Festivals and Celebrations: Countable and Uncountable Nouns Discussion
Engage in a conversation with your partner about the activities you do, have done, or will do during festivals and celebrations. Try to find common interests or differences.
OR
Talk about the activities you participate in during festivals and celebrations and see if there are any preferences that differ between you and your partner.
OR
Describe the traditions and customs associated with a specific festival or celebration to your partner, allowing them to guess which one you are referring to.
OR
Ask your partner questions about various festival-related actions until you can guess which festival they have chosen.
Suggested Festivals and Celebrations for Discussion
- All Saints Day/ Day of the Dead/ DĂa de los Muertos
- April Fool’s Day
- Birthday
- Bonfire Night/ Guy Fawkes Night
- Boxing Day
- Cherry Blossom Viewing Party
- Children’s Day
- Chinese New Year/ Lunar New Year
- Christmas (Day/ Eve)
- Doll Festival
- Easter
- Graduation
- Halloween
- Harvest Festival
- Housewarming Party
- Lent
- May Day
- Mother’s Day/ Mothering Sunday
- New Year’s (Day/ Eve)
- Oktoberfest
- Peppero Day/ Pocky Day
- Ramadan
- School Sports Day
- Shrove Tuesday/ Mardi Gras/ Pancake Day
- Snow Festival
- Summer Festival
- Teacher’s Day
- Thanksgiving
- Tomato Throwing Festival
- Valentine’s Day
- Wedding
- White Day
Suggested Actions for Discussion
- Buy a lot of/some/not many/any + trees
- Do a lot of/some/not much/any + dances/special dances
- Drink a lot of/some/not much/any + alcohol/champagne/soda/tea
- Eat a lot of/some/not many/any + beans/cookies/nuts/pancakes
- Get a lot of/some/not many/any + cards/chocolates/flowers
- Hang a lot of/some/not many/any + decorations/lights/stockings
- Hear a lot of/some/not many/any + special songs/speeches
- Light a lot of/some/not many/any + candles/fireworks
- Make a lot of/some/not many/any + cards/decorations/special foods
- Play a lot of/some/not many/any + games/jokes/tricks
- Pull a lot of/some/not many/any + crackers/party poppers
- See a lot of/some/not many/any + dolls/fireworks/flowers/parades
- Send a lot of/some/not many/any + cards
- Sing a lot of/some/not many/any + special songs
- Thank a lot of/some/not many/any + parents/teachers
- Throw a lot of/some/not many/any + beans/snowballs/tomatoes
- Visit a lot of/some/not many/any + churches/shrines/temples
- Wear a lot of/some/not many/any + hats/kimonos/party hats
If there are any actions above that you don’t understand, collaborate to create sentences related to Christmas each time.
Grammar Overview
- Identify the two different groups of nouns mentioned above and discuss their differences.
- Examine the words that come before the nouns and how they vary.
Practice Speaking Freely
Engage in a different activity from the list above without reference to this document to test your knowledge.
