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Tasks: A Visit from St.Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore

Paper art: We see a snowy landscape with mountains, a house, a snowman, Christmas trees and a gingerbread man on a sleigh.
Image: Gail Armstrong / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Quiz:

Take this quick quiz about the poem.

Read:

In the expandable box below, you will find another Christmas poem by Clement Clarke Moore. It has not achieved the same level of popularity as 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'.

  1. Read the poem aloud with a partner.

  2. Why do you think this poem is less popular than 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'?

  3. What does this poem tell us about how children were raised when this poem was written?

Poem by Clement Clarke Moore

Old Santeclaus

Old Santeclaus with much delight
His reindeer drives this frosty night,
O’er chimney-tops, and tracks of snow,
To bring his yearly gifts to you.

The steady friend of virtuous youth,
The friend of duty, and of truth,
Each Christmas eve he joys to come
Where love and peace have made their home.

Through many houses he has been,
And various beds and stockings seen;
Some, white as snow, and neatly mended,
Others, that seemed for pigs intended.

Where e’er I found good girls or boys,
That hated quarrels, strife and noise,
I left an apple, or a tart,
Or wooden gun, or painted cart.

To some I gave a pretty doll,
To some a peg-top, or a ball;
No crackers, cannons, squibs, or rockets,
To blow their eyes up, or their pockets.

No drums to stun their Mother’s ear,
Nor swords to make their sisters fear;
But pretty books to store their mind
With knowledge of each various kind.

But where I found the children naughty,
In manners rude, in temper haughty,
Thankless to parents, liars, swearers,
Boxers, or cheats, or base tale-bearers,

I left a long, black, birchen rod,
Such as the dread command of God
Directs a Parent’s hand to use
When virtue’s path his sons refuse.

Perform:

Choose one of the tasks. Work in a group.

  1. Prepare to perform the poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'. Practice reading the poem with good fluency. Have fun with it - you can for example try to illustrate the different parts of the poem in some way.

  2. Prepare to teach the class an English language Christmas song. Sing it together.

  3. Perform an English language Christmas song. Have fun with it - you can, for example, act out the lyrics of the song.

  4. Write your own Christmas poem, and perform it for the class.

  5. Prepare a Christmas themed humorous sketch and perform it for the class.

Create:

Choose one of the tasks. Work in groups or in pairs.

  • Make a Christmas quiz for the class. You could focus on events from the year, things you have learned in class, or on general knowledge about Christmas.

  • Invent a fun game that the whole class can play together. (You could for example draw inspiration from the British TV show Taskmaster).

Make a poster:

  1. Work together as a class, and make a poster to be displayed in the classroom.

  2. Include illustrations of what you love about Christmas.

  3. Each student should write down one good thing that has happened to them this year, or one thing they are grateful for.

Christmas Song Quiz:

In this quiz, you are presented with the first line of twenty well known Christmas songs. Do you know the second line?

What were the songs in the quiz?

  1. Last Christmas

  2. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tee

  3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

  4. Ding Dong Merrily on High

  5. Mary's Boy Child

  6. Fairytale of New York

  7. All I Want for Christmas

  8. Mistletoe

  9. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

  10. Happy Xmas (War is Over)

  11. Wonderful Christmas Time

  12. Home for Christmas

  13. Driving Home for Christmas

  14. River

  15. Santa Tell Me

  16. Only to Bring You Peace

  17. The Little Drummer Boy

  18. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

  19. Do They Know it's Christmas?

  20. Silent Night

  • Can you find out which artists performed these songs? (Some of the songs will have been made famous by one band or artist, others may have been recorded by many artists. )

  • Do you have a favourite among these songs?

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