The Best Christmas Present in the World- NCERT English Lesson Plan and Interactive Activities

Lesson: The Best Christmas Present in the World

Subject: English

Grade: Upper primary

Skills: Writing, grammar, and creative thinking

Objectives: Able to 

• understand the events and think about their destruction and endeavour.
• talk about the 'Wars are the only answer to problems.'
• use past perfect in writing the past events.
• know about the noun phrase. 

Preparatory:
        Before going to start the session, ask students to note down whether the event was defeat and destruction or endeavour and success. 

• Display the below dialog cards and make students guess the event.
• Drag their attention to the date and make sense of the historic event.
• Make some discussion after revealing the answer and fill out the checklist. 
• Let the students express their views.

         After completing the task, make students talk about the events which led to defeat and destruction.

Presentation:

Task 1:

• Start the session from the discussion of the previous session.
• Display the below picture and let the students observe and talk. 
• While observing the picture ask the below questions.
•  1. Would it be any chance to relate these three? 2. Are soldiers happy with war? 3. What would they write in the letters?
• Add some more questions according to your expectations.    

 Task 2:  

       Tell the students that are going to listen to a letter related to an event during the war on a Christmas day. "A war story against the backdrop of Christmas, a festival marked by the family reunion, exchange of presents, and universal bonhomie. Connie, aged 101, receives a present from a stranger whom she mistakes for her long-awaited husband. What is the present — the letter or the mistaken identity of the visitor?"

• Tell the students to observe the picture and listen to the audio.
• Tell them to listen carefully and understand the story related to the picture. 
• If needed replay the recording.
• Ask students some questions after listening to the audio. 1. What did the author find in a junk shop? 2. What did he find in a secret drawer? 3. Who do you think had put it in there?
• Tell students to notice the words "spotted it, scorch marks, restore, veneer, scruples"
• Tell them to refer dictionary to refer to the meanings.

Task 3:

• Continue the lesson by playing the below video and make them understand the story.
• After watching the lesson tell students to answer the comprehension questions given in the 'Think' section.
• Link for the comprehension "Click here" 

Practice:

• Tell the students to observe the sentence "By the end of the journey, we had run out of drinking water."
• Tell them to look at the verb 'run out' in this sentence.
• Explain to them "It is a phrasal verb, it has two parts, a verb, and a preposition or an adverb. Phrasal verbs often have meanings that are different from the meanings of their parts."
• Write the below phrasal verbs on the board. (burn out, light up, look on, run out, keep out)
• Make students into groups
• Tell them to write down the sentences in which they occur in the story.
• Tell the students to consult a dictionary and write down the meaning that they think matches the meaning of the phrasal verbs in the sentence.
• Tell them to present their observations.

Grammar:

Presentation: 

Task 1: Past Perfect

• Tell the students to observe the below sentences.
• Write the sentences on the board. ( 1. Fire and water had damaged the desk before the author found it and bought it. 2. When I reached the station, the train had left.)
• Drag their attention to the verb form "had damaged."
• Tell them that 'we use verb forms like had damaged for an event in the ‘earlier past’. If there are two events in the past, we use the ‘had…’ form for the event that occurred first in the past.
• Tell the students that this is called past perfect tense and we also use the past perfect tense to show that something was wished for or expected before a particular time in the past.

Practice: 

• Share the below worksheet with the students.
• Tell them to read the sentences and complete the worksheets.
• Tell them to do the quiz for better understanding.
• Link to download the worksheet. 'Click here.'

• Share the below Microsoft form with the students.
• Tell the students to watch the video and answer the questions.

Task 2: Noun phrase

Presentation:

• Write the below sentence on the board. (I took out a small black tin box.)
• Highlight the phrase 'a small black tin box.'
• Tell students to observe the phrase and identify the noun.
• Tell them the word 'box' is a noun then ask them what are the other words. (small, black, and tin)
• Tell them they are adjectives and that is a noun phrase.
• Tell them to pick some noun phrases from the story.

Practice:

• Share the below Microsoft form with the students.
• Tell them to watch the video and do the quiz.