8th grade. Unit 5. Lesson 8. Can't wait to hear from you.

👉Communicative area:writing a reply to a friend's letter

👉Active vocabulary: set expressions with the indefinite article

 

Read what different people say about letters. 

Who do you agree with? Why? 

Read a part of Kate’s letter. Answer the questions. 

1. What tradition does Kate write about? 

2. What is her opinion about it? Do you agree with her? 

3. Did Kate have a good time in the castle? Why? 

Make a list of the activities Kate mentions. Answer the questions about them.

Which of them … 

1. didn’t she try? 

2. did she like the most? 

3. do the pictures show? 

4. have you ever tried? 

5. would you like to try?

6. Is it a formal or informal letter? Find examples in the letter to support your answer.

Choose the suitable phrases to start and finish the letter. 

Read another part of Kate’s letter. Where in the letter should it go? 

What do you think of birthday trips? Where would you like to go for your birthday? Do you think it would be great to celebrate your birthday in a castle? Tell me about your castles.

Write a reply: a letter (about 100 words). Check that you: 

1. have answered all the questions and requests; 

2. used the phrases from the exercise above to start and finish the letter; 

3. used the articles correctly. 

8th grade. Unit 5. Lesson 7. Friday the 13th

👉Communicative area:describing and comparing superstitions

👉Active vocabulary: a sign, a superstition, ridiculous, superstitious, unlucky, to avoid

Do the quiz about British superstitions. 

Write a post (about 100 words) about the role superstitions play in your life: say if you think you are superstitious or not; name some superstitions you (don’t) believe in; explain if they are a sign of good or bad luck; describe their origin if you know it.

8th grade. Unit 5. Lesson 6. "Curiouser and curiouser!"

👉Communicative area: speaking about unusual British customs

👉Active vocabulary: a participant, to establish, adjectives / adverbs with negative prefixes

Look at the pictures. Read the information below. 

What do these stamps show? 

What do they all have in common? 

Britain has lots of annual festivals, celebrations, and customs. Many of them involve singing, dancing, dressing up, or unusual competitions but above all they involve fun. In 2019 Royal Mail produced a stamp series to celebrate curious UK customs. The set of eight stamps draws attention to amazing community events across the UK. Some of them date back to the 13th century, others are a more recent addition to the country’s traditions. What unites them, in the British poet Matt Harvey’s opinion, is “that at the heart of all these customs is us.”

Read the information about your community event. Get ready to tell your classmates about the event.

Text A. The World Gurning Championships are held during the Egremont [egrǝmǝnt] Crab Fair (ярмарки) in the Lake District. The fair was established (started) in 1267, which makes it one of the oldest fairs in the world. It is held on the third Saturday in September every year. The origins of the gurning competition itself are unclear, and it may not be so old, although it was described as an ancient tradition by the local newspaper in 1852. There is a men’s and a women’s event, as well as a juniors’ event, and the top 3 “gurners” receive a prize. Participants put their heads through a horse collar and make faces. The uglier, the better. 

Text B. Created in 1994 by a community arts charity, Burning the Clocks is a relatively new custom. It is held in Brighton [braɪtn] on 21 December and brings the whole city together to mark the shortest day of the year. It is based on a parade and is open to all. Participants carry their handmade paper lanterns that are often decorated with clocks. The parade marches through the city centre to the beach where the main part of the event takes place. The highlight of the festival is burning the lanterns and clocks on the bonfire which is followed by a spectacular fireworks display. The crowds cheer and celebrate the last day of long winter nights. 

Text C. Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling Race takes place in a village near Gloucester [glɒstǝ] every Spring Bank Holiday. The rules are simple: a 9-pound cheese is rolled down the hill and a second later the players start chasing it. It’s practically impossible to catch it so the first one to get to the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. And if you come second or third, you’ll receive £10. Unfortunately, it is by no means a safe competition: both participants and spectators are injured every year. It’s unknown how it started, but the race has been on the British calendar for at least two hundred years and is becoming ever more popular.  

Text D. Bog snorkelling looks like swimming in extremely dirty water. Participants have to cover 110 m keeping their face in the water all the time. They are also encouraged to wear fancy dress. It is an example of a modern custom based on a unique sporting event that is not taken too seriously. It started at Llanwrtyd Wells [hlænɜ:rtɪd wels], a small town in Wales, in 1976. The small town sport has now grown into a yearly championship that takes place every August Bank Holiday. People fly in from as far away as Australia to join the fun. “Lonely Planet”, a famous travel guide-book, described it as one of the world’s top 50 “must-do” experiences. 

Text E. On the last Tuesday of January Shetland people celebrate their Viking heritage with the Up Helly Aa [ʌphɛlɪ a:] festival. Come rain or shine, the islanders dress up as Vikings and parade through the streets of Lerwick [lɜ:wɪk] (the main town and port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland). The highlight of the celebration is the burning of a specially-built Viking longship. After nightfall, the participants with torches carry it to its final resting place. There they form a circle around the longship and sing traditional songs. After that a night of partying begins. Hundreds of visitors from around the world arrive on the islands for the event that has been held since 1880s.  

What do the underlined words in texts have in common? In what way is the highlighted word different? What other negative prefixes do you know? Which negative prefix un- or in- should be added to the words in the box?

correct, significant, attractive, definite

Un-
Отрицательная приставка. С ее помощью образуется основная масса отрицательных прилагательных.

In-
Приставка с отрицательным значением, которая в основном употребляется перед ac / c

Исключения: indefinite, inevitable, infinite, inflexible, informal, insecure, insignificant, invalid, invariable, invisible, involuntary.

Il-
Употребляется только перед l.

Исключение: disloyal

Ir-
Употребляется только перед r.

Im-
Употребляется перед p, реже перед m.

Dis-
Случаи употребления dis- необходимо запомнить

 

Speak for a travel guide book about another unusual community event following the plan:

1. Name

2. Place 

3.Time

4. Origin

5. Activities involved

8th grade. Unit 5. Lesson 4. Tales of the old Tower

👉Communicative area: describing customs and traditions connected with the Tower

👉Active vocabulary: a crown, a raven, to guard, to steal, just in case

👉Active grammar: tenses (revision)

What do you know about the Tower of London?

Read an article written by a Yeoman Warder. 

Check your guesses. What three traditions does he mention?

If you’ve ever been to the Tower of London, you’ve heard me or one of my colleagues giving a guided tour. I am a Yeoman Warder. Traditionally, we, Yeomen Warders, not only work but also live right here at the Tower. They say every man’s home is his castle, well, in my case, that is absolutely right. Normally we wear a blue and red “undress” uniform. On special occasions, we put on the red and gold Tudor state dress. It looks impressive and dates back to the 16th century!

Our duties? Back in Tudor times we guarded the Tower prisoners (узников) and protected the famous Crown Jewels (драгоценности). Nowadays we are guides, storytellers, and keepers of the Tower’s long and ancient history. 

Since 2011 I’ve been working as the Ravenmaster. At present, I’m looking after seven ravens. Six is what the tradition requires to protect the Crown and one acts as a back up … you know, just in case. According to legend, if the ravens leave the Tower, it will turn into dust and the Kingdom will fall. The official line is that the ravens were introduced by King Charles II in the 17th century. I’ll tell you a little secret: the truth is that the ravens haven’t been here that long. It’s more like an “invented tradition” and a sort of Victorian folklore born in the 19th century. 

However, at the Tower, we take the folklore very seriously. I get up before dawn each day, check and feed the ravens and let them out. The birds are free to walk around the Tower grounds during the day and spend their time doing raven things. They enjoy posing for selfies and stealing sandwiches, crisps, or coins. As a Yeoman Warder, I also have other duties to do throughout the day, but my eye is always on the ravens. I also keep my fingers crossed that no raven decides to fly away when my back is turned. Once, raven Merlina went on a little holiday from the Tower to Greenwich for seven days, and it made me feel very nervous as it had never happened before. Luckily, she was returned to her home and the Kingdom survived. 

I must say, I am often asked some strange questions: Have you ever seen a raven ghost? Can you talk to the ravens? Are the ravens real? Really! And if you want to know what I am paid as a Yeoman Warder, it’s simple – I am paid in beef! After all, we were nicknamed Beefeaters for that.

8th grade. Unit 5. Lesson 2. Tricks and fun, April Fool's has begun.

👉Communicative area: speaking about April Fool's Day customs and traditions

👉Active vocabulary: to play a trick on, to fall for, to watch out, a practical joke, a good sport, a prankster, fake

👉Active grammar: Past Perfect and Past Simple

What do you know about April Fool’s Day?

Read some facts about the popular holiday. 

Have you learned anything new?

If a person falls for the trick, then they are called an “April Fool”. Some people are not a good sport for the joke and get annoyed. April Fool’s Day finishes at midday in Britain. No more jokes after lunchtime, please! It’s bad luck. Anyone who forgets this and tries a joke in the afternoon becomes an “April Fool” themselves. 

No one really knows when and where the tradition began. Some historians say that practical jokes were played in the Ancient Roman times. In Britain, April Fool’s traditions had become well kept by the end of the 17th century. 

In 1698 a prankster invited Londoners to the ceremony of Washing the Lions at the Tower of London. Of course it was a fake event and the people who had fallen for the trick went home disappointed. However, the joke worked so well that they kept repeating it for about two centuries and even printed up tickets for the ceremony. Some of them are kept in the collections of the British Museum and the Tower. 

The style of April Fool’s Day tricks and jokes has changed over the years. In the 19th century newspapers rarely played tricks on their readers on 1 April. It was only during the 20th century that newspapers, radio and TV stations, and websites started using the date to let their imagination run wild to fool the public with fake stories. By the 1990s a new custom had been born: making special fake ads for 1 April. The world enthusiastically celebrates April Fool’s Day. So watch out or you will fall for their practical jokes!

Quiz created by Veronika Bebekh with GoConqr

Read the beginning of the story. How did it end? 

It was the early morning of 1 April, 1989. Thousands of motorists who were driving on the highway outside London saw a huge UFO in the sky. It was going down on their city. Shocked drivers stopped to take pictures of the UFO and some local people informed the police. The police arrived and at once surrounded the UFO that had already landed in a field.

Listen to the ending. Has anyone guessed correctly? 

What do you think of the practical joke?

Quiz created by Veronika Bebekh with GoConqr

8th grade. Unit 5. Lesson 3. The birthday is around the corner

👉Communicative area: discussing birthdays and birthday customs and traditions

👉Active vocabulary: a highlight, to be on cloud nine, to congratulate on, to overshadow, for luck, actual

1. What birthday customs and traditions do you know? 

2. Which of them do you observe in your family? 

3. What can you do to make a birthday
celebration a memorable event? 

Read the information about birthday traditions in English-speaking countries and check your guesses. 

How much have you guessed correctly?

There is so much to love about this day. Candles, lights, balloons, birthday presents, and wishes from your near and dear ones make you feel on cloud nine. 

Of course, the highlight of all the celebration is a birthday cake! Birthday cakes as we know them now arrived in the 17th century, but then they were only for the rich. Britain introduced them as part of birthday celebrations in the middle of the 19th century. Soon after that, the candles on the cake were added. In Australia and New Zealand, instead of the big classic birthday cake, you are more likely to see “fairy bread”: sliced white bread spread with butter and covered with hundreds of colourful sugar candy sprinkles. In addition to this simple dessert, birthdays “Down Under” are often celebrated with a barbecue in the garden! 

In Ireland and the UK, you might want to watch out on your birthday! To congratulate you on the occasion, your friends give you the “bumps”: they lift you in the air by your hands and feet and raise you up and down, one time for each year and then one for luck. Canada has an unusual custom the origin of which is unknown. They say that on your birthday it’s very important to make you too slippery (скользким) for any bad luck to get hold of you. That’s why your nose should be covered with… butter for luck. 

Landmark birthdays give people a good excuse to make the most of the special occasion. A sweet 16th birthday party is mainly marked in the US and Canada. Its aim is to celebrate entering a different stage of a person’s life. In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, a teenager’s 18th birthday celebration is more important. They are presented with a key (a real one or a birthday card with a key painted there) to open new doors. At 21, the birthday boy or girl traditionally gets a copy of the newspaper for the day they were born. Get to 100 and you even receive a birthday card from the Queen! 

Birthdays are too fun to only celebrate once a year, so why not mark a second time – on your half birthday, the day that falls exactly six calendar months before or after your actual date of birth? The idea is popular with people whose actual birthday is overshadowed by other major events, such as Christmas. In the United States, half birthdays are often marked by young children whose actual birthdays do not fall within the school year to give them the opportunity to celebrate in school with their friends and teacher.

What is a landmark birthday? 

What is a half birthday? 

Are the birthday traditions in English-speaking countries close to ours? 

What do you think of their birthday traditions? 

Quiz created by Veronika Bebekh with GoConqr

Compare the short exchanges below. What do they have in common? Why are different tense forms used in the answers? 

1. – Why are you unhappy? – I have missed my friend’s birthday party. 

2. – Why were you unhappy? – I had missed my friend’s birthday party.

Explain the following statements about Harry Potter’s birthdays. Use the information in the box. Mind the tenses! 

1. On the morning of his twelfth birthday, Harry was unhappy. 

2. On the day of his thirteenth birthday, Harry was almost on cloud nine. 

the Dursleys / completely forget it was his birthday; his friends / send him nice birthday presents; his friends / not congratulate him; he / get a permission letter to go to the village of Hogsmead; another event / overshadow 

8th grade. Unit 5. Lesson 1. The twelve days of Christmas

👉Communicative area: speaking about how you spent Christmas holidays

👉Active vocabulary: to take down, by, by the time

👉Active grammar: Past Pefect

1. Are you happy to be back at school? 

2. Did you have good holidays? 

3. Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions? 

4. What interesting activities did you take part in? 

5. Was taking down the Christmas decorations as much fun as putting them up? 

6. What seasonal customs and traditions did you observe during your holidays?

Read an entry from Kate’s diary. How does she feel? Why?

5 January. 

The presents have been opened, the puddings eaten and lots of carols sung. Christmas and New Year’s Day have been and gone. People are back at work or school. And the Christmas tree in the corner of the room looks a bit sad: there are more needles on the floor and that traditional Christmas smell has almost disappeared. So it’s time to bin the tree and vacuum those needles. When Granny calls in the evening, she won’t have to worry that we haven’t taken down the decorations yet. She is sure it is bad luck to do it a day sooner or later. 

 Children are traditionally told that you can’t take down your decorations before 5 January because the Three Wise Men won’t be able to find their way. I remember I read a children’s book some time ago. It says that if you didn’t take the Christmas decorations down on the Twelfth Night, you must then leave them up until Candlemas Day (Сретение). If after that date a berry or a leaf is left, “the goblins can get through the keyhole and spill the milk, break the china and let rats and mice into the house”!!! It’s a pity that while in Britain we rush (торопимся) to take the decorations down, in mainland Europe families are celebrating by taking the day off and exchanging presents.

Answer the questions. 

1. When is the Twelfth Night? 

2. Has Kate taken down the Christmas decorations yet? 

3. What does Kate have to do on 5 January? Why? 

4. Is the same custom observed in your family? 

5. What other customs does Kate mention?

Look at the questions below. How are they formed? Give short answers to the questions. What should be done to make negative sentences?

1. Had Kate taken down the Christmas decorations by 5 January? 

2. Had the Christmas tree lost most of its needles by the time Kate started tidying up? 

Give full answers to the questions. 

1. Had the Three Wise Men visited baby Jesus by 5 January? 

2. Had you taken down the Christmas decorations by 6 January?

3. Had the Christmas tree smell disappeared by that time? 

4. Had Kate’s classes begun by 6 January? 

5. Had your school term started by 6 January? 

6. Had you taken down the decorations by the time you returned to school? 

7. Whom had you visited by the end of your winter holidays? 

8. What new things had you tried by the end of the twelve Christmas days?

8th grade. Unit 4. Final Test 1

👉Communicative area: testing your reading, listening and speaking skills.

8th grade. Unit 4. Lesson 7. Mother's Day

 

First conditional, an interactive worksheet by Mar Blancafort Engelfried

liveworksheets.com

8th grade. Unit 4. Lesson 2. National day calendar.

👉Communicative area: speaking about holidays, celebrations, and memorable dates of the Republic of Belarus

👉Active vocabulary: to commemorate, constitution, customs, independence, memorable, memorial, memory, remembrance, root, significant, silence, tragedy, union.

Do you have a good memory? Check yourselves. Match the holidays with the dates.

Read the information in the box. What do the words below have in common? Match the words with their transcription and meaning.

8TH GRADE. UNIT 9. FILMS

 UNIT OBJECTIVES 

By the end of the unit Ss will

- be able to use the active vocabulary of the unit

- have practised reading and listening about the history of film-making and the role of films in modern life, film festivals, famous actors and other people connected with film-making, what makes a film great

- have practised asking for and sharing information within the limits of the unit

- be able to speak about their film preferences, going to the cinema, famous actors and film festivals

- be able to write a film review

COMMUNICATIVE AREA

1) speaking about: how films are made, the role of film in the modern world, film festivals, favourite actors, the film-making industry in Belarus, what makes a film great, unusual cinemas in different countries; 
2) discussing the role of film in the modern world;
3) describing one's film preferences;
4) asking and answering questions about actors;
5) writing a film review.

VOCABULARY

all-star cast, audition, award, binge-watching, binge-watch, box-office success, broadcast, cast, CGI, come out, convincing, co-star, debut, dreadful, earn fame, eye-popping, feature film, film / screen adaptation, highlight (v), multi-dimensional, one-of-a-kind, prequel, prize, romantic comedy (rom-com), script, sequel, shape the opinion, shoot a film, situation comedy (sitcom), spin-off, stir emotions / imagination, stunt, thriller, title role, villain.

PRONUNCIATION

new vocabulary

GRAMMAR


LISTENING

1) five people talking about the role of films in modern life;
2) teenagers talking about going to the cinema;
3) information about Emma Watson; 
4) a programme about the Belarusian filmmaking industry;
5) four people giving their opinion about films;
6) three people talking about films;
7) four people talking about films and cinema.

READING

1) information about: film production, different types of films, film festivals, the film 'Come and See', famous Belarusians connected with film-making, unusual cinemas in different countries;

2) an encyclopaedia article about the history of film-making;

3) facts about: Daniel Radcliff, popular films;

4) an article about: Benedict Cumberbatch, film tourism;

5) a critic's opinion;

6) a review of a film;

7) an instruction for making a smartphone film.

SPEAKING

1) asking and answering questions about: films, film festivals, Dwayne Johnson, favourite film actors, what makes a film great;
2) a role-play of a conversation about going to the cinema;
3) retelling the information about a film festival;
4) a presentation about a famous Belarusian actor/ actress or film director;
5) describing a new unusual cinema.

WRITING

1) a list of functions of films;
2) a film review;
3) an advert of a new unusual cinema.