Note: This is an updated version of this post from 2020. This post contains videos. If you are an email subscriber, you will want to view it in your browser.
Over the years, I have tweaked and modified by Halloween and All Saints Day lesson, and I figured it was time for an update, as I’ve added quite a few new touches in the last couple of years.
First, I introduced students to the idea that Halloween isn’t as widely celebrated in France as it is in the U.S. Students watch part of the below video, which features interviews in French with people in Paris.
Click here to watch the video on YouTube if it is not loading correctly below.
I used to show a couple of videos in French that explained All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2, but observed in France on November 1), but I found that they were too boring. I found a video to show this year in English. We will be watching it from 1:06 to 4:50. I feel it sums up the traditions of All Saints Day and All Souls Day nicely and even contains some quotes in French.
Click here to watch the video on YouTube if it is not loading correctly below.
Finally, I don’t just like to focus on France. In the next video, we travel to Martinique to see how All Saints Day and All Souls Day are celebrated there. We will watch the video with the fairly decent auto-generated English subtitles.
Click here to watch the video on YouTube if it is not loading correctly below.
After we’ve had a chance to watch the videos, we compare and contrast Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day in the U.S., France, and Martinique. Then, it’s time for a follow up activity. Students, in groups, are given a sheet of paper with a table on it. On the right side of the table are various emojis. They are given strips of paper with sentences. Their task is to put the sentences next to the emoji or emojis they go with. You could make this a game, but I prefer not to. If you read this blog regularly, you know that I love matching activities! Click here to read about more of my favorite matching activities.
Do you teach your students about Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day? What activities or resources do you use?
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