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Cultural Reading • Level A1

Birthday Customs Around the World

Discover how children celebrate their special day in Mexico, South Korea, China, and across the globe!

Use this 8-minute activity for a quick reading check and cultural warm-up. Review the key words before asking learners to complete the 8 comprehension tasks.

Read the short story carefully first. Then, test your knowledge with 8 fun questions below and check your answers instantly!

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Reading Passage

Around the world, people celebrate birthdays in special ways. In Mexico, children break a piñata full of sweet treats at a birthday party, and people sing a birthday song called “Las Mañanitas”. In South Korea, many people eat seaweed soup on their birthday. In China, people eat long noodles on their birthday because they hope for a long life. In many countries, people sing “Happy Birthday” and eat a cake with candles.

💡 Words to Know

📌 Simple Sentence Patterns

Practice Zone

1 True or False • Mexico

____ True ____ False

2 True or False • South Korea

____ True ____ False

3 True or False • Global

____ True ____ False

4 Multiple Choice • Mexico

____ a. Happy Birthday ____ b. Las Mañanitas ____ c. Sweet Piñata Song

5 Multiple Choice • China

____ a. Because they hope for a long life ____ b. Because they do not like sweet cake ____ c. Because noodles are fast to cook

6 Multiple Choice • Global

____ a. Las Mañanitas ____ b. Happy Birthday ____ c. Good Morning To You

7 Gap-Fill • South Korea

In South Korea, many people eat seaweed ____ on their birthday.

8 Gap-Fill • China

People in China eat long noodles because they hope for a long ____ .