THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 

Christmas Vocabulary 

Final Project ⇌ Kristina Johnson

Image Source: Violeta Vera

OVERVIEW

Lesson Plan: Christmas vocabulary

Level: Infantil (3-4-year-olds)

Materials Needed: three chairs, multicolored paper, white beard, Santa Claus hat, Christmas Tree, puppet stage, ball for Santa Claus belly, three wrapped Christmas gifts, Christmas ornaments, paper fireplace, scripts, red hat, red coat, black bag, room, and one jingle bell

Digital Tools and Resources: SMART Board and YouTube for The Night Before Christmas video

Time: 30 minutes and one session (individual teacher rehearsal time is decided among teaching groups)

FINAL PROJECT

The topic I have chosen for my final project was a review of the Christmas vocabulary. I wanted to review the key vocabulary in an innovative and fun way with my colleagues. I noticed that many of the students faced difficulty with some of the vocabulary's pronunciation and did not seem to enjoy learning English. Many students seemed to be easily distracted. I am the language assistant for the 3-4-year-olds and am constantly working to create a positive relationship with learning English for the students. The innovations I used in this project are musical instruments, costumes, scripts, art projects students made, props, a puppet stage, and several actors. We used tangible items that the students could experience instead of using worksheets or a digital screen to better understand and experience the vocabulary. 

Utilizing vocabulary this way creates a strong foundation in the comprehension of the spoken word. Students will then remember the experiences associated with the word, not just think of the word in its written form. Experiential learning helps language learners understand some of the native language's indirect communication that cannot be explained, but rather experienced. Through viewing a performance, students are experiencing the language secondhand. This helps them develop the confidence in using the language appropriately, as the language usage was directly modeled to them. 

WHY A CHRISTMAS PRESENTATION?

I noticed the young students were actively engaged in our Christmas vocabulary when I assisted in teaching the classroom lessons. My colleagues and I brainstormed a way to engage all of the young children at one time, as maintaining their focus and encouraging them to remain seated or in one location for the duration of the performance is a difficult skill to master at such a young age. We decided to have the children experience Santa Claus, reindeer, sleigh, present, Christmas Tree, and jingle bell as our primary vocabulary words. This presentation served to have students fully understand the vocabulary words in the natural flow of a conversation (Ludewig et al., 2020). Comprehension comes through the total immersion in the targeted language. This aids students in understanding how to interact with others when they will act out English scripts for plays when they are older. 

After an English teacher colleague viewed an intriguing video clip, we brainstormed ways of making it become more interesting to those who viewed it. This video clip was age appropriate and interesting enough to grab and maintain the audience's attention (2015). The video further developed the understanding of the key vocabulary terms, as many of the objects and people were used in the correct holiday context, further deepening their comprehension of the situation.

RATIONALE

Placing students in authentic language situations models the correct and natural usage of the said language. Students live the experience of the language when they view native speakers using the language naturally and fluently. To ensure full comprehension of the vocabulary, we had students individually identify a choice vocabulary word in front of his/her peers. Students were able to model if they understood the word, as the bilingual mind is sometimes limited in the way it can express its comprehension of the word. Students appeared to have mastered large group behavior expectations during their morning assembly, which demonstrated that those skills needed to be reinforced not explicitly taught to them. Teachers memorized their script lines in order to main the students' focus, as younger children tend to be more easily distracted than older students. 

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the project included full comprehension of English Christmas vocabulary and to exhibit appropriate large group behavior in a new location. The expected behaviors for this age group included remaining seated and watching the performance. Students were expected to verbally interact with the actors when prompted. Students were expected to raise their hands and answer questions when we reviewed the vocabulary. 

MATERIALS NEEDED

• Puppet display
• Reindeer
• Santa Claus' sleigh
• Chimney
• Bell
• Red hat and red coat for Santa Claus
• Scripts (memorized)
• Santa Claus hat
• White beard
• Ball for Santa Claus belly
• Christmas decorations
• Christmas tree
• Blanket
• Chair
• Three wrapped gifts
• Black bag
• Room

ACTIVITY

I worked with three English language teachers, and we created a Christmas presentation that incorporated the class' Christmas vocabulary. Due to the amount of props and the presentation's layout, we had to create this presentation in a different room instead of in the classroom. As an English language assistant teacher for 4-5-year-olds, I offered input on how to create an environment that piqued the students' interests but did not overstimulate them. Teachers arranged the room in a way that was comfortable to seat many students in one location and placed props accordingly. The placement of all props was strategic, in order to assist with the classroom management and student attention span. All three of the language teachers were presenting, so they were not able to manage the students easily. Two volunteer teachers assisted in managing the students during the performance. A scene from the performance is included below. Permission was granted to release this photo to all viewers.

This performance happened only once and lasted 30 minutes. The performance appealed to all learning types, as the teachers instructed the students how to interact during the performance (speak, sit, stand, touch, etc.). Teachers reviewed the key English Christmas vocabulary before explaining that those were important words to know for the story. The teachers then performed the memorized script before asking students to identify the key vocabulary words. Teachers adapted the script's requirements according to their available resources and creativity. For example, when Santa Calus' eyes were to twinkle, the Santa Claus actor placed her hands next to her eyes, wiggled her fingers, and said, "twinkle, twinkle." Students were able to explore the materials after the performance calmly and under the guidance of all teachers and volunteers. Once the Christmas scene was thoroughly explored, the students were dismissed back to their classrooms while the language teachers tidied up the performance room. 

SOURCES

Ludewig, A., Benstein, P., & Ludewig-Rohwer, I. (2020, January 1). Language Learning with Performance Techniques and Flow. Language Policy. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50925-5_24

P. B. S. K. S. S. (2015, December 18). The Night Before Christmas | Christmas Stories | PINKFONG Story Time for Children. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BNq2EP6U90

The Night Before Christmas © 2023 by Kristina Johnson is licensed under CC BY 4.0