Activity

History of Halloween

Short YouTube videos (Japanese and English version) with accompanying cloze, word scramble, and word find.

I have used this activity for JHS for the last three years and it is always well received.
You can adapt it by not showing the Japanese version of the video which means they have to listen carefully in English in order to complete the cloze.

  1. Play "simpleshow explains the history of Halloween" [Link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWJ2wQ8l8C4&t=144s&fbclid=IwAR2CfwUie7a8g2O4kTiv88MfTJmn77AdVB6xxrbhxfY0AJZ1q4UovXj8G8E) in English and ask the students to listen carefully. If their English ability is good, you can start the worksheet.
  2. Play "ハロウィン - 仮装のお祭りじゃない? 本当の歴史" [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEeqK8PFi2I&t=88s&fbclid=IwAR2HeTNs7ZxJOG22EO9ilaxrF-nJUPnSNMQ9JOr1V8PkPdWe3Kv5em00ApY) so students can confirm the information they heard from the English version.
  3. Hand out the worksheet and students can complete the cloze in small groups or individually. Check the answers as a class.
  4. Continue on with the word scramble and word find.
Files:
Medium files (requires an account to download) -
  • halloween cloze 3rd grade.docx (2.35 MB)
  • 28
    Submitted by mikanmudcake October 19, 2020 Estimated time: 50 minute lesson
    1. rebvandev October 26, 2020

      The videos worked great in my class! I divided the video into 5 parts and went back-and-forth between the English version and then replaying the same part in Japanese, and then on to the 2nd part in English, etc., which I think helped them focus (I did this with 2nd-year students instead of 3rd). I learned a lot from these videos. Thanks for sharing!

    2. UonumaRobert October 28, 2020

      I watched this video on youtube yesterday and it looked great. But my school computers block youtube so I can't record it there, where I know how to record youtube. Anybody know how to record youtube videos on a mac? That's what I have at home.

    3. mikanmudcake October 29, 2020

      I'm so glad you used the videos and had success with them! Great idea to split them between English and Japanese.

    4. emilychampagne October 30, 2020

      Huge hit for my high school first years' classes! The puzzles were the perfect level of challenging for them.

    5. RoselleDesigns October 24, 2022

      Thank you for this resource! I ended up splitting the videos into three parts each. I showed the English part, had students tell me what English words they recognized or what it was about, and then showed them the Japanese so they could check their understanding. They all were very engaged and had fun!

    6. Joanne October 15, 2023

      Hi, the first link leads me to a cartoon type dance which I don't think is the right video. The link to the Japanese one works fine! Could you repost the link again for the English version? This is brilliant and I would like to use it. Thank you!

    Sign in or create an account to leave a comment.