A Charlie Brown Christmas Lesson Plan

"Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!"

Is there any better way to start a discussion of a holiday than by watching the Charlie Brown special about it? I use this in my ESL and EFL classroom every year to teach international students about the holiday and to get my students thinking about Christmas and the meaning of the holiday. Plus it's just fun to watch!

This comprehension and discussion lesson plan (with complete Teacher Notes, Answer Keys, and differentiated questions) involves a critical watching of A Charlie Brown Christmas, a discussion of the key themes, and an introduction to holiday traditions such as the Christmas pageant and snowball throwing!

This lesson includes:

* A warm-up that activates students' associations with Christmas.

* A discussion of the monetary or commercial side of Christmas and the ideal or value-drive side.

* Two sets of comprehension questions for students to answer while watching the film to help them follow the plot and also draw their attention to key points. One set is mostly multiple choice and fill in the blank, for lower level students. Another set is for higher-level students and involves open-ended questions.

* Post-film discussion questions to link the plot to major themes. Again, there are two sets of discussion questions, one for lower-level students and one for upper-level students/

* A guide to the video, scene by scene, listing the timing, major plot points, and difficult vocabulary and concepts in each theme.

* Several extension ideas for homework or a future class, including resources for a compare and contrast paragraph or essay, character analysis, and analysis of the Bible quote Linus cites in the film.

* Complete Teacher's Notes to show you how to use these resources and help students watch the film,

* Complete Answer Key

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For more holiday lessons, check out:
The Gift of the Magi Lesson Plan
New Years Resolutions and Future Tenses Activity
Classic Stories for Christmas Time
Christmas and Holiday Warm Ups

And for more Charlie Brown, check out: Charlie Brown Thanksgiving lesson plan with a similar video guide and guiding questions.