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 14, 2016

ESL Christmas: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

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 of  How the Grinch Stole Christmas 


Listening: 

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










   












Learnclick" scrolling="auto" src="https://www.learnclick.com/mchoice/frame/2025" width="620">
 

1.  Listen to the song without  looking at the gap fill. Try to write down all the negative
     words that describe Mr. Grinch, for exdample: "mean" . 

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. 



  

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
   Discussion and Writing Questions


1.         Why do you think the Grinch hated Christmas so much? 

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

3.         Why do you think the Who's reacted the way they did when they found out that all
             their things had  been  stolen? 

4.         Do you know anyone who is like the Grinch? What might some be some reasons      

            why that person acts that way?

5.         What did the people of Whoville learn from the Grinch's behaviour in the story?  

6.         If you were the Grinch's defense attorney, what kind of arguments could you make in
            his favour?  

7.         What is the message of the story?  Is there more than one message?  Explain.

8.          If you had to spend an afternoon with Grinch for the afternoon what would you do to
            get the Grinch in the holiday spirit?

9.         If you could give the Grinch one gift, what would it be? 

10.       List some differences between the Grinch and Cindy's Lou's personalities. Give                       examples. 

11.       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 does he change? 

12.       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. 

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

14.       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. 

15.       Write a letter to persuade the Grinch why he should change his mind.   

   How the Grinch Stole Christmas Writing and Discussion Questions    Word Doc. 
     
Original Complete Script for the animated version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas



  
Readers Theatre How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This is an easier version of the story written like a small play. It is perfect for students to use as a play in the classroom. The roles are broken down so that everyone can have  one , two or even three parts.
  1. Assign roles to different students and have the practice in groups. ( If you have a large class, you could divide them into two or three groups) 
  2. Start with having them read their lines normally, but fluently, without hesitating or stumbling. 
  3. Go over the pronunciation of different words.
  4. Now, have the students put the maximum amount of expression in their voice. Practice as often as they need. 
  5.  Have them memorize their lines and be able to repeat them in the correct order. 
  6. Perform the mini play in class


http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz2478941c61d58.html

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing all these amazing materials. Please, keep it up :) and merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for the wonderful information .This is really important for me .I am searching this kind of information from a long time and finally got it.
    Synonyms

    ReplyDelete

  3. Now you can buy 100% brand new, One of the world's best bitcoin mining machine direct from china at very low price. Most efficient Bitcoin miner Antminer S9 available in stock ready for sale with free shipping through DHL.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My name is Karina, I'm someone who has lived a life seemingly in the background, I must say this final indignity I have suffered almost too much to endure. You see, I have been sickly and weak since the day I was born and doomed to go through all my life a weakling. I seemed to have always suffered from one illness or another and could never play with the other children as I so desperately wanted to. Mother always made such a big fuss over me, also, making the situation worse as the other boys teased me mercilessly after they saw it. I was browsing  the internet searching on how i could be transformed into a powerful when i came across the email of a man named Lord Mark. who was a VAMPIRE so I told him that I has always dreamed of becoming a  VAMPIRES, All i did was just to follow the procedure that i was been told, and i bet you that procedure I took change my entire life to something i ever desire, freedom, sickness free, pains free, fame, influence, connections and even more that i can. Thanks to Lord Mark. Do you want a life full of interesting things? Do you want to have power and influence over others? To be charming and desirable? To have wealth, health, and longevity? contact the vampires creed today via email: Vampirelord7878@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Now you can buy one of the world's 100% new bitcoin mining machines, directly from China, at a very low price. Most take my online course for me in stock ready for sale with free shipping via DHL

    ReplyDelete

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.