Michelle's independent resources for ESL Students at Vancouver Community College

This is a Canadian ESL blog for Intermediate and Advanced Students who want to learn and improve their English. Each PAGE above contains thousands of free English lessons, tutorials and practice exercises to help you learn and improve your English grammar, reading, listening, pronunciation, speaking, writing and editing. Some of the resources are Canadian. Others are from around the world.

The resources on this Canadian blog are all free, and I spend a lot of my time working on it, so please consider becoming a SUPPORTER. I appreciate all the support I get. It is the fuel that keeps me going.

Membership is FREE.

NOTE: To leave a comment, click on the word "comment" at the bottom of the page. A comment page will pop up.


Wednesday, December 3, 2014

ESL How The Grinch Stole Christmas 2014 Listening/Speaking Activities

One of the most loved North American Christmas stories of all time  is the story How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  

Although Dr. Seuss, a well-known children's writer, originally wrote the story for children, it has messages for young and old. 

The story and the animated video ,now shown on television every year  at Christmas time, continues to delight millions of of people whether they are watching it for the first time, or the 30th time. 

Now that we have officially entered the Christmas season, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to watch an important  piece of North American culture.  

It doesn't matter if you live in Australia, Europe, Asia or  the Middle East, you will still enjoy learning a little about a series of Christmas messages that apply to every culture or religion. 

If you plan to live in North America, or if you already live here, it is even more important  that you know about this  story by Dr. Seuss. If you can mention any aspect of the How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or of Who ville  in casual conversation, people will think you are  a true American or Canada, and really "get us." 

This is also a way you can get your children involved. 

Activity 1#

Pre-listening: 
Read and go through the following power point on your own, or with your children

Power Point Explaining the Basic Story and characters in the Grinch Who Stole Christmas

Listening: 

Watch the video as many times as you need to know and answer the comprehension questions below. 


1.  Listen to the song without  looking at the gap fill. Try to write down all the negative
     words that describe Mr. Grinch. 

2.  Listen as many times as you need and fill in the gaps. 

3.  Sing-along . This is a great song to practice enunciating. Make sure you open your 
     mouth as wide as you can in order to let your tongue get to the right place. Sing as 
     slowly as the singer. 



   Activity #3: Speaking and Writing Questions: 

1. Dr. Seuss wrote How the Grinch Stole Christmas to [point out how the media and 
    marketing  have created a holiday focused on spending money to buy things.  

   Discuss how has the media changed holidays such as Christmas, New Years, Chinese 
   New Year, Valentine's Day, Mother;s Day etc.   and how they are celebrated. 

2. What role does Cindy Lou play in the story. What does she do to change the Grinch? 

3. The Grinch has a serious character flaw. He experiences a crisis and then changes for
     the better. Describe the Grinch's character flaw at the beginning of the story. What crisis 
     changes him? How did he change? 

4. What is the message of the story? 

5.  Would you write a different ending to the story? Explain why or why not. If yes, how 
     would you end it? 

6.   Do you know anyone who had some bad personality characteristics, but who  became a 
     better person after something happened to him or her. This could be you, or anyone 
     you know. Tell what happened, and why this person changed. 


Check back Tomorrow  when I will include more activities you can do with the How the Grinch Stole Christmas Part 2 Story with friends, your classmates or your children. 








No comments:

Post a Comment

If you do not have a web site, or a Google account, click on Name/URL and simply leave your name. You do NOT need to be a member to leave a comment.