How Christmas Trees are Made H3

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3

How Christmas trees are made?

Do you put up Christmas trees in your home or town? It's traditional to put up Christmas trees in Britain but nowadays most people prefer artificial ones, not real ones. Watch this video to find out where they come from and how they're made!

For this lesson you need pen and paper besides your laptop.

adapted from: www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishteens

Do the preparation task first. Then, watch the video and do the exercises. 

Use pen and paper.

Preparation: Matching

1........ PVC

2........ a branch

3........ a needle

4........ a factory

5........ a blade

6........ a trunk

Match the words with the correct definition and write a – f next to the number 1 – 6.

a. a building where products are made with machines 

b. a knife or a sharp edge

c. polyvinyl chloride, a kind of plastic

d. a thin, sharp leaf on a tree

e. an arm of a tree

f. the main body of a tree

Preparation task: Answers

Check your answers.

1. = c.   PVC

2.= e. a branch

3. = d. a needle

4.= a.  a factory

5.=b.  a blade

6.= f.  a trunk

a. a building where products are made with machines 

b. a knife or a sharp edge

c. polyvinyl chloride, a kind of plastic

d. a thin, sharp leaf on a tree

e. an arm of a tree

f. the main body of a tree

Read the questions. You will answer them after watching the video.

1. What country did the tradition of having Christmas trees come from?

2. Who made them popular in Britain?

3. In Chinese, what does 'sheng dan shu' mean?

4. What are Christmas trees made of?

5. Why are the branches pulled through a small coil?

6. Why are the branches cut by hand?

Now watch the video.

What country did the tradition of having Christmas trees come from?

1. Britain
2. China
3. Germany
4. America

Who made them popular in Britain?

1. Queen Victoria.
2. Shakespeare
3. King Henry VIII
4. Queen Elizabeth

In Chinese, what does ‘sheng dan shu’ mean?

1. Christmas tree
2. factory
3. Father Christmas
4. Christmas dinner

What are the Christmas trees made of?

1. PVC and wood
2. PVC and metal
3. wood and metal
4. wood and plastic

Why are the branches pulled through a small coil?

1. to stick the needles together.
2. to separate the needles
3. to cut the branches down to size
4. so the needles fall out

Why are the branches cut by hand?

1. because a machine would break the needle
2. because a machine would bend the needles.
3. because a machine would flatten the needles
4. because with a machine the needles will fall out

3. Check your understanding: ordering

Write a number (1-6) to put these sentences in order.

............. The branches are attached to the tree trunk and the Christmas tree is finished!

 ............. The shredded PVC is twisted around a metal wire and the needles are separated.

 ............. The branches are cut to size by hand. 

............. First of all, flat strips of PVC are stuck together.

 ............. Then the PVC is shredded by a circular blade to make the needles. 

............. Any sharp edges on the branches are bent over.

1. Check your grammar: gap fill – passives. 

Complete the gaps with the passive form of the verb in brackets.

1. The tradition of having a Christmas tree _______________ to have begun in Germany around the 18th century. (BELIEVE)
2. Queen Victoria _______________ standing next to a Christmas tree with her family. (PICTURE)

3. Millions of Christmas trees _______________ in China. (MANUFACTURE)

4. Strips of PVC _______________ by a circular blade. (SHRED)

5. Then they _______________ around a metal wire. (TWIST)

6.The needles _______________ by pulling them through a small coil. (SEPARATE)

7. The branches _______________ to size by hand. (CUT)

8. Sharp edges _______________ over so children don’t hurt themselves. (BEND)

Answers ex 1-3

Answers exercise 4

24 December

25 December

26 December

Second Day of Christmas

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Boxing Day

How do you celebrate Christmas this year?

What is Christmas really about?

Write down your original Christmas wish for a classmate / teacher

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!!

Stay Safe!