PREVIEW ACTIVITY (I) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.

Bet You Didn’t Know: Halloween History (B1 - B2)

Work with a partner, group, or your teacher. Do the activities below together.

PART I Discuss the questions below about Halloween and traditions.

1 Discuss what you know about the holiday Halloween.

2 When was the last time that you wore a costume?
3 Do you have any favorite holidays from your native culture?
4 How important is it to celebrate cultural holidays and traditions?

A carved pumpkin which has candles inside it is called a jack-o’- .

PART III Think about a few holidays from your native culture. Can you describe any traditions,
customs, celebrations, or activities that are connected with these holidays?

HOLIDAYS TRADITIONS / CUSTOMS / CELEBRATIONS / ACTIVITIES:

PART III Can you fill in the missing letters for the Halloween-related activities you see below?

1 2 3

trick-or-t ing Halloween p d b ing for apples

Follow-up Questions...

1 Describe what exactly is going on in the activity in the first image (number 1).
2 Does the town / city where you live ever host any special parades?
3 Describe what exactly the boy is doing in the third image (number 3).
PREVIEW ACTIVITY (II) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
Bet You Didn’t Know: Halloween History (B1 - B2)

PART I Choose the correct definition for each verb / verb phrase below based on the context.

1 The children begged their parents for more candy.

2 The pumpkin seeds turned into big pumpkins after only 2 months.
3 You can see people in the church praying.
4 One big reason people celebrate holidays is to revive their native traditions.
5 In the past people believed in evil spirits and wanted to keep them at bay.

1 beg a. to keep something away from you or at a distance

2 turn into b. to bring back to life
3 pray c. to become or transform into something else
4 revive d. to ask someone for something needed or wanted very
much or in a very serious or emotional way
5 keep at bay
e. to speak to a god or higher power in a religious way,
usually for some kind of help or thanks

PART II Choose the correct definition or synonym for each vocabulary term below.

(1) My friends played a prank on me today. They covered my car with toilet paper!

a prank is... a. a family tradition
b. a practical joke
c. a serious discussion
(2) We visited some medieval castles in a small British village today.
medieval means.... a. from modern times
b. from the Middle Ages
c. from World War II

(3) When I was young, people would often mistake me for my sister because we
looked and sounded completely the same!
to mistake someone for someone else means...
a. to think that one person is someone else
b. to be born on the same day
c. to have completely different characteristics
Bonus Terms!
Samhain A Gaelic festival on October 31 / November 1 that marks the end of harvest season
Souling An English festival which includes asking for food donations and singing songs
Guising An older term for “trick-or-treating”
Hijinks A term similar to “pranks” or getting into trouble (but nothing that serious)

BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
HALLOWEEN | HISTORY Bet You Didn’t Know: Halloween History (B1 - B2)

PREVIEW DISCUSSION QUESTION

Do you know some examples of typical Hal-

loween decorations? (E.g. Jack-o’-lantern)

VIEWING ACTIVITY

PART I Write short answers in the spaces according to the information from the video.

0:23 1 What did people put on their doorsteps on the night before Samhain? Why?

0:36 2 Where does the word ‘Halloween’ come from?

0:50 3 When / where did “souling” and “guising” start?

1:07 4 What did young people do during the tradition of “guising”? What were they given?

1:38 5 How are the economics of Halloween described?

PART II When explaining an old tradition on ‘All Souls Day’, the narrator says...

“ The needy would beg for pastries known as ‘soul cakes’.

What do you think the sentence above means?

a. People in costumes would beg for soul cakes on All Souls Day.
b. Poor people would beg for soul cakes on All Souls Day.
c. Ghosts would beg for soul cakes on All Souls Day.
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITY (I) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
Bet You Didn’t Know: Halloween History (B1 - B2)

PART I Choose the correct vocabulary terms that fit the text below. One isn’t used!

revived turned pray bay

mistaken pranks medieval

1 In the past, people would put food and wine on their doorstep to keep evil
spirits at . Also, when people left their house, they would
wear a mask in an attempt to be for a real ghost.

2 The Christian church renamed Samhain to All Saints Day and over time it
into All Hallows Eve, today known as ‘Halloween.’

3 In the beginning, trick-or-treating was more about the tricks, which was
mostly about and hijinks, and then later it became a
family-centered activity in the 1950s.

4 During the activity of “souling”, the needy would beg for pastries known as
“soul cakes”. In return, they would for the dead relatives
of the people who gave them the soul cakes.

5 In 19th century America, Irish and Scottish immigrants

their traditions of ‘souling’ and ‘guising’ and they soon became known as trick-
or-treating.

PART II Write the correct parts of speech on the right side for each term on the left side.

1 noun: festival adjective:

2 verb: pray noun:

3 verb: revive noun:

4 noun: poetry adjective:

5 adjective: Christian noun:

Choose a word from the section above that fits the context of the sentences below
PART III
and write it in the part of speech that should be used in each sentence.

1 I said a long at church today.

2 The parade felt very with all the decorations and people
dressed up in costumes.
3 In the past on Halloween, children recited and sang songs.
4 The of traditions is a big part of celebrating a holiday.
 POST-VIEWING ACTIVITY (II)
Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
Bet You Didn’t Know: Halloween History (B1 - B2)

Study the usage of the past simple in comparison with would + base verb.

In the video, you hear the narrator say the following two sentences:

“ Souling and guising originated in medieval Britain.

The needy would beg for pastries known as soul cakes. In return, they would pray
“ for people’s dead relatives.

We use the past simple for things which happened just one time at a specific time in the past.

EXAMPLE Last year we played a really funny prank on my neighbors. We covered

their houses with toilet paper!

We use would + base verb for things which happened repeatedly or regularly in the past.

EXAMPLE When we were younger we would play pranks on our neighbor every year.
We would always cover their houses with toilet paper!

We use would + base verb to describe traditions or customs that we did repeatedly in the past.

PART I Write about some situations from your life that happened in the past using the past
simple and would.

Ex. When I was a child, I would go trick-or-treating every year.

Repeated Actions 1
in the past
(would) 2
3

Ex. I went bobbing for apples one time when I was 10.
One-time actions 1
in the past
(past simple) 2
3

PART II Choose the correct form of would + base verb or past simple below.

1. I would dress up / dressed up in the same costume every year when I was a young child.
2. Throughout my childhood we would take / took part in the same parade in my city.
3. Yesterday my mom would hang up / hung up Halloween decorations around the house.
4. This year our pumpkins would grow / grew really quickly!
5. In the past, the Celts would hold / held an annual festival at the end of harvest season.
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITY (III) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
Bet You Didn’t Know: Halloween History (B1 - B2)

SPEAKING TASK 1:

Your teacher will choose a few of the speaking topics below to discuss. Discuss the topics
with your teacher or partner. In your discussion, explain your ideas in detail.

1 Are there any holidays or traditions celebrated in your

home country that are similar to Halloween? If so,
describe what’s similar and/or different about it.

2 Are there any holidays or traditions celebrated in your

country that are mostly or specifically for children?

3 What may some people hate about dressing up in a cos-

tume? Why else might people hate Halloween in general?

4 In your own words, describe what a ghost is and what

makes them “scary”. What about a witch?

5 Pumpkins are a big part of Halloween and the cuisine

during the autumn season in North America. Is pumpkin a
part of the cuisine in your home country? Do you like it?

SPEAKING TASK 2:

Take 20 seconds. Look at the two images below. Memorize all the details you can.
Then your teacher will hide the photos. Talk about all the details you remember.

1 2
QUIZ & REVIEW ACTIVITY Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
Bet You Didn’t Know: Halloween History (B1 - B2)

Work with a partner. Complete the quiz and review activities below.

PART I Questions. Answer the questions below about the video.

1 How did the name “Halloween” originate?

2 What would people put on their doorsteps the night before Samhain? Why?
3 What happened during the tradition of “guising”?
4 What would the needy do on All Souls Day?
5 What is discussed about the economics of Halloween?

PART II Vocabulary: Write the correct verb used in each sentence below.

1 In the past, people would put food and wine on their doorstep to
evil spirits at bay. Also, when people left their house, they would
wear a mask so that other ghosts would them for a real ghost.

2 The Christian church renamed Samhain to All Saints Day and over time it
into All Hallows Eve, today known as ‘Halloween.’

4 During the activity of “souling”, the needy would for pastries

known as “soul cakes”. In return, they would for the dead
relatives of the people who gave them the soul cakes.

5 In 19th century America, Irish and Scottish immigrants their

traditions of ‘souling’ and ‘guising’ and they became known as trick-or-treating.

PART III Grammar: Explain the difference in usage of past simple and would + base verb.

PART IV Bonus: Below are some additional vocabulary words related to Halloween. Do you
know what they are? If so, write the word and how it may be connected to Halloween.

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