A Monthly Newsletter for Teachers of English November 2008

STARTING OFF
What traditions are popular in your country in each season? Work with a partner and try to make a list.

spring summer autumn winter

Which of these traditions do you take part in? Are there any traditions you try to avoid?

BEFORE YOU READ

What do you know about the British tradition of „Bonfire Night‟ (the 5th of November)? Look at the words below and try to
guess what the connection of each is with Bonfire Night.

apples prams gunpowder

potatoes old clothes the Houses of Parliament

FIRST READING
Read the text quickly to check your ideas.

SECOND READING
Read the text again more slowly and decide which of the sentences below fit into which gaps (1-5 in the text).
a) The bonfires are built in the week before and lit after dark on Bonfire Night.
b) As in Britain, however, few people remember the real story these days.
c) But where does the tradition come from?
d) The conspirators aimed to do this by blowing up the Houses of Parliament by exploding gunpower in the cellars
e) If the owner of the house thinks the Guy is well made then he or she will give the children a few coins or
something nice to eat or drink.

© Pearson Education Polska 2008 PHOTOCOPIABLE

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 ACTIVITIES SHEET November 2008

VOCABULARY 1
Find words or phrases to complete the sets. All the words and phrases you need are in the text.
some years __________ badly light __________

most years during reasonably medium current

__________ following __________ __________ future

superbly

VOCABULARY 2
Complete the sentences below using one of the words from the lists in Vocabulary 1.
1. George Walker Bush is the _______________ president of the United States.
2. Christmas falls on the 25th of December _______________.
3. “This really is a wonderful watch. It is just _______________ made.”
4. Everyone had been quiet at lunch, but _______________ the meal the conversation was lively.

THIRD READING
1. Bonfire Night is popular 4. Toffee apples are
a. with adults only a. soft
b. with children only b. hard
c. with both adults and children 5. How was Fawkes caught?
2. What is the Guy made from? 6. Do British children remember the true story of Guy
3. Why do the children put the Guy into a pram? Fawkes?

SPEAKING
What do you think? Discuss the questions below with a partner:
Why are traditions important?
Is it important to maintain traditions, even if no-one can remember the reason?
How many of your country‟s traditions are unique to your country?
Do you have any personal or family traditions - any things that you do at the same time every year? What
are they? How did these traditions start?

© Pearson Education Polska 2008 PHOTOCOPIABLE

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 ACTIVITIES SHEET
The hurricane season is upon us again and it might be another record-breaking
season. But what are hurricanes and how are they formed?
Remember, Remember the Fifth
of November,
The Gunpowder, Treason and
Plot, I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Bonfire Night
Every year on the 5th of
November British people
celebrate „Bonfire Night‟ with
large bonfires, fireworks and
special food. It is a very popular
tradition, especially with children.
(1) _______________________
__________________________.
The answer might be
surprising…
The Traditions
In the weeks leading up to
Bonfire Night, British children
make a „Guy‟ out of old clothes,
paper, straw and anything else
they can find. The Guy is put into
a pram and in the days before
Bonfire Night the children take it
to houses in the neighbourhood
asking for „a penny for the Guy‟.
(2) ____________________.
The Guy is thrown onto the
© Pearson Education Polska 2008
November 2008
fire after the bonfire is lit.
Another tradition is the
building of bonfires in
gardens, parks and town
centres.
(3)_____________________
______________________ .
Fireworks are set off and
toffee apples - apples
covered in crunchy toffee -
are eaten, together with very
dark and hard toffee called
„Bonfire Toffee‟.
Other foods are popular as
well: potatoes roasted in the
embers of the fire, parkin
(ginger cake) and
marshmallows toasted on
sticks by the fire, for example.
The History
The celebrations on Bonfire
Night are related to real
events in history and date
back over four hundred years,
to November 5th, 1605. The
Guy of Bonfire Night
represents Guy Fawkes, one
of the most wellknown
characters in English
PHOTOCOPIABLE
history.
Who Was Guy Fawkes?
Guy Fawkes was a soldier
who had fought in the
Netherlands on the side of
the Spanish Catholic forces
against the protestant armies
of the Dutch. He was a
Catholic nationalist and, when
the protestant James I of
Scotland became King of
England, Fawkes joined a
plot to kill the King and the
protestant English
aristocracy. (4)
_______________________.
The plot was betrayed and
Fawkes, who was guarding
the gunpowder, was
captured, tortured and killed.
Around the World
Bonfire Night is celebrated in
many former colonies of
Great Britain, including New
Zealand and South Africa.
(5) ____________________
______________________.
Perhaps if they did they might
treat their Guys a little bit
more gently!
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