The Tower of London: The Crown Jewels

Objective & content

This Look Closer episode (Tower of London mini-series, episode 182) is a one-minute documentary about the Crown Jewels, told with real photos, an old book drawing and drawings. A single narrator starts with the Imperial State Crown and its almost three thousand diamonds, then shows what the collection holds (crowns, swords, rings and a big gold spoon), St Edward's Crown, which King Charles wore at his coronation in 2023, and the thick glass and guards that keep the jewels safe. Learners meet This is ... and there are (there are almost three thousand diamonds), the present simple (the King wears them), wore for the coronation, can and can't for what visitors may do (they can't take photos), and a closing Would you like to ...? question. The vocabulary is about British icons, sightseeing, the royal family and large numbers. Learners listen, then answer the 10 questions in the app: 7 on facts and 3 on vocabulary (coronation, heavy, guards).

Materials & prerequisites

You need the episode (audio and slideshow) and the printables: a pupil pack and a teacher pack (the text, three pictures, the key words and the 10 questions, with the answers highlighted in the teacher pack), a pupil question sheet and a teacher answer key. There is no lesson plan. Learners should know king, ring and big numbers such as three thousand. Crown and jewels name the subject, so they are taught for understanding; diamond and sword are shown on screen, coronation is explained in the episode, and guards is clear from what they do (they watch the jewels day and night).

Curriculum alignment

Tagged countries-and-landscapes (6e, "Pays et paysages", study topic "The Tower of London", Cycle 3). The episode targets CEFR level A1+.