Christmas and New Year ESL Resources

Check out the rich Christmas resources on our SOCEM site including Christmas lessons from the Virtues series and the Conversation Guides:

• https://eslministries.org/resources/teaching-materials/seasonal-resources/

An excellent reading about the North American Christmas traditions, with a glossary:

• http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/christmasday.pdf

Christmas traditions around the world; good for starting conversations with students:

• http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/
• http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm
• https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/

Stories behind favourite Christmas carols and hymns:

• http://hubpages.com/entertainment/ChristmasCarols

A Christmas story from Chicken Soup for the Soul:

• The Missing Stocking

Christmas vocabulary:

• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/wordlist/christmas.shtml
• http://iteslj.org/lists/christmas.html

Christian Christmas scripts, if you are thinking along the lines of producing a Christmas play:

• http://bobsnook.org/seasonal.htm (scroll down to find “Christmas”; lots to choose from)

Grief and the holiday season:

While not written specifically for ESL, these readings are relatively short and in plainer language. They deal with an important topic. Consider simplify the language further through Rewordify if you are to use them for lower level students:

• How to Cope With Grief During the Holidays – By Amy Morin
• How to Cope with Grief During the Holidays – By Dr. Tali Berliner

A few websites for New Year resources later on:

Warm up conversation questions, and a host of other links with readings, questions, worksheets:

• http://www.eslmadeeasy.ca/2014/12/happy-new-year.html

New Year lessons, quizzes and worksheets for different levels:

• https://www.esolcourses.com/topics/new-year-celebrations.html