December 2019 - Cambridge English Teacher Activities

1
December
In December everyone starts thinking about Christmas and holidays – this is reflected in our
activities. Our B2 First and C1 Advanced students will be able to sing a popular Christmas
song and find out more about it while they improve their reading skills. We have designed a
Christmas Quiz for B1 Preliminary and B2 First learners. Music and stories are always good
for young learners and at Christmas time so we encourage our A2 Flyers students to sing and
write about Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. For the youngest ones we have created some
activities to practise Christmas vocabulary and improve their speaking skills. Happy teaching!
1. So this is Christmas.........................................................................................................................2
2. Christmas Quiz.................................................................................................................................7
3. Sing & Write......................................................................................................................................8
4. Find the difference.........................................................................................................................10
5. References......................................................................................................................................16

2
1. So this is Christmas
Level: C1 Advanced / B2 First
Skills: reading and speaking
Interaction: whole class and in pairs activity
Equipment and materials: speakers, digital board
Time: 35 minutes
Warm up (10’) – whole class activity
• Do you like Christmas? Why (not)?
• What do you do at Christmas?
• What is your favourite day (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day…)? Why?
• Do you know any Christmas songs in English? If so, which ones?
Listening (10’) – in pairs
Before you listen to the song try to fill in the gaps with your own ideas. Then, listen to the
song and check your answers.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS (WAR IS OVER)
So this is Christmas
And what have you (1) _______
Another year over
And a new one just (2) _______
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the (3) _______
A very Merry Christmas
And a happy new year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any (4) _______
For (5) _______ and for strong
For rich and the (6) _______ ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Christmas
For black and for (7) _______
For yellow and red one
Let's stop all the (8) _______
And what have we (10) _______
Another year over
A new one just (11) _______
We hope you have fun
The old and the (12) ______
War is over, if you want it
War is over now
la, la, ah, ah
Happy Christmas
Happy Christmas (happy Christmas)

3
Reading (15’) – In pairs
You are going to read an extract from a magazine article about Happy Christmas (War is
Over). Six sentences have been removed from the extract. Choose from sentences A-G the
one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra sentence that you don’t need to use.
Happy Christmas (War is Over)
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas
song released in 1971 as a single by John
& Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with
the Harlem Community Choir. The lyrics,
by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, are set to
the traditional English ballad "Skewball".
(0) A: It was the seventh single release by
Lennon outside his work with the Beatles.
The song reached number four in the UK,
where its release was delayed until
November 1972, and has periodically
reemerged on the UK Singles Chart, most
notably after Lennon's death in December
1980, when it peaked at number two. In a
UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was
voted tenth on the ITV television
special The Nation's Favourite Christmas
Song.
Also a protest song against the Vietnam
War, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" has
since become a Christmas standard. (1)
_______.
Background
(2) ________. The song's direct
antecedent was an international
multimedia campaign launched by the
couple in December 1969 – at the height of
the counterculture movement and its
protests against America's involvement in
the Vietnam War – that primarily consisted
of renting billboard space in 12 major cities
around the world for the display of black-
and-white posters that declared "WAR IS
OVER! If You Want It – Happy Christmas
from John & Yoko".
Recognising the accessibility and popular
appeal that made his 1971 single "Imagine"
a commercial success compared to the
other songs he had released up to that
point, Lennon concluded: (3) _______ He
conceived "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" as
a means of elaborating upon the themes of
social unity and peaceful change enacted
through personal accountability and
empowerment that served as the basis of
the earlier billboard campaign, trying to
convey optimism while avoiding the
sentimentality that he felt often
characterised Christmas songs. From 1963
to 1969, the Beatles had issued special
recordings at Christmas directly to
members of their fan club. (4) _______
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" would be
followed by George Harrison's "Ding Dong,
Ding Dong" (1974), Paul McCartney's
"Wonderful Christmastime" (1979) and
Ringo Starr's album I Wanna Be Santa
Claus (1999).
Commercial reception
On its US single debut in 1971, "Happy
Xmas (War Is Over)" did not meet with
much success. (5) _______. The single
subsequently re-appeared on the Billboard
Christmas charts in 1972, 1983, 1984 and
1985. The song appeared at number 32 on
the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart
for the week ending 6 January 1996.
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" enjoyed
immediate success in Britain when issued
there in November 1972. The song peaked
at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and
number 10 on the listings compiled by
Melody Maker. Since then, it has re-
entered the UK Singles Chart nine more
times. (6) ________. The single peaked at
number 2 – behind another reissued
Lennon single, "Imagine" – and remained
on the chart for nine weeks.
Between December 1972 and February
1973, the song entered the top ten in
Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France,
Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and
Singapore.
Source: Wikipedia (2019).

4
Missing sentences
A. It was the seventh single release by Lennon outside his work with the Beatles.
B. After the group disbanded in 1970, Lennon was the first former member to release an
original Christmas song.
C. This was due to the single's late release, which resulted in limited airplay before
Christmas, and a lack of promotion.
D. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was the culmination of more than two years of peace
activism undertaken by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
E. "Now I understand what you have to do: Put your political message across with a little
honey."
F. A music video for "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" appeared on The John Lennon Video
Collection, released on VHS in 1993, corresponding to the 1989 reissue of The John Lennon
Collection.
G. It has been frequently recorded by other artists, appearing on compilation albums of
seasonal music, and named in polls as a holiday favourite.
H. The most notable of these instances occurred immediately following Lennon's death on 8
December 1980.
KEY
So this is Christmas
And what have you (1) done
Another year over
And a new one just (2) begun
I hope you have fun
The old and the (3) young
Without any (4) fear
For (5) weak and for strong
For rich and the (6) poor ones
The world is so wrong
For black and for (7) white
For yellow and red one
Let's stop all the (8) fight
And what have we (10) done
Another year over
A new one just (11) begun
We hope you have fun
The old and the (12) young

5
War is over, if you want it
War is over now
la, la, ah, ah
Happy Christmas
KEY
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John &
Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. The lyrics, by John
Lennon and Yoko Ono, are set to the traditional English ballad "Skewball". (0) It was the
seventh single release by Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached number
four in the UK, where its release was delayed until November 1972, and has periodically
reemerged on the UK Singles Chart, most notably after Lennon's death in December 1980,
when it peaked at number two. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted tenth on
the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song.
Also a protest song against the Vietnam War, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" has since become
a Christmas standard. (1) It has been frequently recorded by other artists, appearing on
compilation albums of seasonal music, and named in polls as a holiday favourite.
Background
(2) "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was the culmination of more than two years of peace activism
undertaken by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The song's direct antecedent was an international
multimedia campaign launched by the couple in December 1969 – at the height of the
counterculture movement and its protests against America's involvement in the Vietnam War
– that primarily consisted of renting billboard space in 12 major cities around the world for the
display of black-and-white posters that declared "WAR IS OVER! If You Want It – Happy
Christmas from John & Yoko".
Recognising the accessibility and popular appeal that made his 1971 single "Imagine" a
commercial success compared to the other songs he had released up to that point, Lennon
concluded: (3) "Now I understand what you have to do: Put your political message across with
a little honey." He conceived "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" as a means of elaborating upon the
themes of social unity and peaceful change enacted through personal accountability and
empowerment that served as the basis of the earlier billboard campaign, trying to convey
optimism while avoiding the sentimentality that he felt often characterised Christmas songs.
From 1963 to 1969, the Beatles had issued special recordings at Christmas directly to
members of their fan club. (4) After the group disbanded in 1970, Lennon was the first former
member to release an original Christmas song. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" would be followed

6
by George Harrison's "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" (1974), Paul McCartney's "Wonderful
Christmastime" (1979) and Ringo Starr's album I Wanna Be Santa Claus (1999).
Commercial reception
On its US single debut in 1971, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" did not meet with much success.
(5) This was due to the single's late release, which resulted in limited airplay before Christmas,
and a lack of promotion. The single subsequently re-appeared on the Billboard Christmas
charts in 1972, 1983, 1984 and 1985. The song appeared at number 32 on the Billboard Hot
Adult Contemporary chart for the week ending 6 January 1996.
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" enjoyed immediate success in Britain when issued there in
November 1972. The song peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on
the listings compiled by Melody Maker. Since then, it has re-entered the UK Singles Chart
nine more times. (6) The most notable of these instances occurred immediately following
Lennon's death on 8 December 1980. The single peaked at number 2 – behind another
reissued Lennon single, "Imagine" – and remained on the chart for nine weeks.
Between December 1972 and February 1973, the song entered the top ten in Australia,
Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Singapore.

7
2. Christmas Quiz
Level: B1 Preliminary, B2 First
Skills: writing, speaking and listening
Interaction: whole class and in groups activity
Content: winter vocabulary, giving opinion, justifying
opinion, feelings
Equipment and materials: digital board, speakers
Time: 40 minutes
Christmas Quiz (30’) – whole class activity
Ask your students to get into groups of three or four and choose a name for their team. Each
team will take turns to answer the questions they want (category and number of points). If the
answer given by the team is not correct the other teams will have the opportunity to answer
the question and win the other team’s points. The team that gets the most points by the end
wins.
Christmas Quiz

8
3. Sing & Write
Level: A2 Flyers
Skills: writing, speaking and listening
Interaction: whole class and in groups activity
Content: winter vocabulary, giving opinion,
justifying opinion, feelings
Equipment and materials: digital board, speakers
Time: 35 minutes
• Do you know any Christmas songs in English?
• Who is Rudolph? Why is he famous? What is special about him?
Listening (10’) – whole class activity
Listen to the song and try to fill in the gaps.
• What do you think about the song?
• Do you like it? Why?
• What is special about Rudolph?
• How do the other reindeers treat Rudolph? Why?

9
• How do you think Rudolph feels about this?
• Do you think this situation is good? Why?
• Why was Rudolph’s red nose useful?
• How did the other reindeers behave after Rudolph was chosen to guide Santa Claus’
sleigh?
• Do you think this is good? Why?
Write your story (15’) – in groups
Students should work in groups of three and write Rudolph’s story or draw and write their own
Christmas story. They should write 20 words or more.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

10
4. Find the difference
Level: Pre-A1 Starters / A1 Movers
Skills: speaking, writing and listening
Interaction: group, whole class, individual activity
Equipment and materials: digital board / projector,
flashcards
Time: 50 minutes
Warm up! (10’) – whole class activity
• Write as many winter and Christmas words as you know. You have 2 minutes.
• Do you like Christmas / winter? Why (not)?
• How do you feel at Christmas?
Writing (10’) – individual activity
Look at the pictures. Look at the letters. Write the words.
Example:
SNOWMAN
Questions:
A W S M N O N
Pre-A1
Starters

11
1.
_ _ _ _ _ _
2. _ _ _ _ _
3. _ _ _ _
4. _ _ _
5.
_ _ _ _
R L U P P E
W O H R T
E R E T
N U S
K L A E

12
Speaking (10’) – whole class activity
Students will work in two teams: Team A and Team B.
Stage 1: Show picture A on the board. Put flashcards on the floor (use two or three flashcards
more than students in each team). Team B will stand up and students in this team will take
turns to follow Team A’s instructions to put the flashcards on the picture as appropriate.
Example: Put the hat next to the snowman.
Picture A
Stage 2: same procedure but now show picture B. Team A will stand up and Team B will give
instructions. You can use a different set of flashcards to practise other vocabulary.
This activity can be adapted to Pre-A1 Starters and A1 Movers depending on the vocabulary
being practised.
Pre-A1
Starters

13
Picture B
Find the difference (10’) – whole class activity
Students will work in two teams: team A and team B.
1. Each group has to speak about one picture (picture A or
picture B).
2. One student at a time in team A says a sentence about picture A
and students in team B have to listen and say how their picture
is different.
3. Each time the group (all students should participate) produces a correct sentence, they
get a point.
4. If they make a mistake (grammar, vocab, content), the other team then has one chance
to correct the sentence and win the other team’s point.
5. The team who gets the most points by the end wins.
A1
Movers

15
Writing (10’) – whole class activity
Students will work in two teams: team A and team B
Team A will use picture B. Team B will use picture A. They will
have to create a task for Reading and Writing Paper Part 6. The
teacher should offer support to make sure there are no mistakes in the
task.
Complete the sentences.
1.
2.
Answer the questions.
3.
4.
Now write two sentences about the picture. (no need to do anything in terms of task creation here)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
When the task is ready, teams will swap pictures and tasks and team A will do the task for
picture A and team B will do the task for picture B.
A1
Movers

16
5. References
Adderley, C. (2018). Close-up Photo of Christmas Tree. [image/jpeg]. Available at:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-christmas-tree-1671867/ [Accessed
22nd
November 2019].
Alargent, M. (2017). Brown Deer Photo. Available at: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-
deer-photo-2224547/ [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Balsam Hill (n.d.). What does the world eat at Christmas? Available at:
https://www.balsamhill.com/christmas-meals-from-around-the-world#latvia [Accessed
22nd
November 2019].
Flippity. net (2013-2019). Quiz Show. Available at:
https://www.flippity.net/qs.asp?k=1H2MssGG876FRAcRTlGdP2EgZbVvtUMedHD71
HTqlxeU [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Freestocks.org (2015). Pink Petaled Flower Closeup Photography. Available at:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/nature-branch-frozen-raspberries-22427/ [Accessed
15th
November 2019].
Gouw, T. (2017). Lake Placid, United States [image/jpeg]. Available at:
https://unsplash.com/photos/jp2g4xXl5QQ [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Horvath, E. (2017). Hygge Christmas morning [image/jpeg]. Available at:
https://unsplash.com/photos/fL_kgRjUXCo [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Jacobs, C. (2019). 14 Traditional Christmas Desserts. Available at:
https://www.thespruceeats.com/traditional-christmas-desserts-4173859 [Accessed
22nd
November 2019].
Lennon, J. & Ono, Y. (1971). Happy Xmas (War is Over). New York City: Apple
Lyricstraining.com (2019). All I want for Christmas is You. Available at:
https://es.lyricstraining.com/play/mariah-carey/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-
you/H8nMdGuUQ8#ibw [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Lyricstraining.com (2019). Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Available at:
https://es.lyricstraining.com/play/frank-sinatra/have-yourself-a-merry-little-christmas-
audio/H1St7I48L1#ibw [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Lyricstraining.com (2019). It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Available at:
https://es.lyricstraining.com/play/michael-buble/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-
christmas-audio/HW8nMdGP8W#ibw [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Lyricstraining.com (2019). Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Available at:
https://es.lyricstraining.com/play/destinys-child/rudolph-the-red-nose-
reindeer/HHg21StPRH#b7w [Accessed 15th
November 2019].

17
Lyricstraining.com (2019). Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. Available at:
https://es.lyricstraining.com/play/michael-buble/santa-claus-is-coming-to-
town/HGuRFPTUjG#ibw [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Lyricstraining.com (2019). White Christmas. Available at:
https://es.lyricstraining.com/play/eric-clapton/white-christmas/H9pBOeCDe9#ibw
[Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Momondo (2017). 11 Weird and Wonderful Christmas Traditions from Around the World.
Available at: https://www.momondo.com/discover/article/christmas-traditions-around-
the-world [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Porter, E. (2019). 8 Drinks to Endure the German Winter. Available at:
https://www.tripsavvy.com/drinks-to-endure-the-german-winter-1520007 [Accessed
22nd
November 2019].
Stewart, J. (2017). 15+ Culturally Unique Christmas Dinners From Like Around the World.
Available at: https://mymodernmet.com/world-christmas-dinner-traditions/2/
[Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
The Kiboomers (2012). Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM6mDRhKAcA [Accessed 15th
November 2019].
The Telegraph (2018). This is what Christmas dinner looks like in 20 countries around the
world. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/galleries/christmas-meals-
around-the-world/ [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Weaver, E. (2016). 25 Unique Winter Traditions Around The World You Might Not Know
About. Available at: https://list25.com/25-unique-winter-traditions-around-the-world/2/
[Accessed 22nd
November 2019].
Wikipedia (2019). Happy Xmas (War is Over). Available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Xmas_(War_Is_Over) [Accessed 22nd
November 2019].

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