The Tower of London: A zoo in the Tower

Objective & content

This Look Closer episode (Tower of London mini-series, episode 183) is a one-minute documentary about the zoo the Tower of London had for about six hundred years, told with old prints, real photos and drawings. A single narrator explains that kings got wild animals as presents from other kings, then looks closer at the polar bear that came from Norway in 1252 for King Henry the Third and swam in the River Thames on a long chain to catch fish; in 1835 the animals moved to London Zoo, and today big wire animals show where the zoo was. Learners meet the past simple, regular and irregular (had, got, came, swam, moved), with dates, the present simple for today (They show where the zoo was), this (Look closer at this polar bear) and a closing Which animal would you like to see? question. The vocabulary is about wild animals, kings and dates. Learners listen, then answer the 10 questions in the app: 7 on facts and 3 on vocabulary (zoo, present, chain).

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 the names of a few animals and how to say a year (1252, 1835). Polar bear names the subject, so it is taught for understanding; chain and wire are shown in the photos.

Curriculum alignment

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