🎧 Episode Academy subscribers

Explorers, Convicts, and Colonies

Episode of the series Australia

CEFR: A1, A2, B1

In this episode

Illustrated slideshow
Comprehension quiz (45 questions)
Cultural notes

Unlock the resourceIncluded in the subscription

Extract: the first 30 seconds of the episode. The full episode lasts 6 min 32 s.

Level

The episode

Step aboard the ships that first brought new explorers and settlers to Australia. Discover how they landed, built the first colonies, and began life in a vast, new land full of challenges and surprises.

Episode worksheets (2)

Student sheet In your teacher account
Teacher sheet In your teacher account

Teaching guide

Objective & content

This A1- documentary covers the British arrival in Australia, told by a single narrator. It follows Captain James Cook and HMS Endeavour in 1770, Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet in 1788, and the move from Botany Bay to Sydney Cove. It also explains what a convict is and mentions Matthew Flinders' maps and the later towns of Melbourne and Perth. The script notes the effect on Aboriginal peoples, including the sickness that came with the settlers. The language focus is the simple past, with "was/were" and regular past verbs, and dates and place names. The main skill is listening comprehension, followed by the in-app quiz. The script defines a key word: "A convict is a person who did something wrong and went to prison."

Materials & prerequisites

Student sheet and teacher sheet (PDF and HTML versions in `printables/`), plus the sheet source `printable.md`.
Learners should know the verb "be" and present simple statements. They also need numbers for years and dates.

Curriculum alignment

The episode is tagged `c3-child-and-wider-environment`: cycle 3 (6e). It 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.

🔒 Restricted content

This resource requires a subscription to be viewed.