Bonfire night activities for teachers

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Bonfire Night When teaching English it is always beneficial to include in your teaching an element of culture from an English speaking country. The topic of Bonfire night is very popular in the United Kingdom and comes from a plot in 1605 to blow up the famous houses of parliament in London, England to kill the king. Bonfire Night is celebrated on the evening of 5 th of November all over the UK by lighting of bonfires and fireworks to celebrate that Guy Fawkes failed to burn down parliament! Included are a few activities you can use in your classes. Many are cross curricular including art, cooking, PE, citizenship therefore great for bilingual classrooms. As always they can be adapted to your own kind of bonfire night you may have in your culture. I hope you enjoy! Why do we celebrate Bonfire Night? – Listening comprehension B1 B2 This activity could also be an ICT activity where children use the internet to search for the relevant information. Otherwise use the following clips to listen to for the students to fill in the gaps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnq7aqHLCSM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74GKQoYPL6E Bonfire Night Remember, , The of Gunpowder, treason and plot. We see no reason, Why gunpowder treason Should ever be . In November __________ ( 1605 / 1675/ 1695 ) a group of men decided to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London.

Transcript of Bonfire night activities for teachers

Bonfire Night When teaching English it is always beneficial to include in your teaching an element of

culture from an English speaking country. The topic of Bonfire night is very popular in the

United Kingdom and comes from a plot in 1605 to blow up the famous houses of parliament

in London, England to kill the king. Bonfire Night is celebrated on the evening of 5th of

November all over the UK by lighting of bonfires and fireworks to celebrate that Guy Fawkes

failed to burn down parliament!

Included are a few activities you can use in your classes. Many are cross curricular including

art, cooking, PE, citizenship therefore great for bilingual classrooms. As always they can be

adapted to your own kind of bonfire night you may have in your culture. I hope you enjoy!

Why do we celebrate Bonfire Night? – Listening comprehension B1 B2

This activity could also be an ICT activity where children use the internet to search for the relevant information. Otherwise use the following clips to listen to for the students to fill in the gaps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnq7aqHLCSM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74GKQoYPL6E

Bonfire Night

Remember, ,

The of

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

We see no reason,

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be .

In November __________ ( 1605 / 1675/ 1695 ) a group of men decided to blow up

the Houses of Parliament in London.

The men were angry about the way the _________________ ( Catholic / Protestant

/ Muslim) people were being treated in England.

At this time the King of England was __________________ (Henry VIII / Charles II /

James I) and he was Protestant.

The plot is known as the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ and the leader of the plot was called

________________ ( Guy Fawkes / Robert Catesby / John Wright ).

The men put 36 barrels of _________________ ( fireworks / gunpowder / beer ) in

the Houses of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was the man who was going to light the

gunpowder.

However, __________ ( a family / the king / soldiers ) found the gunpowder before

it could be exploded and they caught all the men involved in the plot.

On _____________ ( November 1st / November 3rd / November 5th ) British people

remember the attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament by celebrating ‘Bonfire

Night’.

All over Britain there are ___________ ( firework / light / dance ) displays and

bonfires.

It’s normally quite cold on Bonfire Night so people wear warm clothes, hats, scarves

and ______________ ( slippers / gloves / sunglasses ) to spend the evening outside.

Traditional Bonfire Night food is _____________________ (toffee apples/ vegetable curry).

For dictionary work that can lead to discussion ask the children to look up the

following words:

Gunpowder

Treason

Plot

Safety on Bonfire Night A2 B1

This is a great activity to practice the imperative form of the verb (or as I call it Bossy

Verbs!). Show the children the following poster:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090609003228/http://www.berr.gov.u

k/fireworks/gameposter.htm

Ask the students in groups to discuss what they can see.

Prompt them by asking questions like: Where are they? What are they doing? Are

they having fun? What are they celebrating? Is it cold or hot? Etc.

Get feedback from the groups. Explain to the students that it’s Ben´s bonfire party

and that everybody is having lots of SAFE fun. Ask some questions to gauge if the

students understand the word “safe” i.e. I stand very close to the bonfire. Is this safe?

Etc.

Model the use of the bossy verb (imperative) – STAND away from the bonfire or

DON’T STAND close to the bonfire etc. Explain how these verbs are bossy!

In groups the students have to come up with some safety tips for Ben´s party.

WEAR gloves and KEEP warm. STAND back from the fire, HOLD the sparkler away

from your body, BE careful etc.

The students must choose one of the safety tips and create their safety poster for

Ben´s bonfire party.

The poster could be related to fiestas that the children have in their towns and

villages when they have fireworks, sparklers etc.

The following is a quiz for the students based on bonfire night safety:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090609003228/http://www.berr.gov.u

k/fireworks/gamequiz.htm

What is Bonfire Night? - True or false Reading comprehension A2 B1

Students read through the following text and have to decide if the statements are true or false.

Bonfire Night is celebrated in the United Kingdom on 5th of November. On this day we remember the failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

Guy Fawkes was Catholic and practiced his religion in secret. He was very angry with the king, James the 1st because he passed many laws against Catholics.

In 1605, Guy Fawkes and his friends made a plan called the 'Gunpowder Plot'.

They put 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament.

They wanted to kill the king and his ministers. The king received an

anonymous letter and his soldiers arrested Guy Fawkes and his friends. They

were sent to the Tower of London and were executed.

Nowadays on Bonfire Night people organize their own parties or attend big fireworks displays. They stand around the bonfire, set off fireworks and eat lots of delicious Bonfire night food. They eat sausages, hot dogs, baked potatoes, baked beans and toffee apples.

Children make puppets called “guys”. They use old clothes, fill the body with newspapers and build a face with paper bags and draw a face on it. Children go out with their guy saying 'A penny for the guy' and adults give them some money to buy sparklers or sweets.

Read and decide if the statements are TRUE or FALSE.

…………………….. Bonfire night is on the 5th of October.

…………………….. Guy Fawkes loved the King.

…………………….. Guy Fawkes wasn’t Catholic.

…………………….. The king discovered the plot.

…………………….. The “gunpowder plot” was in 1605.

…………………….. Children build guys using new clothes and newspapers.

…………………….. People traditionally eat turkey on Bonfire Night.

…………………….. The children say “a penny for the guy!”

The Bonfire board game A1 A2

To play this game you will need to print off an A4 sheet of paper separated into six

parts with pictures on each part relating to Bonfire night (this will be the board for

the game) e.g. a bonfire, fireworks etc. each child will need a board (or they can

work in pairs). Resize the pictures, print out and stick them on a large dice.

Ask students to brainstorm vocabulary related to Bonfire night in groups.

Feedback and write the vocabulary on the board for all to see. Ask some students to

use the vocabulary to make a sentence.

Show the students the board and check that they understand all vocabulary. Now show them the dice with the same pictures. Explain how the game works. Each child takes turns to throw the dice. If the dice lands on a picture showing on their board they must make a sentence using the word i.e. the fireworks are beautiful, I don´t like toffee apples. If they have made a proper sentence they cover the board with a blank square. The winner is the first one to cover all of their pictures. When a student has won, ask for some sentences referring the picture words. Firework movement game A1 +

This game can be used as a PE lesson or introduced as PE and then used as a

speaking activity finishing with a song.

PE – Brainstorm the names of the different fireworks or introduce them by showing

them on the board, using flashcards or even better on the IWB. Show the children an

example of a rocket on the IWB. Ask them how they could imitate a rocket firework

using their bodies and making a sound. Ask students to work in groups and practice.

Demonstrate some to the rest of the class. Some examples could be:

Rocket = Jumping with hands together above head.

Catherine-wheel = spin around hands out. Banger = Sit down and clap.

Sparkler = fingers moving star shape.

To the tune of “the wheels on the bus” sing the chorus to the bonfire night song e.g.

The bonfire`s flames dance up and down, up and down, up and down. The bonfire`s

flames dance up and down. On bonfire night. Students in groups develop their own

verse and sing it to the class (this could be related to the movement they had created

in groups). For example: The Catherine wheels spin round and round or The rockets in

the sky go swish swish bang etc. The end song is that everyone sings their version

one after the other and does their movement. Happy moving and singing!

The gunpowder Plot – Listening into writing – B2 C1

Watch the gunpowder plot 1 and 2 using the following link:

http://www.parliament.uk/education/teaching-resources-lesson-plans/gunpowder-

plot-part-1/

Using the information from both clips ask students to write a descriptive diary entry

on how the King felt when he was told what had been planned. It might be

something like this:

I was shocked, I was speechless when the soldiers told me what they had found.

Gunpowder, lots and lots of gunpowder………

To give their diary entry a modern twist get the students to convert their diary entry

to a twitter entry or a Facebook comment of how he was feeling!

Another option is that the students write a letter to the King pleading for the safe

release of Guy Fawkes. This might be something like this:

Dear King, I must tell you what a wonderful man Guy is, he is kind and gentle but

unfortunately extremely silly! He only put the gunpowder in the house because……

Students can use the following link for more information:

http://www.parliament.uk/education-resources/stories-from-parliament/SfP-

Gunpowder-FactFile.pdf

Firework by Katy Perry - Listening for key words - B2

Play the students the following song without showing them the

video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw. Ask them to listen

very carefully. Their task is to listen for key words or phrases referring to fireworks.

Give them some clues i.e. listen out for words that would describe the noise a

firework makes, the way it moves through the sky etc. I.e. shoot across the sky,

boom, colours burs, ignite etc. Feedback as a group and highlight the words which

could be related to fireworks. Can they think of anymore?

Challenge your students to write a story that would end with the lyric “because

you´re a firework” from the Katy Perry song.

Use lyrics training to practice the words and have a competition in the class to see

which team gets the most points.

http://lyricstraining.com/play/katy_perry/firework/HUHg21SmPU# Good luck!

Art Each year we still light bonfires on 5th November and many people enjoy going to see a fireworks display. With colourful bonfires and fireworks the topic of Bonfire night can be a great opportunity to create some wonderful art displays for your classroom and corridors. Below is a selection of activities covering different artistic techniques.

Sparkly Chalk Fireworks

This chalk firework picture has a secret ingredient to add the sparkle!

You will need: glue, glitter in different colours, coloured chalk, black card, White

sugar, Warm water

Dissolve 2 tablespoons of sugar in half a cup of warm water.

Dip your chalks into the water and draw your fireworks.

When the picture dries you will be left with a surprising shimmery effect. Once dry

add some glitter to enhance the shimmery effect. Easy!

Crayon Etching Fireworks – For all in primary

Here is a fun idea for an unusual fireworks picture using wax crayons. Younger

children love to reveal the different colours as they scrape off the top, black layer.

You will need: Wax crayons (including black), White card, a punch (un punzón)

Colour all over the card with different bright crayons. For better results arrange

the colours in stripes, circles etc, but making sure that the whole card is covered

(no white gaps).

Now colour over the top with black crayon, making sure that the entire first layer

of bright colours is covered in black.

Carefully use the “punzón” to scrape away some of the black crayon in a swirly

motion or exploding lines (like a firework) to reveal the colours below. Be careful

not to press too hard or you will scrape away the coloured crayon below!

Bonfire Collage

A really easy way to make a bonfire for your display.

You will need: Large sheet of gold card, Glue stick, yellow, red and orange tissue or crepe paper, brown paper or card, twigs, sellotape

Cut a bonfire shape from card.

Cut flames from the tissue paper and glue them to the card. Try not to glue them flat but bend them and only stick bits down to add texture and make the flames look more real.

From brown paper cut some rectangular "log" shapes and glue these to the bottom of the fire. Finish off by taping on some real twigs to bring the collage to life and add even more texture. All you need now is to make the Guy to put on top!

Swishing Sparklers

A great art activity to make safe sparklers. Check it out at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpUFiL-Ac7M

Once your students have made their sparklers give each student a word they need to spell out using their sparkler. The word could be vocabulary from Bonfire night or any vocabulary you are working on in class. In turn each student needs to spell out their word using their sparkler (without saying a word). The other children have to guess the word. This is very typical on bonfire night when children use their sparklers to make circles and many often spell out their name. Introduce the following game the children can play on the computer which allows them to spell out words using the mouse as if it were a real sparkler.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090609003228/http://www.berr.gov.uk/fireworks/gamesparkler.htm

Bonfire night (or day) party in your classroom

To celebrate this great moment with a Bang why don’t you have a

party in your class!

Make hot dogs.

Make edible chocolate sparkler fingers

These are so easy to make. Dip the top of a chocolate finger biscuit into

some hot water (to just melt a little) then cover the top with some

sprinkles of all different colours. Delicious!

And enjoy!

We hope you have a fun and SAFE bonfire night from everyone at Cambridge English Spain and Portugal!