Warmer: Past tense bingo.

Vocabulary matching exercise. – did you have those in Spain?

Put verbs in the past

Ask a few comprehension questions

Ask:

 What would it be like to live in a country at war?

Write a diary entry / a letter to a teenager in Spain about your experience.

World War II – London Blitz

1. Look at he picture. Which things from the box can you see?

seaside air raid brick Commonwealth gas mask

evacuee factory air raid shelter

2. Put these verbs into their Past Simple form.

Britain in 1939

At school, children …………………(learn) about the British Empire, now the Commonwealth.

But in 1939 few British children had ever …………………….(travel) outside Britain. If they
………………………. (have) a holiday, most …………………(go) to the seaside or the
country. In a typical family, dad …………………..(work) while mum ………………………
(look after) the home. Most young people …………………… (leave) school at 14, and
……………………..(start) work.

Not many people ………………..(have) cars. Most people ………………………(travel) by bus,

train or bike, or ……………………..(walk). Television ……………………(start) in 1936, but
 very few people …………………(have) a TV set. Instead families ……………………(listen) to
the radio or 'wireless'.

Children at war

Thousands of children ………………………….(leave) home for the first time as evacuees.

School lessons and exams ……………………….(go on) more or less as usual, though children
also ………………..(learn) 'air raid drill' and how to put on a gas mask. At night, many children
……………….. (sleep) in air raid shelters.

There ……………… (be) fewer toys for Christmas or birthdays, and not many sweets either.
Many seaside beaches ………………(be) closed. However, children …………..(find) new
playgrounds on 'bombsites' - waste ground where buildings had been flattened by bombs.

How did the war change things?

Many families ……………………..(be) split up. Fathers, uncles and brothers……………….

(leave) home to join the Forces (army, navy or air force). People ……………………….(travel)
more, to do war work and to fight overseas. Mothers and older sisters ……………(go) to work
in factories.

There ……………………(be) rationing of food, clothes and other goods. Air raids
……………………(make) it hard to get a good night's sleep. Bomb damage often
…………………..(mean) no gas or electricity. Train and bus journeys ………………..(take)
longer. Going to school or work often …………………(mean) walking over bricks and broken
glass in the streets. At night, the blackout …………………(make) towns and cities dark.

3. Imagine you are in London at the time of Blitz. How do you feel? What is your family life
like? What is your life like?

Write a letter to a friend in Spain telling them about what is happening in Britain. Share
your Feelings. Remember to use verbs in past!

© http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/children_at_war/, adapted by
Susie Tryc, Lewis School of English - Linking the World
through Language - www.lewis-school.co.uk