Grapes, Plates & Suitcases – New Year’s Traditions

A Fun & Cultural Reading Resource for the New Year (Colour + Printer-Friendly | 14 pages)

Bring global celebrations into your classroom with this engaging and humorous New Year’s reading resource. From Spanish grape races to Danish plate-smashing and Colombian suitcase sprints, this text introduces students to unusual, meaningful, and sometimes hilarious traditions from around the world. With comprehension tasks, vocabulary practice, and discussion questions, this pack supports language development while opening the door to cultural exploration.

What’s included:

• Engaging B2 reading text on New Year’s traditions around the world
• 10 comprehension questions with a full answer key
• Vocabulary gap-fill using key words from the text (e.g., grapes, chime, suitcase, polka dots, wealth)
• Vocabulary matching task with 10 essential terms and clear definitions
• 10 guided discussion questions to encourage speaking, comparing cultures, and critical thinking
• Teacher answer keys for all activities

Perfect for:

B1–B2 upper secondary ESL learners

Cultural lessons

Seasonal classroom activities

Speaking practice after the holidays

Help your students explore global customs, laugh at some wonderfully strange traditions, and reflect on what new beginnings mean across cultures.

Download “Grapes, Plates & Suitcases” and bring a fun, cultural twist to your New Year’s lessons!