are no trains, buses, underground or trams on Xmas day in the UK.

9. The first advent calendar was published in Germany in 1903.

10. At Xmas dinner, British families pull open Xmas crackers. Crackers are small cardboard tubes which are covered with coloured paper. They contain paper party hats, jokes, plastic toys and a very small explosive charge.

11. The first electrically lighted Xmas tree was created by Edison in the 1880’s. Before that, candles and gas lights were used as lights on Xmas trees.

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Passive voice grammar presentation

Without looking back at your worksheets, use your memory and grammar knowledge to try to fill each gap below with the correct grammatical form. Not all should be passive voice.

• Saint Nicholas ____________________________________________ (live) in Turkey and ________________________________________ (bury) in Bari in the south of Italy
• In Italy, Xmas presents _______________________________________________ (bring) by an old lady called Befana instead of Santa
• The first time Santa __________________________________________________ (draw) in a red and white suit was in a Coca Cola advertisement
• Decorated fir trees were first used as Xmas trees in Germany in the 16^th century, when they _____________________ (cover) with apples, roses, candy and coloured paper.
• In Holland, children ______________________________________________ (leave) wooden shoes out for Santa to put the presents in rather than socks
• In Britain, a small piece of greenery with green berries (mistletoe) is hung from the top of a doorway around the house at Xmas. Kissing under this plant brings you good luck for the new year. In fact, if you ____________ (stand) under it, you cannot refuse a kiss!
• The red star shapes in poinsettias are not flowers – the red part is actually the upper leaves of the plant. The actual flower of the poinsettia is small and yellow.
• Poinsettias ________________________________________________________ (name) after America’s first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett, who first brought the plants to America in 1828.
• The first printed Xmas card ________________________________________ (create) by the first director of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry Cole, in 1843.
• The Story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer ___________________________ (write) in 1939 as a free gift for customers of an American department store.
• In Spain, Xmas presents ____________________________________________ (bring) by the Three Kings rather than by Father Christmas.
• Although Jesus was possibly born on the 25^th, it was probably in spring. December _______________________ (chose) as the date to celebrate by the Catholic Church so that the church could compete with a big Roman festival at the same time of year.
• The British _________________________ (eat) their Xmas turkey with cranberry jam.
• Xmas __________________________________________________________ (last) for 12 days. If you don’t take down your Xmas decorations by the 12^th day it is bad luck.
• The first recorded Christmas mass in Japan _________________________________ (celebrate) at Yamaguchi Church in 1552.
• Traditionally, British families _____________________________________________ (sit down) at three PM after Xmas dinner to watch the Queen give a speech on TV.
• The first advent calendar __________________________ (publish) in Germany in 1903.
• At Xmas dinner, British families _____________ (pull) open Xmas crackers. Crackers are small cardboard tubes which ________________ (cover) with coloured paper. They contain paper party hats, jokes, plastic toys and a very small explosive charge.
• The first electrically lighted Xmas tree _______________________________ (create) by Edison in the 1880’s. Before that, candles and gas lights were put on Xmas trees.

Look back at your worksheets and check your answers. Other tenses might be possible, so please check if you wrote something different.