GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES ·

WINTERTIME

1 Warm up
In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Do you like winter? Why/why not?

2. What do you like to do during winter?
3. Would you change anything about wintertime?

2 Winter objects
Match the words to the pictures.

blanket gloves ice scarf

skis sled snowballs snowman

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

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3 Things you do in winter

Part A: Match the verbs on the left to the words on the right to make phrases for things you can do
in winter.

1. wear a. snowballs

2. drink b. indoors

3. go c. a snowman

4. throw d. gloves

5. build e. hot chocolate

6. stay f. skiing

Part B: Now complete the sentences with the phrases from Part A.

1. There’s so much snow outside! Let’s .

2. My hands are getting cold, so I should .

3. During winter break my family always . We like to spend our holidays active.

4. My favorite winter activity is to lay under the blanket and with marshmallows.

5. I prefer to because I don’t like snow and cold weather.

6. Children love to at each other while playing outside in the snow.

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4 Winter - reading
Read the text below and listen to the audio. Answer the questions.

Winter is between autumn and spring, and is the coldest season. In northern parts of the
world it starts in December and finishes in February, and in southern parts of the world it
begins in June and ends in August. Some countries use the temperature to decide when
springs begins and winter ends.

The name winter comes from an old German word which means ‘time of water’, because
of the rain and snow that falls in northern areas. When there is enough snow, many
people go skiing, snowboarding or sledding. Ice skating is also popular.

Animals either travel to a warmer place in the winter, or sleep until the weather gets
warmer. If they don’t sleep and stay outside, their fur gets thicker and keeps them warm.
The lowest temperature in the United States was in Alaska on January the 3rd 1971,
when the temperature went down to -79°F. In December 2017 and January 2018, there
were also very cold temperatures in the US. Scientists think that winter weather is
getting worse, maybe because of climate change, and that people should prepare for
more extreme winters.

Sources: Wikipedia, Live Science, Time and date.com

1. What do some countries use instead of a calendar to show the end of winter?

2. Why is winter called ‘the time of water’?

3. What sports do people do in winter?

4. Name two things an animal can do to stay warm in winter.

5. What do scientists think could be a reason for more extreme winter weather?

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5 Special events in winter

Where do you think these special events happen? Match the countries to the statements. Your
teacher will give you the correct answers. Total your score and compare it with other pairs.

France Italy Scotland South Korea USA and Canada

1. There is a 1,000 mile dog sled race along the way which people traveled to find gold.
2. People wear special masks and costumes.
3. People go ice fishing and cook the fish. They can also go fishing at night.
4. Islands have fire festivals to show it is the end of winter.
5. Every year, people build things with lemons at a big festival.

6 Temperature
Complete the sentences with the correct words. Look at the pictures to help you. Then, listen to the
audio to check your answers.

Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3

Picture 4 Picture 5 Picture 6

below zero cold cool freezing - (minus) warm

1. It’s today. You may need to wear a jacket.

2. It’s cold. Don’t go swimming.
3. It’s in New York today. The temperature is 68°F.
4. The temperature today is 4°F
5. It’s very here.
6. The temperature in Antarctica is usually .

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7 Talking point

Discuss any of the questions below.

1. What do you like and don’t like about winter? Why?

2. What temperature and weather do you prefer?
3. Would you like to try any new winter activities? Describe them.
4. Do you spend a lot of time outside during winter? Why/why not?

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TEACHER MATERIALS ·

WINTERTIME

Key

1. Warm up

5 mins
This part gets students to think about how they feel about winter in a general way. Circulate and help as needed.

2. Winter objects

7 mins
This exercise introduces some key vocabulary to the topic. Ask students to complete the exercise individually in
the first instance and then check their answers with their partner.

1. scarf 2. snowman 3. blanket 4. ice

5. sled 6. gloves 7. snowballs 8. skis

3. Things you do in winter

8 mins
Part A
In this exercise, students practice some collocations connected to the topic. Ask students to complete the exercise
individually in the first instance and then to check their answers with their partner. Then, ask them to practice the
vocabulary in Part B.

1. → d. 2. → e. 3. → f. 4. → a. 5. → c. 6. → b.
Part B

1. build a snowman 2. wear gloves

3. goes skiing 4. drink hot chocolate
5. stay indoors 6. throw snowballs

4. Winter - reading

8 mins
Students practice reading skills when reading the text about winter. Then, they check their understand of the text
by answering the questions. Ask them to complete the exercise individually and then compare their answers in
pairs.

1. the temperature
2. Because of the rain and snow that falls in northern areas.
3. Skiing, snowboarding, sledding, ice skating
4. It can travel to a warmer place, sleep for the winter, or grow thicker fur.
5. climate change

5. Special events in winter

7 mins

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TEACHER MATERIALS ·

WINTERTIME

Ask students to complete the exercise individually. Then, read the answers to them and allow them to check their
answers and total their scores. You can provide them with the names of events as additional information.
Names of the special events:
1. USA and Canada - The Yukon Quest; 2. Italy, Venice - Carnevale; 3. South Korea - Hwacheon Ice Festival; 4.
Scotland, Shetland Islands - Up Helly Aa; 5. France - Menton Lemon Festival

1. USA and Canada

2. Italy
3. South Korea
4. Scotland
5. France

6. Temperature

5 mins
Students revise and practice vocabulary connected to the temperature. Ask them to complete the exercise
individually in the first instance and then to listen to the recording to check their answers. Note that they can
use pictures as tips.

1. cool 2. freezing 3. warm

4. - (minus) 5. cold 6. below zero

7. Talking point

5 mins
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

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