The Internet: Global Connections
Episode of the series Amazing Inventions
The episode
Explore the digital revolution that began with a laughably small crash! This episode chronicles the accidental start of the internet with just two letters, "LO," and explains how its "digital confetti" design became a foundational idea, connecting the world in ways no one could have imagined.
Episode worksheets (2)
- Student sheet In your teacher account
- Teacher sheet In your teacher account
Teaching guide
Objective & content
This documentary follows the history of the internet from the first message in 1969, when scientists connected four computers and the system stopped after two letters. It explains ARPANET and the idea of sending information in many small numbered pieces, using a letter cut into paper pieces as the example. It then names Ray Tomlinson, who invented email in 1971, and Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web in 1989. The language focus is the past simple, regular and irregular, with the present simple for how the internet works today, and the vocabulary of the digital world. The skill is listening for the order of events and for dates. One line to listen for: "It was just 'LO'."
Materials & prerequisites
- A student sheet and a teacher sheet, each as a PDF and an HTML file, plus the printable source file.
- Prerequisites: the present simple and the past simple of common verbs, and basic words such as computer, message and letter.
Curriculum alignment
Cycle 3 (6e): the axis "the child and the wider environment" (c3-child-and-wider-environment). The episode targets CEFR level A1-.
Possible adaptations
- Lower levels: Offer segmented listening and additional visual aids.
- Advanced levels: Encourage an oral summary and a debate in English on the theme.
- Large groups: Organise group work with differentiated roles.
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