Thanksgiving Day (B2/C1)

Ex 1: Ask and answer the questions below with a partner or in small groups.

1. In which countries does the Thanksgiving holiday take place? Do you know when it happens?
2. What do you know about the decorations, food or other traditions?
3. Do you know anything about the history of Thanksgiving?

Ex 2: Match the images to the vocabulary below before comparing in pairs/groups.

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11. 12.

wheat/crops family gathering straw dolls cranberries

feast cornucopia marching band squash

(horn of plenty)

dried corncobs fall wreath pumpkin pie mantelpiece

(mantel)

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Ex 3: Read the introduction text and then follow the instructions below.

Thanksgiving Day is an annual, national holiday, which takes place on the fourth Thursday in November in
the United States. It was originally a holiday to give thanks to God for the harvest. Nowadays, it’s a time for
all families to get together and to reflect on and show gratitude for the blessings of the past year, no matter
their cultural background or religious beliefs.

1. Student A: Read texts A and B. Student B: Read texts C and D. Try to memorise the details.
2. Tell your partner what you learned without looking back at the text.
3. Read your partner’s texts. Did they miss any important information?
4. Look at the underlined words and phrases, and discuss their meaning in pairs.

(A) The History of Thanksgiving

The origins of Thanksgiving in the USA can be traced back to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. The
Pilgrims/English colonists, who had settled there, organised a feast to celebrate their harvest and invited the
local Wampanoag Indians to join them. The two groups
socialised together over the next three days. They feasted
on venison, eels, stews and vegetables; drank liquor, and
ran races. This marked the start of a peaceful period
between the two groups which continued until the war in
1675 when hundreds of colonists and thousands of Native
Americans lost their lives.

Thanksgiving Day didn’t become a regular holiday until

1836 when Abraham Lincoln declared that it should fall on
the last Thursday of November. In 1941, Franklin Roosevelt made it an official federal holiday and moved it
to the fourth Thursday of November. It has continued to be celebrated thus to this day.

(B) Thanksgiving Decorations

Thanksgiving decorations often include pumpkins, squash, dried corncobs and wheat crops, as they are
harvested at this time of year. These may be displayed on the dining table, on mantelpieces or anywhere
throughout the home. Another traditional decoration is the cornucopia, also known as a horn of plenty. These
are filled with harvest vegetables and crops, symbolising abundance and bounty. In addition, fall/autumn
floral and leaf arrangements and wreaths are also popular.

Decorations representing the original feast between the Pilgrims and Native
Americans are also common in the USA These include the Pilgrim hat, feather
headdresses and Native American and Pilgrim figurines or straw dolls.

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(C) The Thanksgiving Banquet
The traditional food for the Thanksgiving meal typically includes a turkey, stuffing, cranberry
sauce, potatoes, sweet potato casserole, vegetables and a pumpkin pie.

Family members charged with preparations, spend the entire previous day peeling and
chopping vegetables, stuffing the turkey, baking and setting the table, often adding a centrepiece, candles
and various decorations.

It is common to say grace before the meal, giving thanks for the food on the table and the blessings of the
past year.

(D) Modern Thanksgiving Traditions

Many cities in the States have parades on Thanksgiving Day. The most famous of these is the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, which is televised and has been running since 1924. Philadelphia,
Detroit and Chicago also have big parades. Parades typically include marching bands, balloons and floats.

For the majority of families, Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without watching NFL football. There are
always several football games scheduled for the day, despite it being a Thursday, and families crowd around
their living rooms to cheer on their favourite team.

Other traditions may include games for children and adults, including bobbing for apples and scavenger
hunts.

Ex 4: Web Quest

Work in groups to find out more about Thanksgiving by looking up the following online. Then share what
you discovered with your group.

1. Pardoning the Thanksgiving Turkey 4. Calories consumed over Thanksgiving

2. Thanksgiving in Canada and around the world 5. Turkey trots
3. The first Macy’s Thanksgiving parade

Ex 5: Can you remember the vocabulary? Race your partner to complete the words.

1. p _ _ _ _ _ (allow to go free/forgive) 10. l _ _ _ _ _ (alcohol)

2. s _ _ g _ _ _ _ (say a prayer of thanks) 11. v _ _ _ _ _ _ (meat from a deer)
3. c _ _ _ _ _ w _ _ _ (make responsible for sth) 12. f _ ___ (big decorated vehicle used in festivals)

4. c _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (decoration in the middle 13. t _ _ _ (in this way)

of the dining table) 14. b _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (things to be grateful for)
5. c _ _ _ _ o _ (applaud to victory) 15. b _ _ _ _ _ (a large amount/plenty)
6. p _ _ _ (remove skin with a sharp object) 16. d _ _ _ _ _ _ (announce officially)
7. t _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (show on TV) 17. f _ _ _ _ _ _ (relating to a central
8. a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (plenty) government, not state or local government)
9. g _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (thankfulness) 18. f _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (a miniature statue)

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 Teacher’s Notes
Lesson: Thanksgiving Holiday Level: B2/C1 Time: 1 hr 20 mins +

Preparation:
- Print or display handouts. You might also like …

• Thanksgiving Day (A2/B1)

Teaching Method:
Step 1:
- Put students into pairs or small groups to discuss the questions in exercise 1.
- Elicit any information about Thanksgiving that came up in the discussion and add it to the board.
Note: Thanksgiving festivals also take place in Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands, Liberia, Grenada and
Saint Lucia. Tell students they will learn more about this in a later exercise.
Step 2:
- Students work individually, matching the vocabulary to the images in ex 2, before comparing in pairs.
- Elicit answers and add to the board, giving further definitions and examples where needed and drilling
correct pronunciation. Note: mantelpiece = BrE, mantel = AmE, autumn = BrE, fall = AmE
Step 3:
- Read through the introduction to Thanksgiving as a class (exercise 3), eliciting meaning and correct
pronunciation of Pilgrim, gratitude, and blessings, also looking at other word forms (bless, grateful, etc.)
Step 4:
- Go through the instructions for exercise 3 on page 2 and give the students about 5-7 minutes to read
through their texts, making notes of any essential/difficult to remember information, particularly names
and dates. The instructions assume that students may work in pairs but if there is a group of three, you
can divide the texts differently.
Step 5:
- Students now tell their partner/group what they learned, without looking back at the text. They can,
however, refer to their notes.
Step 6:
- Students now read their partner’s texts to check if they missed anything important.
Step 7:
- In pairs, students discuss the underlined words in the text, using a dictionary if necessary.
- Elicit the meaning of words and phrases, drilling correct pronunciation where required.
Step 8:
- Explain the meaning of web quest, trot, and pardon if necessary
- Students work in pairs/groups to find out more about Thanksgiving by looking up the given topics
online. (Allow about 5 minutes for the web quest)
- Students share what they discover with their group. (Allow about 10 minutes for this)
Step 9:
- Students revise vocabulary learnt by racing their partner to complete the words/phrases in exercise 5.

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 Answers & Pronunciation
Lesson: Thanksgiving Day Level: B2/C1 Time: 1 hr 20 mins +

Exercise 2: Vocabulary: British: American:

1. mantelpiece/mantel abundance əˈbʌndəns əˈbʌndəns
2. dried corncobs blessings ˈblɛsɪŋz ˈblɛsɪŋz
3. pumpkin pie bounty ˈbaʊnti ˈbaʊnti
4. feast centrepiece ˈsɛntəpiːs ˈsɛntərˌpis
5. straw dolls charge with ʧɑːʤ wɪð ʧɑrʤ wɪð
6. wheat/crops cheer on ʧɪər ɒn ʧɪr ɑn
7. squash cornucopia ˌkɔːnjəˈkəʊpiə ˌkɔrnəˈkoʊpiə
8. wreath cranberries ˈkrænbəriz ˈkrænˌbɛriz
9. cornucopia/horn of crops krɒps krɑps
plenty
declare dɪˈkleə dɪˈklɛr
10. family gathering
dried corncobs draɪd ˈkɔːnkɒbz draɪd ˈkɔrnˌkɑbz
11. cranberries
family gathering ˈfæmɪli ˈgæðərɪŋ ˈfæməli ˈgæðərɪŋ
12. marching band
feast fiːst fist
federal ˈfɛdərəl ˈfɛdərəl
Exercise 5: figurine ˈfɪgjʊriːn ˌfɪgjəˈrin
1. pardon float fləʊt floʊt
2. say grace grace greɪs greɪs
3. charge with gratitude ˈgrætɪtjuːd ˈgrætəˌtud
4. centrepiece horn of plenty hɔːn ɒv ˈplɛnti hɔrn ʌv ˈplɛnti
5. cheer on liquor ˈlɪkə ˈlɪkə
6. peel mantelpiece ˈmæntlpiːs mantelpiece
7. televise mantel ˈmæntl ˈmæntəl
8. abundance marching band ˈmɑːʧɪŋ bænd ˈmɑrʧɪŋ bænd
9. gratitude pardon ˈpɑːdn ˈpɑrdən
10. liquor peel piːl pil
11. venison pumpkin pie ˈpʌmpkɪn paɪ ˈpʌmpkɪn paɪ
12. float scavenger hunt ˈskævɪnʤə hʌnt ˈskævənʤər hʌnt
13. thus squash skwɒʃ skwɑʃ
14. blessings straw dolls strɔː dɒlz strɔ dɑlz
15. bounty televise ˈtɛlɪvaɪz ˈtɛləˌvaɪz
16. declare
thus ðʌs ðʌs
17. federal
venison ˈvɛnzn ˈvɛnəsən
18. figurine
wheat wiːt wit
wreath riːθ riθ

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