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Jack-o'-lanterns

Learn English with this Halloween English lesson

Date: Oct 31 2012

Themes: Holidays

Grammar: Simple Future Tense

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Intro

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If you are walking around an American town on Halloween, you are sure to see jack-o’-lanterns glowing in the darkness. People of all ages enjoy the annual ritual of carving a pumpkin into a work of art. Then they place a candle inside and watch their creations glow with fire light.

The most traditional jack-o’-lanterns have scary faces on them, but designs can be more creative, too. Witches, bats, or spooky scenes can all be fun designs to carve into a jack-o’-lantern. Find out what Jason and Vanessa plan to carve this year in this Halloween English lesson.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Vanessa

Jason

Vanessa: Jason, I saw some pretty big pumpkins out on your porch.

Jason: Yeah, I’m going to make them into jack-o’-lanterns.

Vanessa: Jack-o’-lanterns! Really? For Halloween?

Jason: Yup, one’s going to be a really scary zombie face and the other is just gonna be kind of a silly big smile, typical jack-o’-lantern.

Vanessa: Do you like your jack-o’-lanterns to look scary or do you like them to look fun?

Jason: One of each. That’s what I’m doing this year. Yeah, I think either can be good. Scary is fun. You can use the seeds and the pulp and stuff like that to make gore.

Vanessa: Pumpkin guts, nice.

Jason: Yeah. But they’re kind of cute if you’re just doing a regular jack-o’-lantern face, so those are fun. What kind of jack-o’-lanterns do you usually carve?

Vanessa: You know, I’m pretty boring, I’m afraid. I usually just do the typical eyes, nose and mouth. But sometimes, I like to get crazy and give my jack-o’-lantern ears as well.

Jason: Oh, like with the shaving, where you just thin the surface?

Vanessa: Yup. It looks pretty cool with the candle light showing through and it tells everybody that they can come trick or treat at my house.

Jason: Exactly. That’s why I do it. Kids don’t come if you don’t have jack-o’-lanterns.

Grammar Point

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Discussion

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Vanessa notices that Jason has some pumpkins on his porch. He says he plans to carve them into jack-o’lanterns for Halloween.

On Halloween, people like to decorate their houses with glowing pumpkins that have scary or silly faces carved into them. Jason says he plans to make one silly jack-o’-lantern and one scary one this year.

Vanessa says she usually carves simple faces. Sometimes she does ears by thinning the surface of the pumpkin. No matter what your jack-’o-lantern looks like, it is sure to tell everyone that you like Halloween and to attract trick or treaters to your house.

Have you ever seen a jack-o’-lantern? Have you ever made one? What image would you like to carve into a pumpkin this Halloween?

Comments

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Vicosss

Ukraine

When we were children, we did this lanterns from the pumpkin, we didnt even know how it called, but we saw it on some movies and decided to do) But unfortunately, it was not so funny for our neighbors – we always stole one or two pumpkins from their garden)) Thats a reality of our jack-o-lanterns

black in

Saudi Arabia

i haven’t seen jack-o-lantern befor
i love everything rleted to Halloween, i wish if i can carve pumpkin into scary face

carolina122

Colombia

foz12 your picture is very fanny. I like it thanks.

carolina122

Colombia

In halloween I love to eat many many candy but my stomach get pain.But no matter because the candy are very delicious.

princessanika

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

31 October was Halloween.I know the people eat many chocolates and scary movie etc…

Amelia***

Colombia

oh yesterday was halloween i love that day

khaled_islam

Yemen

honestly i haven’t ever gone to trick or treating and i don’t want originlly ,so but i think that hallween is religious ritual than an annual ritual for having fun only , as i know the first hallween was in 16 centary ,, came from europe particularly with the celts to soth america , they called it the day of dead and others as i know … they think that they can go to the world of deads , so but i think that hallween changed over the time since the beginning of it ,at that time hallween they were serving food drinks and others but nowadays they substituted candies instead of those

foz12

Saudi Arabia

I liked the lesson and saw one pic I would like to share it with you, it’s funny

julito

Argentina

Early this month i was in California, by then you could already find big stores that were opened exclusively to sell creepy holloween costumes, graveyard´s headstones, skeletons, spiders web,battery operated ghosts and witches meant to scare the hell out of you . i regret that i didn´t have my camera at hand otherwise i would share freaking pictures of them. I was hungry ,I spent a few bucks on candies….. trick or treating ?

snow white 80

Brazil

oh halloween is so fun, I used to live in USA, and halloween is one of my favorities holiday, everywhere that u look , you´ll see the decorations during the months everyone makes a costume parties, those are always fun, last year i was a Angel with glittering wings and everything:) this year today i think I´ll be cat woman:)

Sourabhenglishbaby

United States

I heared that some of the folks never seen the halloween .

Do you know about the pumpkin . if yes then cut the pumpkin in carve shape and put the light under that .That will give you the same feeling

Dilstye

Germany

I never celebrate Halloween

Jay chen

Malaysia

I never have opportunity to go to the place that have celebrate the halloween but im dying to see how they celebrate halloween because it’s look so much fun particularly on how the children’s doing trick or treats. If I have opportunity to carve pumpkin ,I would carve angry birds image hehehehe..

merllan

Bulgaria

I have never seen a jack-o’-lantern.

Olga_Alina

Germany

I would like to carve some pumpkin scary faces, but I haven’t got any porch. So I do it maybe for a garden. I like this warm orange light, that come from pumpkin. It’s some kind of romantic.

tumbili

Germany

When I was younger my grandparents grew every year at least one pumpkin for us which we used to make a jack-o’-lantern. Then we put it in front of our door and waited for the kids to come. I also used to went trick or treating. It was really fun!!! I went with some friends and we wore spooky costumes. Actually I was dressed up as a witch every year, but I liked it as it was a really nice custome and I once even got a prize for it at a school halloween party. Anyway the custome of my sister was cooler. She was dressed up as a ghost and so no one could see her face and the people often asked: ” Who is this ghost?” This was kind of fun. But now I am too old to go trick or treating. But we have already bought some sweets and I hope that a lot of children will come this evening. I wish you all HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Englishty

Egypt

I agree with them, it’s nice to make a new and different jack-o’ lanterns but still the regular jack-o’ lantern is perfect to recoginze the Halloween

kowatch

Hungary

One time we made jack-o’-lanterns in elementary school. They have regular faces. I would carve caracter’s face which is on the ‘Ten-thousand fists’ album cover of Disturbed. I would use some stuff, maybe hood or chains