n my Simon in Germany post, I wrote about Bonfire Night and why the 5th of November is still special to me.
In this lesson we'll read the story of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, learn key words to tell the story, and practise irregular verbs in the past simple.
Level: A2.
This lesson comes from my Simon in Germany blog post.
Read: Remember, Remember, the 5th of NovemberActivity
Look at the words: king, plan, gunpowder, cellar, letter, caught. What do you think the story is about? Tell a partner or write two sentences.
Reading: A secret plan
In 1605, King James I was the King of England. A small group of men did not like him. Their leader was Robert Catesby. Guy Fawkes was in the group too. They made a secret plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament when the King was inside. They hid 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the building. But one of the men sent a letter to a friend to warn him. The letter went to the King's men. On the night of 4 November, they searched the cellar and found Guy Fawkes with the gunpowder. The plan failed. The next night, people in London lit bonfires to celebrate that the King was safe.
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| a plot | a secret plan to do something bad |
| gunpowder | a black powder that explodes |
| a barrel | a big round container made of wood |
| a cellar | a room under a building |
| to warn | to tell someone about a danger |
| to search | to look carefully for something |
| to celebrate | to do something happy for a special event |
| a bonfire | a big fire outside |
Exercise 1: Put the story in order
a. They searched the cellar.
b. A group of men made a secret plan.
c. People lit bonfires.
d. They hid gunpowder under Parliament.
e. Someone sent a letter.
f. They found Guy Fawkes.
Show answers
b, d, e, a, f, c
Exercise 2: Past simple
Write the past simple: make, hide, send, find, light, go.
Show answers
made, hid, sent, found, lit, went
Exercise 3: Complete the sentences
Use a word from the vocabulary.
- They put the gunpowder in a room under the building. It was a ___.
- One man wrote a letter to ___ his friend.
- The King's men ___ the cellar on 4 November.
- People lit a ___ to celebrate.
Show answers
1 cellar, 2 warn, 3 searched, 4 bonfire
Simon says: When I was a child, Bonfire Night was very cold. I wore a hat, a scarf and gloves, and I wanted to get close to the fire.
Now read my blog
Read my Simon in Germany post about November, then answer these questions.
1. What change has Simon noticed at Bonfire Night since he was a child?
2. Why is it difficult for Simon to buy sparklers in Germany?
Show answers
1. When he was a child, it was bitterly cold and he wrapped up warm. Now it is so mild that you don't need a coat and the fire feels too warm.
2. In Germany, you can usually only buy sparklers around New Year's Eve.
Now find these words in the blog. Can you work out what they mean? wrap up, bitterly cold, sparklers
Show the meanings
wrap up – to put on warm clothes
bitterly cold – extremely cold
sparklers – small fireworks you hold in your hand
Language learning can be really challenging. I know, because I'm a language learner myself. I hope the information and activities were helpful. Try the following:
Retell the story in five sentences. Use at least four past simple verbs from Exercise 2. Then say it out loud without looking.
This lesson comes from my Simon in Germany blog post.
Image credit
Image credit: Photo by Mario Spencer on Pexels
Mario Spencer https://www.pexels.com/@838155075/
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