Free Printable Lessons for English Teachers
ESL English Lesson: April Fools’ Day
D.J. Robinson
Today, let’s talk about April Fools’ Day. Known also as All Fools’ Day it is celebrated on the morning of the 1st April when practical jokes and hoaxes are played on people. The victims are called April fools!
Newspapers are fond of reporting fake stories, which are normally explained the next day. April Fools’ Day in the UK can be traced back to around 1392 to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The Nun’s Priest’s Tale mentions ‘Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two’. The passage was meant to mean 32 days after March – 2nd May – but was mistook for 32nd March i.e. 1st April.
Article quiz: 1) When is April Fools’ Day? 2) Name three classic April Fools. 3) What does ‘the pirate era’ mean? 4) What does ‘lad’ mean? 5) Where did the author work as a lad? -- Roleplay, Presentation, Discussion, Homework, etc.