LESSON PLAN

Proficiency level: intermediate

Age: 16/17

Topic: St. Valentine’s Day – reading comprehension

Time: 45 min.

Materials: A CD player, monolingual dictionaries,handouts for students

The goals of the lesson: -make Ss. familar with the customs and origin of St.Valentine’s Day

-learn new vocabulary

-bring Ss.’general knowledge to the topic of the lesson

SWBATs: 1. Talk about the history of St. Valentine’s Day

2. Talk about the theme of the song

3. Pick out specific information from the song

4. Answer comprehension questions on the reading material

5. Use some new vocabulary from the lesson

Lesson Procedure

Warm-up

Time: 9 min.

Procedure: The T. greets the students and briefly revises the material from the previous lesson. Then, she plays a song to the students asking them what it is about.

ASR: “About love”

The T. writes the title of the song on the board (“Love is strange”) and asks them what is strange about love according to the song. (If it is required a song may be played once again or even played in chunks to be discussed immediatelly afterwards).

Transition

Time: 2 min.

Procedure: The T. asks the Ss. to guess the topic of the lesson (she may give them a hint by asking what holiday is celebrated this week).

ASR: “St. Valentine’s Day”.

Next, the T. tells them that after this lesson she wants them to know the origin of St. Valentine’s Day and writes the topic on the board.

Pre-Reading

Time: 10min.

Procedure: The T.asks the Ss. what they know about the holiday and about St. Valentine himself. Students respond using their general knowldge. Next, she gives them a handout (Appendix 1) with some statements concerning the history of St. Valentine’s Day and tells them to think which of them are true and which are false (Ss. predict the answers before reading the text). They work in pairs and have two minutes to do this. Then, the T. reads the questions aloud and asks the Ss. what they think. Now the T. tells the Ss. that they may find out whether they were right by reading the text. Before reading the T. preteaches Ss. the following words:

shroud (V) decree (N)

shrouded in mistery defy (V)

vestige (N) harsh (Adj)

rite (N) confinement (N)

outlaw (N, V) alleged (Adj)

martyr (N, V) murky (Adj)

Reading

Time: 6 min.

Procedure: After the T. has distributed the texts (Appendix 2) among the Ss. they read it silently and answer T/F questions on the text.

Post-Reading

Time: 10 min.

Procedure: Different students give answers to the questions. Next, the Ss. are given a handout with some words connected to the word ‘love’ on it (Appendix 3). There are some false ones among them. The Ss. work in pairs. They should find the words that really exist in English and tell what they mean. They have monolingual dictionaries on their desks in case they need to check the meaning. They are given four minitutes for this activity. Afterwards, some students read the right words telling the class what they mean or using a word in a sentence. Finally, the T. writes the following ‘secret messages’ on the board , telling the Ss. to decipher them. They are informed that they may use these while writing their own Valentines J.

I love U 4-ever.

U R mine.

Y R U so sad?

I O U a kiss.

Come 2 my T-party.

C U 2-morr-O.

My B-longs 2 U.

Sum-up and homework assignment

Time: 8 min.

Procedure: With their notebooks closed, the T. asks the Ss. about the new vocabulary from the lesson. She gives them deffinitions of the words and Ss. come with the actual words themselves. Also, the T. asks what they remember about the origin of St. Valentine’s Day.

Homework:

The Ss. Are to check the meaning of the following expression: “love me, love my dog” and to write a paragraph describing how they understand it.

As the last element of the lesson the T. Distributes the lyrics of the song which started the lesson (Appendix 4). Now, the Ss. have the opportunity to sing the song together.

Appendix 1 The History of St. Valentine’s Day - Comprehension questions

Read the following statements and decide whether they are true or false

Fortunatelly, we know the history of St.Valentie’s Day.
St. Valentine was a soldier under Emperor Claudius II.
Emperor Claudius II wasn’t fond of young men getting married.
St. Valentine got married in secret.
St. Valentine was put to prison for sending a Valentine.
Some people believe St. Valentine was a Christian martyr.
St. Valentine was tortured by the Emperor for falling in love with his daughter.

Appendix 2

Victorian-style place holder

Valentine's Day Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday?

The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.

So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Appendix 3

Look at the following words and decide which of them are true English words and which don’t exist at all. Next, think what the real ones mean. You may use a dictionary if there is a need.