S2E11 - The Castle on the Hill

Objective & content

George, his friend Ollie and their teacher Mr Brown lead the class up the hill to a castle, pointing out the towers, walls, fifty steps, view and café on the way. The episode teaches there is / there are in positive, negative and question forms (There isn't a lift in a castle, I'm afraid; Is there a café inside, Mr. Brown?). The vocabulary field is historic buildings and sightseeing (castle, turret, wall, gate, view, café). Learners listen for what the castle has, then check understanding with the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

French and German learners often say the castle has where English uses there is / there are to introduce something new. A guided tour gives a natural reason for the structure to repeat, and the turrets and turtles mix-up makes the key word memorable. There are two different numbers in the script (fifty steps, thirty students), so check that pupils do not mix them up.

Suggested procedure

1. (3 min) Ask whether they have visited a castle or an old building on a school trip, and collect the words they know.
2. (5 min) Introduce George, Ollie and Mr Brown, then preview castle, turret, wall and view.
3. (4 min) First listen: what does the class visit, and what funny mistake does George make?
4. (8 min) Second listen with pauses after the turtle, the fifty steps and the café next to the gift shop.
5. (7 min) Put a positive, a negative and a question example on the board and drill them aloud.
6. (6 min) In pairs, describe a real or imagined place with one of each form.

Materials & prerequisites

The episode in the PLAY app (audio, slideshow, text and quiz), a student sheet and a teacher sheet with the answer key. Learners need the verb be and numbers to fifty.

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 4 (5e), axis "School and society": a school trip to a historic site.