Valentine’s Day Reading (A2+/B1)

Ex1: Ask and answer the questions below with a partner or in small groups.
1. Is Valentine’s day celebrated in your country? What date is it on?
2. Do you know anything about the history of Valentine’s day?

Introduction:
Valentine’s day occurs every year on the 14th of February. It is commonly celebrated in the United States,
Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia and is popular in other parts of the world too.
It’s not a public holiday, but people often celebrate this ‘day of love’ by giving or sending Valentine’s cards to
their partners, or someone they fancy. Some couples also exchange gifts such as flowers, chocolates or
jewellery. On the night of the 14th they often spend special time together by cooking a romantic meal at
home or going to a restaurant for a candlelit dinner.

Ex 2: Read the text once and complete it with the missing words below.

The Origins of Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s day is named after Saint Valentine. According to most accounts, he
lived during the 3rd century in Rome at a time when many Romans were
converting to Christianity.

There are many stories about St Valentine’s connection to love and romance. The
most popular story is that of St Valentine’s secret marriage 1. ________________

The Emperor at the time, Claudius II, who was pagan, wanted to extend his army, but many young married
men didn’t want to 2. ________________ because they didn’t want to leave their wives and children. To solve
his problem he introduced a law to prevent young Christian men from marrying.

For Valentine, marriage was an essential part of the Christian 3. ________________, so he was strongly
opposed to the new 4. ________________ and started to hold secret marriage ceremonies for the
soldiers. After some time, news of the secret marriages reached the Emperor, and St Valentine
was imprisoned for his crimes and ordered to be 5. ________________.

While he was in jail, the daughter of his jailer visited him, and after some time, the two fell in love. According
to the 6. ________________, the girl was blind and Valentine cured her blindness. He also cared for the other
prisoners. Just before his execution, Valentine sent the girl a 7. ________________ and signed it ‘from your
Valentine’; a phrase which is commonly used to this day in Valentine’s cards.

Valentine was beheaded on the 14th February 269, and so, Valentine’s day marks the anniversary of his
8. ________________.Many churches around the world claim to have the remains of the saint. These include
Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, which claims to have his 9. ________________ and Santa Maria in
Cosmedin in Rome, where a skull, which supposedly belongs to the saint, is on display.

bones join executed legend law faith ceremonies love letter death

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Ex 3: Vocabulary Focus

Read the text again, and discuss the meaning of the words/phrases in bold print with a partner, before
matching the vocabulary to the definitions below.

1. convert v A. lock someone up in jail.

2. jailer n B. change your beliefs, opinions, or religion or make someone do this.
3. blind adj C. describing someone who is unable to see / without sight.
4. skull n D. the person who is in charge of prisoners.
5. pagan adj/n E. execute someone by cutting off their head.
6. imprison v F. bone structure of a person/animals head.
7. behead v G. belonging to a polytheistic religion/religion that worships many gods.
8. supposedly adv H. according to what someone/some people say or believe.
9. remains n I. what is left of the body after death.
10. cure v J. make someone who is ill or injured better again.
11. according to (preposition) K. make bigger or longer / increase.
12. claim v/n L. say something is true or a fact without proof / a statement like this.
13. extend v M. used to refer to the person/people who stated something.

Ex 4: Match the collocations halves below, before reading the text again to check.

1. introduce A. opposed to sth 1. ________________________________________

2. be strongly B. a law 2. ________________________________________
3. according to C. gifts 3. ________________________________________
4. mark the D. to be executed 4. ________________________________________
5. a candlelit E. anniversary of sth 5. ________________________________________
6. exchange F. dinner 6. ________________________________________
7. covert to G. most accounts 7. ________________________________________
8. order sb H. Christianity 8. ________________________________________

Ex 5: What do you remember from the text? Ask and answer the questions below in pairs.

1. In which countries is Valentine’s day commonly celebrated?

2. How do people celebrate Valentine’s day?
3. When and where did St Valentine supposedly live?
4. What law did Claudius II bring in, and what were his reasons for doing this?
5. Why was Valentine imprisoned?
6. According to the legend, who did Valentine fall in love with, and what miracle did he perform for her?
7. What does the 14th February mark the anniversary of? What happened on this day in the year 269?
8. What is on display in Santa Maria, Cosmedin in Rome?

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 Teacher’s Notes
Lesson: Valentine’s Day Reading Level: A2+/B1 Time: 1 hour +

Preparation:
- Print or display handouts.

Teaching Method:
Step 1:
- Put students into pairs or small groups to discuss the questions in exercise 1.
- Elicit any information about Valentine’s Day that came up in the discussion and add it to the board.
Step 2:
- Read through the introduction as a class, checking understanding of fancy, jewellery and candlelit, if
necessary, as you go. You may also wish the tell them the American English spelling: ‘ jewelry’
Step 3:
- Give the students about 8 minutes to read through the text in exercise 2, completing the gaps with the
missing words provided below.
- Check the answers as a class.
Step 4:
- Students read the text again and, with a partner, discuss the meaning of the words/phrases in bold
print, before matching the vocabulary to the definitions given in exercise 3.
- Go through the answers with the class, giving further explanations/examples where required and drill
correct pronunciation. Pay special attention to uses of claim, according to and supposedly as they may
cause some confusion. In particular tell them that the use of ‘claim’ and ‘supposedly’ often indicate some
doubt on the part of the speaker.

Step 5:
- Students match the collocation halves, before comparing with a partner and reading through the text
again to check their answers.
- Correct the answers as a class, giving further explanations/examples where required.
Step 6:
- Students ask and answer the comprehension questions in pairs/small groups.
- Elicit answers around the class.

Step 10: Optional

- Give students 5-10 minutes to make some notes/do some research in preparation to tell the other
students in their group about a legend/story/event from history.
- Students work in small groups, giving an account of what they learned.
- Move around the room, listening to their accounts, giving encouragement and helping with
pronunciation where required.

We recommend following this up with one of our speaking based Valentine’s lessons.

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 Answers & Pronunciation
Lesson: Valentine’s Day Reading Level: A2+/B1 Time: 1 hour +

Exercise 2: Vocabulary: British: American:

1. ceremonies according əˈkɔːdɪŋ əˈkɔrdɪŋ
2. join
anniversary ˌænɪˈvɜːsəri ˌænəˈvɜrsəri
3. faith
4. law
behead bɪˈhɛd bɪˈhɛd
5. executed blind blaɪnd blaɪnd
6. legend bones bəʊnz boʊnz
7. love letter
candlelit ˈkændlˌlɪt ˈkændlˌlɪt
8. death
9. bones ceremonies ˈsɛrɪməniz ˈsɛrəˌmoʊniz
claim kleɪm kleɪm
Exercise 3: convert ˈkɒnvɜːt ˈkɑnvɜrt
1. B cure kjʊə kjʊr
2. D death dɛθ dɛθ
3. C
exchange ɪksˈʧeɪnʤ ɪksˈʧeɪnʤ
4. F
5. G executed ˈɛksɪkjuːtɪd ˈɛksəˌkjutəd
6. A faith feɪθ feɪθ
7. E fancy ˈfænsi ˈfænsi
8. H
9. I
imprison ɪmˈprɪzn ɪmˈprɪzən
10. J jailer ˈʤeɪlə ˈʤeɪlər
11. M jewellery ˈʤuːəlri jewellery
12. L
join ʤɔɪn ʤɔɪn
13. K
law lɔː lɔ
Exercise 4:
legend ˈlɛʤənd ˈlɛʤənd
1. B ( introduce in a law)
love letter lʌv ˈlɛtə lʌv ˈlɛtər
2. A (be strongly opposed to sth)
3. G (according to most accounts) opposed əˈpəʊzd əˈpoʊzd
4. E (mark the anniversary of sth) pagan ˈpeɪgən ˈpeɪgən
5. F ( a candlelit dinner) remains rɪˈmeɪnz rɪˈmeɪnz
6. C (exchange gifts)
skull skʌl skʌl
7. H (convert to Christianity)
8. D (order sb to be executed) supposedly səˈpəʊzɪdli səˈpoʊzədli

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