Father’s Day – EFLsuccess.com

Ideas for honoring Dad on Fathers’ Day ⇔
May 2020. EFLsuccess.com ⇔

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Before we begin, each student should think of five to ten key memories about their father (or a “father-figure” from childhood). To help you remember this later, describe this memory with a phrase or (at most) one sentence.

In the US, “Fathers’ Day” is celebrated on the third Sunday in June. (America’s “Mothers’ Day” is celebrated the second Sunday in May.) Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day celebrations began in church, but unlike Mother’s Day, Father’s Day didn’t become popular quickly. In 1909, Sonora Dodd heard a sermon about the new Mother’s Day holiday, and thought her father (who was a widower) deserved a special day too. For 25 years, Fathers were honored by a few churches, but Congress refused to recognize this special day. Then, a group of New York retailers created the National Council for the Promotion of Father’s Day, and the holiday gained popularity. Finally, in 1972, President Richard Nixon declared Father’s Day a national holiday.

Most of us enjoy remembering the special people who helped us to grow up, so here’s an idea for Fathers’ Day (or Mother’s Day) that will get you and your classmates talking.

The idea is simple: think of key memories from your life that involve your father (or a father-figure/mentor), and then draw pictures to represent those memories. You don’t have to be a professional artist; use “stick figures” or simple line-drawings. Your teacher will now give you a few minutes (maybe 15 minutes?) of “drawing” time. When time is up, explain the drawings to a partner. Next, combine two pairs, and ask students to tell the other pair about one or two of their partner’s drawings (the partner can give details or make corrections, if he/she wishes). If you still have time, students can tell the class a favorite memory from anyone in their foursome other than themselves (that is, no one can talk about his/her own drawings, except to his original partner).

For “homework,” students can clean up their drawing and actually send it to a parent.

For years, my Dad proudly displayed the following version of my own memories in his office.

In case you are curios (or perhaps to give you ideas of the kinds of memories to include), my pictures represent my parents’ anniversary, our home, holiday celebrations, times Dad drove to my university to have dinner with me, his favorite snacks, various roles/jobs he had, trips we took as a family, events we witnessed together, and the process of Dad teaching me to drive (among others).

Have fun as you and your class celebrate “Dad.” And if you like the exercise, do it again on Mothers’ Day!

Sources include:

–A Look Inside America: Exploring America’s Cultural Values and Holidays by Bill Perry

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Here are a few favorite photos of my Dad. My students used to enjoy looking at our “family photos”; I made them ask questions to practice their English while they learned about us.

Here’s my dad as a young officer, in class, in Holland with Andrew (Dad was teaching there at the time), and in Paris (I had been working in the UK, so we toured Europe as a family).

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