e- oolkit

Secondary
Upper-secondary

1- INDIVIDUAL TASK - Halloween-related vocabulary: A fun way for students to

learn about vocabulary related to Halloween.

WORKSHEET 1
Find the words below in the wordsearch. Words are placed vertically, horizontally and diagonally,
both from left to right and from right to left.

pumpkin prank haunted house spider

trick-or-treaters autumn ghost spiderweb

bobbing for bat jack-o-lantern witch

apples black cat skeleton wizard

X G G U P D Y U B D E F C K K

S R E T A E R T R O K C I R T

N P U M P K I N H R B K J I R

C R Y N W K A F A T E B R O F

T T E I X P H N U A W D I W H

K A T T P T O K N C R U I N W

R C B L N T N H T M E D H P G

H H E X E A H U E T D U B Q S

F S O L R O L O D W I T S H D

M U E P C Q D O U Y P J G T R

E K N M U T U A K S S V H A A

S E V G W Q U T P C E C O X Z

H R C H C O L M D A A W S B I

D V E J T O P N E V J J T R W

N Q N B L A C K C A T W J S F

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2-C
 OLLABORATIVE TASK – What is it?: Students check what they know about
Halloween in English.

WORKSHEET 2
These sentences refer to the Halloween words in worksheet 1. Match each definition to the
corresponding word.

a) This is the season when Halloween takes place. → ________________

b) This is a small animal that flies at night and looks like a mouse with wings. → ________________

c) This is a game children often play on Halloween in which they have to catch an apple from a
basin filled with water without using their hands. → ________________

d) This is a small creature with eight legs that usually weaves a web to catch insects. →
________________

e) This is an animal which people believe brings bad luck, especially if you see it at night. →
________________

f) This is an empty pumpkin with a face cut into it and a light inside that can be seen through the
holes and which is made as a decoration for Halloween. → ________________

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3. LIFE SKILLS - CULTURAL AWARENESS (ESO 1-3): In groups, students read a text about
the origins of Halloween and ask their partners to obtain the missing information in
their texts.
WORKSHEET 3 - STUDENT A
Halloween’s origins go back to (0) ________________________________________ (pronounced sow-
in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in (1) __________________________________________________
, celebrated their new year on November 1st. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest
and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. Celts believed that on the night before the new year,
the worlds of the living and the dead mixed. On (3) _____________________________________ they
celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

In (5) ______________________________________________________, America was full of new

immigrants. These new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish escaping from Ireland’s potato
famine of 1846, helped to make the celebration of Halloween popular in all the country. Following
from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to (7) ________________________________________
___________________________, which eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition.

At the end of the nineteenth century, people in America started to make Halloween into a holiday
more about community and neighbours than about ghosts and pranks. At the beginning of the
twentieth century, people celebrated Halloween by (9) _______________________________________
_. These parties focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes. Newspapers and
community leaders asked parents not to make Halloween celebrations scary.

Adapted from http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#

QUESTIONS
Example: (0) What / Halloween’s origins go back to?
What do Halloween’s origins go back to?
Answer: They go back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.

(1) Where / the Celts / live / 2,000 years ago?

Where __________________________________________________________?
(3) When / they / celebrate Samhain?
When __________________________________________________________?
(5) When / be / America / full of immigrants?
When __________________________________________________________?
(7) What / Americans / begin to do?
What __________________________________________________________?
(9) How / people / celebrate Halloween at beginning of the twentieth century?
How __________________________________________________________?

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WORKSHEET 3 - STUDENT B
Halloween’s origins go back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The
Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France,
celebrated their new year on (2) __________________________. This day marked the end of summer
and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. Celts believed that on the night
before the new year, the worlds of the living and the dead mixed. On the night of October 31st
they celebrated (4) __________________________, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead
returned to earth.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was full of new immigrants. These new
immigrants, especially the millions of Irish escaping from Ireland’s potato famine of 1846, helped to
make (6) ____________________________________________ popular in all the country. Following from
Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house
asking for food or money, which eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition.

At (8) ___________________________________________________, people in America started to make

Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighbours than about ghosts and pranks.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, people celebrated Halloween by having parties for
children and adults. These parties focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes.
Newspapers and community leaders asked parents not to (10) _________________________________
____________________________.

Adapted from http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#

QUESTIONS
Example: (0) What / Halloween’s origins go back to?
What do Halloween’s origins go back to?
Answer: They go back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.

(2) When / the Celts / celebrate their new year?

When __________________________________________________________?
(4) What / the Celts / celebrate on the night of October 31st?
What __________________________________________________________?
(6) What / these immigrants / help to make popular?
What __________________________________________________________?
(8) When / people in America / start to make Halloween into a holiday about community?
When __________________________________________________________?
(10) What / newspapers and community leaders / ask / parents not to do at the beginning of
the twentieth century?
What __________________________________________________________?

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4. LIFE SKILLS - CULTURAL AWARENESS (ESO 4-Bachillerato): In groups, students

read a text about the origins of Halloween and ask their partners to obtain
the missing information in their texts.

WORKSHEET 4 - STUDENT A
Halloween’s origins date back to (0) _______________________________________________
(pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in (1) _____________________________
_____________________________________________, celebrated their new year on November 1st. This
day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. Celts
believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living
and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when they
believed (3) _________________________________________________________________________.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These
new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland’s potato famine of 1846, helped to
(5) _________________________________________________________________________. Following Irish and
English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for
food or money, which eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition. Young women believed
that on Halloween they could guess the name or appearance of their future husband by doing
tricks with yarn, apple parings or mirrors.

In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to make Halloween into a holiday more about
community and neighbourly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft. At the turn
of the century, (7) ________________________________________________________________________
_ became the most common way to celebrate the day. These focused on games, foods of the
season and festive costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders
to take anything “frightening” or “grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these
efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the
twentieth century.

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By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a community-centered holiday, where parades
and town-wide parties were the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools
and communities, vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities at
this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully dealt with it and Halloween had evolved into
a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to (9) ____________________________________________
_____________________________, parties were moved from town civic centers into the classroom or
home, where they could be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-
old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. This was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire
community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being
played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats. A new American
tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend (11) __________________
____________________________________ annually on Halloween, which means that it’s the country’s
second largest commercial holiday.

Adapted from http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#

QUESTIONS
Example: (0) What / Halloween’s origins date back to?
What do Halloween’s origins date back to?
Answer: They date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.

(1) Where / the Celts / live / 2,000 years ago?

Where ___________________________________________________________________?
(3) What / Celts / believe / happen on the night of October 31st?
What ____________________________________________________________________?
(5) What / immigrants / help / do in the second half of the nineteenth century?
When ___________________________________________________________________?
(7) What / become / the most common way to celebrate Halloween at the turn of the century?
What ____________________________________________________________________?
(9) Why / parties / move the classrooms or homes by the 1950s?
Why ____________________________________________________________________?
(11) How much / Americans / spend on Halloween annually?
How much _______________________________________________________________?

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WORKSHEET 4 - STUDENT B
Halloween’s origins date back to t(0) _______________________________________________
(pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the
United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1st. This day
marked (2) _________________________________________________________________________. Celts
believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living
and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when they
believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

(4) _____________________________________________________________________, America was flooded

with new immigrants. These new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland’s potato
famine of 1846, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Following Irish and
English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for
food or money, which eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition. Young women believed
that on Halloween they could guess the name or appearance of their future husband by (6) ____
_____________________________________________________________________.

In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to make Halloween into a holiday more about
community and neighbourly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft. At the turn
of the century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to
celebrate the day. These focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes. Parents
were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything “frightening” or
“grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts, Halloween lost (8) ___________
______________________________________________________ by the beginning of the twentieth century.

By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a community-centered holiday, where parades
and town-wide parties were the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools
and communities, vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities at
this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully dealt with it and Halloween had evolved into
a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children during the
fifties’ baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they
could be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, (10) _________________________
________________________________________ was also revived. This was a relatively inexpensive way
for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent
tricks being played on them by (12) _________________________________________________________
___________. A new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans
spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, which means that it’s the country’s second
largest commercial holiday.

Adapted from http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#

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QUESTIONS
Example: (0) What / Halloween’s origins date back to?
What do Halloween’s origins date back to?
Answer: They date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.

(2) What / November 1st / mark for the Celts?

What ___________________________________________________________________?
(4) When / America / flood / with new immigrants?
When ___________________________________________________________________?
(6) How / young women / believe / they / can / guess the name or appearance of their future
husband?
How ____________________________________________________________________?
(8) What / Halloween / lose / by the beginning of the twentieth century?
What ____________________________________________________________________?
(10) What / revive / between 1920 and 1950?
What ____________________________________________________________________?
(12) How / can / families / also prevent / tricks being played on them?
How ____________________________________________________________________?

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TEACHER’S NOTES
1. INDIVIDUAL TASK - Halloween-related vocabulary
With this activity, students will learn about Halloween in English as well as key vocabulary related
to this celebration.

WORKSHEET 1
1. Write “Halloween” on the board.

2. Get students to brainstorm ideas in open class in order to see what words students associate
with this celebration and how many Halloween-related words they already know in English.

3. Then give students worksheet 1 for them to look for the words listed below. (To make the activity
more challenging, you can ask students to cover the bottom part of the page so they don’t see
the words they have to find).

4. Once they have finished, go over the answers (making sure they have all found all the words)
and illustrate each of the words, answering any vocabulary questions they may have. You can
also ask students if they can think of any additional words related to Halloween which are not
in the crosswords.

5. With weaker groups, you can get students to translate them into their mother tongue to make
sure they understand what they mean.

X G G U P D Y U B D E F C K K
ANSWER KEY
S R E T A E R T R O K C I R T
(Over, Down, Direction)
N P U M P K I N H R B K J I R
APPLES (7, 4, SW) JACK-O-LANTERN (12, 14, NW)
C R Y N W K A F A T E B R O F
AUTUMN (8, 11, W) PRANK (4, 10, NE) T T E I X P H N U A W D I W H

BAT (3, 7, NW) PUMPKIN (2, 3, E) K A T T P T O K N C R U I N W

BLACK CAT (4, 15, E) SKELETON (1, 12, NE) R C B L N T N H T M E D H P G

H H E X E A H U E T D U B Q S
BOBBING (9, 1, SE) SPIDER (15, 8, NW)
F S O L R O L O D W I T S H D
CAT (10, 6, N) SPIDERWEB (11,11, N)
M U E P C Q D O U Y P J G T R
FOR (15, 4, W) TRICK-OR-TREATERS (15, 2, W) E K N M U T U A K S S V H A A

GHOST (13, 10, S) WITCH (5, 4, SW) S E V G W Q U T P C E C O X Z

HAUNTED (9, 3, S) WIZARD (15, 14, N) H R C H C O L M D A A W S B I

D V E J T O P N E V J J T R W
HOUSE (7, 8, SE)
N Q N B L A C K C A T W J S F

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2. COLLABORATIVE TASK – What is it?

WORKSHEET 2

This activity will increase the students’ vocabulary related to Halloween and it
will give them strategies to define new words (learning to learn).

1. Give students worksheet 2.

2. They need to read the sentences and complete them with a word from worksheet 1.
3. Go round helping students with vocabulary questions they may have.
4. Go over the answers in open class.
5. As an extension task, you could get students in groups and ask them to write a definitions for
the words in worksheet 1 which do not appear in worksheet 2. This could be set up as a game
where one group reads out their definition and the rest of the teams try to guess. To make it
even more competitive, you could award a point to the team who guesses correctly.

ANSWER KEY
a) This is the season when Halloween takes place. → autumn

b) This is a small animal that flies at night and looks like a mouse with wings. → a bat

c) This is a game children often play on Halloween in which they have to catch an apple from a
basin filled with water without using their hands. → bobbing for apples

d) This is a small creature with eight legs that usually weaves a web to catch insects. → a spider

e) This is an animal which people believe brings bad luck, especially if you see it at night. →
black cat

f) This is an empty pumpkin with a face cut into it and a light inside that can be seen through the
holes and which is made as a decoration for Halloween.→ jack-o-lantern

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3. LIFE SKILLS - Cultural awareness (ESO 1-3)

LIFE SKILLS

This activity will foster cultural awareness, because the students will be learning about a
celebration from the English-speaking world and comparing it to their own culture.

This will also help students to recognise and respect diversity, as they will see that different
countries have different festivals and celebrations.

WORKSHEET 3

1. Tell students they are now going to read a text about the origins of Halloween.

2. Divide the class into 2 separate groups: A-students and B-students. In their respective A/B
groups, students should first read their text quickly to get a general idea of what it is about.

3. Next, students should look at the missing information in their text and complete the questions
below to ask about that missing information. They should use the words given to make the
questions. (With higher-level students, you could ask them to cover the clues and to try to write
the question without any help). Do the question (0) together in open class as an example to
make sure students know what they have to do.

4. Go around helping students, answering any questions they may have and making sure what
they have written on their worksheets is correct.

5. Next, regroup students and put them in pairs: each pair should have one A-student and one
B-student. Students have to ask each other the questions written on their worksheet to obtain
the information missing, and write down what their partner says. One basic rule for this activity
to work is that students CAN’T show each other their worksheets until they finish the activity.

6. After every pair has finished completing all the gaps in their text, they could swap worksheets to
compare their answers.

7. Finally, have a feedback session in open class, going over the answers one by one and reading
the text to give students the chance to ask any questions they may have.

8. As an extension task, you could ask students to read the text again and answering the following
questions in their groups:

a) What fact did you find the most interesting about the text?

b) What did you learn about the origins of Halloween that you didn’t know?

c) Do you celebrate Halloween? How?

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ANSWER KEY

FULL TEXT

Halloween’s origins go back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The
Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France,
celebrated their new year on November 1st. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest
and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. Celts believed that on the night before the new
year, the worlds of the living and the dead mixed. On the night of October 31st they celebrated
Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was full of new immigrants. These new
immigrants, especially the millions of Irish escaping from Ireland’s potato famine of 1846, helped
to make the celebration of Halloween popular in all the country. Following from Irish and English
traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or
money, which eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition.

At the end of the nineteenth century, people in America started to make Halloween into a holiday
more about community and neighbours than about ghosts and pranks. At the beginning of
the twentieth century, people celebrated Halloween by having parties for children and adults.
These parties focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes. Newspapers and
community leaders asked parents not to make Halloween celebrations scary.

Adapted from http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#

QUESTIONS - STUDENT A

(1) Where did the Celts live 2,000 years ago?

(3) When did they celebrate Samhain?

(5) When was America full of immigrants?

(7) What did Americans begin to do?

(9) How did people celebrate Halloween at beginning of the twentieth century?

QUESTIONS - STUDENT B

(2) When did the Celts celebrate their new year?

(4) What did the Celts celebrate on the night of October 31st?

(6) What did these immigrants help to make popular?

(8) When did people in America start to make Halloween into a holiday about community?

(10) What did newspapers and community leaders ask parents not to do at the beginning of the
twentieth century?

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4. LIFE SKILLS - Cultural awareness (ESO 4 - Bachillerato)

LIFE SKILLS

This activity will foster cultural awareness, because the students will be learning about a
celebration from the English-speaking world and comparing it to their own culture.

This will also help students to recognise and respect diversity, as they will see that different
countries have different festivals and celebrations.

WORKSHEET 4

1. Tell students they are now going to read a text about the origins of Halloween.

2. Divide the class into 2 separate groups: A-students and B-students. In their respective A/B
groups, students should first read their text quickly to get a general idea of what it is about.

3. Next, students should look at the missing information in their text and complete the questions
below to ask about that missing information. They should use the words given to make the
questions. (With higher-level students, you could ask them to cover the clues and to try to write
the question without any help). Do the question (0) together in open class as an example to
make sure students know what they have to do.

4. Go around helping students, answering any questions they may have and making sure what
they have written on their worksheets is correct.

5. Next, regroup students and put them in pairs: each pair should have one A-student and one
B-student. Students have to ask each other the questions written on their worksheet to obtain
the information missing, and write down what their partner says. One basic rule for this activity
to work is that students CAN’T show each other their worksheets until they finish the activity.

6. After every pair has finished completing all the gaps in their text, they could swap worksheets to
compare their answers.

7. Finally, have a feedback session in open class, going over the answers one by one and reading
the text to give students the chance to ask any questions they may have.

8. As an extension task, you could ask students to read the text again and answering the following
questions in their groups:

a) What fact did you find the most interesting about the text?

b) What did you learn about the origins of Halloween that you didn’t know?

c) Do you celebrate Halloween? How?

Macmillan Secondary e-Toolkit © Macmillan Iberia, S.A. 2017. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. PHOTOCOPIABLE
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Secondary
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ANSWER KEY

FULL TEXT

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The
Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern
France, celebrated their new year on November 1st. This day marked the end of summer and the
harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. Celts believed that on the night before the
new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the
night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when they believed that the ghosts of the dead
returned to earth.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These
new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland’s potato famine of 1846, helped
to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Following Irish and English traditions,
Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money,
which eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition. Young women believed that on
Halloween they could guess the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with
yarn, apple parings or mirrors.

In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to make Halloween into a holiday more about
community and neighbourly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft. At the
turn of the century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common
way to celebrate the day. These focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes.
Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything “frightening”
or “grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts, Halloween lost most of its
superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century.

By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a community-centered holiday, where parades
and town-wide parties were the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools
and communities, vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities at
this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully dealt with it and Halloween had evolved into
a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children during the
fifties’ baby boom, parties were moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where
they could be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice
of trick-or-treating was also revived. This was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community
to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being played on
them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats. A new American tradition was
born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on
Halloween, which means that it’s the country’s second largest commercial holiday.

Macmillan Secondary e-Toolkit © Macmillan Iberia, S.A. 2017. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. PHOTOCOPIABLE
 e- oolkit
Secondary
Upper-secondary

Adapted from http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#

QUESTIONS - STUDENT A

(1) Where did the Celts live 2,000 years ago?

(3) What did the Celts believe happened on the night of October 31st?

(5) What did immigrants help to do in the second half of the nineteenth century?

(7) What became the most common way to celebrate Halloween at the turn of the century?

(9) Why were parties moved to the classrooms or homes by the 1950s?

(11) How much do Americans spend on Halloween annually?

QUESTIONS - STUDENT B

(2) What did November 1st mark for the Celts?

(4) When was America flooded with new immigrants?

(6) H
 ow did young women believe that they they could guess the name or appearance of their
future husband?

(8) What did Halloween lose by the beginning of the twentieth century?

(10) What was revived between 1920 and 1950?

(12) How could families also prevent tricks being played on them?

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