1. Reading: Festivals and Celebrations
Unit 1, Module 3
Festivals around the world
Reading: Festivals and Celebrations 1

2. Review of the festivals
I. Find out the right festival for each sentence.

3. 1. It is the birthday of Jesus Christ.
Easter
New Year
Christmas

4. 2. It is the day that we remember the poet Qu Yuan.
Tomb-sweeping Day
Dragon Boat
Festival
Double Ninth Festival

5. 3. It is the day that people admire the moon and eat moon cakes.
Halloween
Mid-Autumn Festival
Mother's Day

6. 4. It is an American traditional holiday, falling on the fourth Thursday in November, to celebrate the harvest.
Thanks-giving Day
Mother's Day
Dragon Boat
Festival

7. 5. It is the day that We watch dragon dances and get lucky money.
Lantern Festival
Dragon Boat
Festival
Chinese New Year

8. Review of the festivals
II. Tell the class which festival is your favorite and why.

9. Festivals and Celebrations
Pre-reading: prediction
Read the title of the passage and Look at the pictures, then guess what the passage may be about.
The passage may be about different _________and ___________ in China or in some _______ countries.
celebrations
festivals
foreign
Festivals and Celebrations

10. Festivals and Celebrations
Reading:
Festivals and Celebrations

11. Task 1 Scanning Para 1 & subheadings (副标题)
Fast reading：
Task 1 Scanning Para 1 & subheadings (副标题)
Today’s festivals have many________:
some ________,
some for special _________________.
origins
religious
seasonal
people or events
The passage lists _____ kinds of festivals,
four
Festivals of the Dead
Festivals to Honor People
Harvest Festivals
Spring Festivals
namely:
(即)
亡灵节
纪念名人的节日
庆丰收的节日
春天的节日

12. What festivals are mentioned in each paragraph?
Fast reading：
Task 2 Skimming Para 2 - Para 5
What festivals are mentioned in each paragraph? ↓
Comprehending
1. Skim the reading passage and then fill in the following chart.

13. Kinds of festivals
Names of Festivals
countries 1 2 3
Obon
Japan
Festivals of
the Dead
Day of the Dead
Mexico
some western
countries
Halloween
Dragon Boat Festival
China
Festivals to Honour
People
USA
Columbus Day
Festival to honor Gandhi
India
harvest /Thanksgiving festivals
European
countries
Harvest
Festivals
China and Japan
Mid-Autumn Festivals
China
Spring Festival
some western
countries
Spring
Festivals
carnivals / Easter
Japan
Cherry Blossom Festival

14. → → → → → Close reading： Task 3 Read paragraph by paragraph Para. 1

15. Para. 1 What and when did ancient people celebrate ?
Most ancient festivals would celebrate the end of______________, ________________and _______________. Sometimes celebrations
would be held ______________________________.
planting in spring
cold weather
harvest in autumn
after hunters had caught animals.
At that time people would starve if food was difficult to find, especially during the cold winter months.

16. Para. 2 Obon Day of the Dead Festivals of the Dead Halloween
1. What are festivals of the dead usually for?
Festivals of the dead are usually for _______the dead or _________the ancestors, who (some people believe) might return either to help or to_______.
honoring
satisfying
do harm
2. Compare the festivals of the dead in Mexico, Japan and China. What things are similar（类似的）? What things are different?

17. 2. Compare the festivals of the dead in Mexico, Japan and China
2. Compare the festivals of the dead in Mexico, Japan and China. What things are similar? What things are different?
Similar things:
The Chinese, Japanese and Mexican festivals of the dead all have customs to honor the dead. The _______ and _______ go to clean their ancestors’ graves, and the ___________ offer food, flowers and gifts to the dead.
Chinese
Japanese
Mexicans

18. 2. Compare the festivals of the dead in Mexico, Japan and China
2. Compare the festivals of the dead in Mexico, Japan and China. What things are similar? What things are different?
Different things:
The ________ eat special food that looks like bones, something the ______ and ________ do not do.
Mexicans
Chinese
Japanese

19. Why does India have a national festival on October 2?
Para. 3
Dragon Boat Festival
Columbus Day
Festival to honor Gandhi
Festivals to Honour People
Why does India have a national festival on October 2?
To honour Mohandas Gandhi, the leader who helped gain India’s ________________ from _________.
independence
Britain

20. Para. 4 Thanksgiving festivals Mid-autumn festivals
Harvest Festivals
Are harvest festivals very happy events?
Why?
Harvest festivals are very happy events because
people are _______ (thankful) that food is ________
for the winter and __________________ (农活) is over .
grateful
gathered
the agricultural work
How do people celebrate the festivals ?

21. D Para. 4 How do people celebrate the festivals ?
A. People admire the moon and enjoy mooncakes.
B. People decorate churches and town halls.
C. People get together to have meals.
D. All of the above. D

22. Para5 A. It celebrates the birth of Jesus .
the Spring Festival
Easter
Cherry Blossom Festival
Spring Festivals
1. What do these spring festivals celebrate?
The return of Jesus from the dead.
The end of winter and the coming of spring.
The getting together of the families.
2. What does Easter celebrate ?
A. It celebrates the birth of Jesus .
B. It celebrates the death of Jesus.
C. It celebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the coming of spring and new life .
D. It celebrates people’s harvest .

23. 3. What do people usually do at Spring Festivals in China?
Para5
3. What do people usually do at Spring Festivals in China?
It’s the most _________(富有生气的) and
important festival in China. At the festival , people eat __________, fish and meat, and give children _____ ______ in red paper.
There are ______ dances and ________ (狂欢节), and f_________ celebrate the _______ (阴历)New Year together.
energetic
dumplings
lucky
money
dragon
carnivals
families
Lunar

24. Para. 6
Which of the following is not the reason why people love festivals according to the passage?
A. Because festivals let us enjoy life.
B. Because festivals make us proud of our customs.
C. Because festivals can make us have fun with each other.
D. Because festivals can let us get money from the government. D

25. Summary Consolidation celebrations
There are all kinds of festivals and __________ around the world, which are held for different reasons. The _______ _________ were mainly held at three times a year--- the end of the cold winter, planting in spring and harvest in autumn. Some festivals are held to _____ the dead or satisfy the _________ in case they might _____ _______, while other festivals are held to honor famous people, such as _________ _______ _______, Columbus Day and a national festival on
October 2.
ancient
festivals
honor
ancestors do
harm
Dragon
Boat Festival

26. Harvest and Thanksgiving festivals are happy events because the food is _________ for the winter and because a season of ___________work is over, to which Mid autumn festival belongs. And the most _________and important festivals are the ones that _______________the end of winter and to the ______ of spring.
gathered
agricultural
energetic
look forward to
coming

27. Discussion Is it important to have festivals and celebrations?
Give your reasons. (group discussion）
to enjoy life
to be proud of our customs
to forget our work for a little while
to get relaxed
to get educated
to enrich culture
to develop tourism
to promote economy …

28. Homework: Write a passage to introduce a festival
you are interested in or you think most fun.
(when, where, how to celebrate)
2. Read the passage to understand it better
and find out the problems if any.
3. Remember the new words.