Kissing under mistletoe

The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are to:

• – Explore Christmas vocabulary including “parasite,” “fertility,” and “species” while learning about mistletoe traditions in this upper intermediate ESL lesson plan.
• – Create cleft sentences using “it” and “wh-” structures to add emphasis through sentence rephrasing exercises for adult English lessons.
• – Discuss cultural traditions by watching videos about holiday customs, reading about Christmas meanings, and sharing personal cultural experiences using these English teaching materials.

In this Upper-Intermediate ESL lesson, students will learn about a Christmas tradition: Why do we kiss under the mistletoe? Students will also learn how to make and use cleft sentences to add emphasis to their sentences and questions. This lesson will also focus on getting students to discuss traditions in their own cultures. 

Warm-up

The lesson starts with a few warm-up questions about Christmas.

Video: Why do we kiss under mistletoe?

Before watching a video, the student matches new vocabulary with the correct meanings (parasite, species, fertility, siphon, etc.) and practices using it in sentences.

Next, they watch the video Why do we kiss under mistletoe? and complete the video comprehension. They label different parts of the mistletoe tree (sprigs, leaves, seeds/berries). Then, they decide whether statements based on the video are true or false.

They practice using new words by replacing them with synonyms.

Grammar: Cleft sentences

The student learns about cleft sentences – it and wh-, and practices their use by rephrasing original sentences from the video to make them cleft.

Reading: The meaning of Christmas

The student reads a passage about the meaning of Christmas and learns new vocabulary (religious, Christian, festival, etc.).

In a wrap-up activity, the student revises the words they learned and, finally, picks cards with different holidays to talk about them (New Year’s Day, Easter, Boxing Day, etc.).