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Harry at Hastings

An immersive audiobook to enrich your students’ listening comprehension.

What if a history lesson became as intense as a video game? "Harry at Hastings" plunges students into a fantastic adventure where the past becomes reality. This audio story follows a teenager who hates history until he finds himself thrown right into the middle of the Battle of Hastings! It's a dynamic and action-packed resource to captivate students, linking a major historical event to a time-travel adventure and unexpected friendship.

Level 2 CEFR: A1+, A2 Listening Authentic : Yes

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Teaching guide

Objective & Plot Summary

Objective: To lead students to follow a fantastic adventure story, understanding the key points of a simple historical event (the Battle of Hastings) and the evolution of the relationship between two characters.

Summary: Harry, a student who hates history, is propelled, along with his "nerdy" classmate Adam, right into the heart of the 1066 Battle of Hastings during a school trip. Captured by Norman soldiers, the two boys—who are complete opposites—will have to help each other to survive and return to their own time.

Suggested Lesson Flow

1. Before Listening (~5-10 min): PREPARE FOR BATTLE

Anticipation: Introduce the context: a school trip to a historical battlefield. "Do you like school trips? Do you like history?".
Vocabulary: Introduce the key battle words with images: battle, soldier, king, arrow, sword.

2. During Listening (~25 min): TIME TRAVEL

Listening split into 3 parts:
- Part 1 (The School Trip): Listen to the beginning, which presents the opposition between Harry and Adam. Pause: "Who likes history? Who likes video games? Are they friends?".
- Part 2 (In the Past): Listen to their fall into the past and their capture. Pause: "Where are they now? What year is it? What is the problem?".
- Part 3 (The Return): Listen to Adam's rescue and their return to the present.

3. After Listening (~10-15 min): BACK TO THE PRESENT

Discussion: "Was the adventure real? How do we know? Did Harry change at the end of the story? Why?".
Simple Task: Ask students to choose a character (Harry or Adam) and say in one simple sentence what they like. ("Harry likes video games." / "Adam likes books and history.").

Adaptations

To Simplify: Before listening, explain the context of the battle very briefly: "In 1066, two armies, the Saxons and the Normans, fight in a big battle".
To Extend: Ask the students: "If you can travel in time, where do you go? To the past or to the future? Why?". Students answer in one or two sentences.

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.