©Ringer
Pre-reading questions:
- How did you celebrate Christmas last year?
- What is the best Christmas present you have ever gotten?
Vocabulary:
- delightful /dih-LAHYT-fuhl/
- setting /SET-ing/
- -oriented /AWR-ee-uhn-tid/
- spirit /SPIR-it/
- spree /spree/
[adjective] – very pleasant, attractive, or enjoyable
We went to a delightful party last night.
[noun] – the time and the place in which the action of a book, film, play, etc. happens
The film has its setting in France.
[suffix] – showing the direction in which something is aimed
The supervisor reminded the employees to be more results-oriented when doing their tasks.
[noun] – a particular way of thinking, feeling, or behaving, especially a way that is typical of a particular group of people, an activity, a time, or a place
Children are born with a spirit of exploration.
[noun] – a short period of doing a particular, usually enjoyable, activity much more than is usual
She went on a shopping spree and spent over $8000 on shoes in one afternoon.
Article reading:
• Love Actually (2003)
Written and directed by Richard Curtis, this movie follows the stories of nine individuals in a holiday setting, including a married man (Alan Rickman), a guy in one-sided love (Andrew Lincoln), a hopeless romantic writer (Colin Firth), a prime minister (Hugh Grant), and more.
• Holiday Rush (2019)
This movie follows the story of a family headed by a once-successful radio DJ (and recent widower) who just lost his job and had to cut back during the holiday season. This heartfelt family-oriented film presents the true meaning of Christmas.
• Klaus (2019)
An animated Christmas movie written and directed by Sergio Pablos, “Klaus” follows the story of a Smeerensburg’s spoiled postman (Jesper) making friends with a fluffy-white-bearded toymaker (Klaus). It retells the story of Santa Claus in a creative and interesting way. This Christmas movie was also nominated for Best Animated Feature in the Academy Award.
Netflix has almost everything we need for a holiday spirit movie spree. Time to grab our cups of hot chocolate and a couple of Christmas cookies! Ho ho ho!
Comprehension questions
- What two Christmas classic movies were mentioned in the article’s introduction?
- In what year was “Love Actually” released?
- What was the former job of the father in “Holiday Rush”?
- Who is the spoiled postman in the movie “Klaus”?
- For what Academy Award was “Klaus” nominated?
Discussion questions
- What leisure activities do you usually do during the holiday season?
- What Christmas film is your favorite? Please share something about it.
- If you had a million dollars, what would you do during Christmas time?
- In your opinion, is Christmas the best holiday?
- Do you think your Christmas spirit has changed since the recent pandemic? Why or why not?