British banknotes: Winston Churchill

Objective & content

This Look Closer episode (the first episode of the mini-series British banknotes) is a short documentary about the Bank of England's five-pound note and Winston Churchill, Britain's Prime Minister in the Second World War, who is on its back. Learners hear about his first speech as Prime Minister in 1940 and look closely at the details of the note that tell his story: his words, a clock, a famous photo and a hidden word. It is a comprehension episode: the narration uses the present simple and the past simple (was, gave, took), there is and the imperative look, and no grammar point is taught. Learners listen, then answer the 10 questions in the app: 7 on facts and 3 on vocabulary (toil, hidden, spell).

Materials & prerequisites

The folder holds the audio, the slideshow and the script. Each pack is a one-page PDF with the text, three pictures, the key words and the 10 questions: a pupil pack, and a teacher pack with the answers highlighted. It also has a pupil sheet and a teacher sheet with the answer key. It has no lesson plan. Play the episode twice, hand out the pupil pack, then use the closing question (What time does the clock on the note show?) to check the key detail, and ask pupils which detail they would put on a banknote about their own country. Learners should know the words money, face, photo and word, and be able to tell the time and read years such as 1940. The pack's key words explain the new words (note, plastic, Prime Minister, speech, toil, photographer).

Curriculum alignment

Tagged portrait-self-portrait (5e, "Portrait, autoportrait", Cycle 4). The episode targets CEFR level A2-.