Comenius Regio – IES Bajo Cinca, Fraga.

Spain -- Halloween Project, 1st ESO, Special Group

AN ACTIVITY FOR THE ENGLISH CLASS

TOPIC: HALLOWEEN

Group: 1ºA
1º A is a special group as its members have special educational needs: two
students are hyperactive; others are mentally handicapped and there is one
student who has a curricular lap. Their English level is very low and they
learn slowly.

Functional objective: Write a spell

Learning objective:
1. Recognise and use vocabulary related to animals and
disgusting things.
2. Use dictionary as a means or source of knowledge.
3. Recognise and write an easy text: a spell.
4. Value and recognise a William Shakespeare work: Macbeth
5. Improve their pronunciation

Timing:
Classroom: 2 lessons 50 minutes long each.
At home: Students who do not finish the activity can finish it at home

Materials:
- A powerpoint about Halloween.
- Photocopies with the spell the witches utter in Macbeth and a model
to write a new spell.
- An English- Spanish dictionary.
- Coloured pencils

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 Comenius Regio – IES Bajo Cinca, Fraga. Spain -- Halloween Project, 1st ESO, Special Group

1st Lesson
Step 1: Previous knowledge, topic introduction and activity
presentation.
Brainstorming to discover their previous knowledge:
Time: about ten minutes
The teacher asks individually what they know about Halloween. They are
not able to do it in English so they do it in Spanish. As I have said before
they are beginners and they level very low. Es un grupo especial formado
por alumnos con necesidades específicas de aprendizaje. Some students
know and practice “trick or treat”. They know the Spanish version “truco o
trato”. This way new vocabulary like “trick or treat” o “costumes” is
introduced.
Topic introduction:
Time: About twenty minutes
Afterwards, the teacher projects a powerpoint about Halloween origins and
traditions. Students can ask questions about vocabulary and things they
find interesting.
Activity presentation:
Time: About fifteen minutes
Then, the teacher gives the students a photocopy with the spell a group of
witches utter in Macbeth. Students are asked if they have heard something
about Shakespeare and Macbeth. A short explanation is given about the
author and his work. Finally, students read the spell and identify the spell
ingredients. They are said that it is their turn to write a spell.

2nd Lesson
Step 2: Looking for new vocabulary
Time: five minutes
We read the spell again in order to review the vocabulary they learnt in the
previous lesson and emphasizing pronunciation

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 Comenius Regio – IES Bajo Cinca, Fraga. Spain -- Halloween Project, 1st ESO, Special Group

Time: 10 minutes
Individual work: They have time to look for new words related to animals
and disgusting things they want to use in their spells

Step 3: Sharing vocabulary

Time: five minutes
Group activity: Each student says the words he or she has Lockheed for and
the teacher writes them in the Blackboard. Everybody benefits from the
other students individual work.

Step 4: Creativity
Time: fifteen minutes
They have time to write their own spell following the model in the
photocopy. They have to be as creative as possible.

Step 5 and 6: Wrap up and feedback

Time: fifteen minutes
Each student reads and shows his or her spell. They value each other spell
with a mark.
Teacher tries that students reflect about how much they can learn from the
other students and group work.

Proposals to improve the activity:

- Re-elaborate a new powerpoint according to the students level.
Maybe this one is a bit advanced for their level.
- Look for a clip of Macbeth’s witches uttering the spell to project it in
class.
- Record the students reading their spells.
- Involve the student’s families asking students to investigate about
spells and sayings related to Halloween and All Saint’s Day. Abroad
students can do the same about their traditions.