Ancient Stories British English Teacher

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ENGLISH FOR TEENAGERS · GENERAL ISSUES · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)
ANCIENT
STORIES
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1 Warm up
Part A: Label the photos. Can you guess what all the things in the photos have in common?
a bracelet (Pandora) a camera (Olympus) a chocolate bar (Mars)

an online shop (Amazon) a spacecraft (Apollo) sports shoes (Nike)
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.
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ANCIENT STORIES
Part B: All the names come from ancient Greece. Do you know anything about them?
Amazon - Apollo - Mars - Nike - Olympus - Pandora
Part C: These names used today also come from ancient times. What are they?
Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
2 Greek mythology
Part A: Complete the definition with the words below.
goddesses gods myth mythology
A is a made-up story about , goddesses and the beginnings of the world.

A collection of such stories is called . Gods and have power over nature
and people.
Now listen to a podcast about Greek mythology and tick the names you hear.
Arlena Zeus
Poseidon Mercury
Hades Cerberus
Athena Ares
Centaurs Cyclops
Pegasus Phoenix
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Part B: Listen to the recording again and complete the sentences with the correct names.
Ares Athena Centaurs Cerberus Cyclops

Hades Pegasus Phoenixes Poseidon Zeus
1. → created thunder and lightning.
2. → created earthquakes with his trident, which was a spear with three points.
3. → ruled the underworld.
4. → was a three-headed dog.
5. → was the goddess of wisdom.
6. → carried a shield and a sword.
7. → were half-man and half-horse.
8. → were giants with one eye.
9. → gave artists inspiration.
10. → set fire to their nest and burnt in it, but a new bird was born from the ashes.
Part C: Answer the questions with full answers using the words highlighted in bold, from the text.
1. When does the earth shake?
2. What did kings use to do?
3. What do we call the ideas that make artists create?
4. What do we call the understanding of life that old people have?
5. Where do birds lay their eggs?
6. What is left when you have burnt wood in a fire?
7. What do we call very tall people?
8. What do you hear and see during a storm?

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3 An old story
Part A: Complete the text with the past simple forms of the verbs.
came lasted opened pretended

sent told took won
1
Homer’s Iliad tells the story of the Trojan war. The Greek army to the city of Troy to
set Helen free. She was the wife of a Greek king, but the Trojan prince, Paris had kept her in Troy. The
2 3
war for many years. Finally, Odysseus the Greeks to build a huge
4
wooden horse and to hide a group of the best soldiers inside it. Then, the Greeks the
5
horse as a gift for the Trojan, and the rest of the Greek army to leave. The Trojans
6
the horse inside the city walls. At night, the Greek soldiers came out of the structure
7 8
and the gates of the city. The Greeks the war thanks to Odysseus’s
great idea. Homer’s other work, Odyssey describes Odysseus’s adventures on his way home.

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Part B: Read about one of Odysseus’s adventures and put the verb forms in the gaps. Then listen to
check your answers.
ate fell asleep found had brought had disappeared had eaten had found
had left opened was sitting were sailing were sleeping were trying woke up
1 2
Odysseus and his men back home. They their country, Ithaka many
years before. They had had many adventures and they were tired. When the sailors saw an island,
3
they decided to land on it. They needed fresh water and food. They a large cave, and
they went inside. There was food and drink inside the cave, so they ate and drank, and soon they fell
asleep. They didn’t know that the Cyclops lived in the cave. Cyclops were giants with one eye in the
middle of their foreheads. A lot of them lived on the island.
Soon, the Cyclops, Polyphemus came into the cave with his sheep. He covered the entrance with a big
4
rock for the night, and he started a fire. In the light of the fire, he saw that his food . Then,
5 6
he saw the men. They to hide behind rocks. Polyphemus knew they
7
his food. He grabbed one man with each hand and both of them in one bite. After
8
that, he fell asleep. During the night, when the Cyclops , Odysseus made a plan.
In the morning, the Cyclops woke up and had two more men for breakfast. He left the cave with his
sheep and closed the entrance with the rock again. When Polyphemus came back, Odysseus offered
9
him some wine that his men from the ship. The Cyclops drank it. The wine was very
10
strong, so he soon . When he was sleeping, Odysseus’s men brought the long piece of
11
wood they in the cave. They put the sharp end of the stick into the fire. They pushed
12
it into Polyphemus’s only eye when the end was red hot. The Cyclops screaming
with pain. He waved his huge arms around, but he was blind and he couldn’t hurt the men. Soon, he
got tired and fell asleep. In the morning, the men tied themselves under the sheep’s bellies and waited
13
for Polyphemus to wake up. When the Cyclops the cave, the sheep started to leave.
14
He counted them and touched their backs to make sure nobody there, but he didn’t
check under their bellies. Odysseus and all his men left the cave. They were safe.

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ANCIENT STORIES
4 Language point: narrative tenses
Part A: Look at the list of verbs taken from 3B. Underline the past continuous forms, circle the past
perfect forms, and leave the past simple forms unmarked.
Part B: Match the tenses (1-3) to their uses (a-e).
1) Past Simple a. an action that happened before another

past action
2) Past Continuous b. a completed action
c. an incomplete action
3) Past Perfect d. a permanent situation
e. a series of complete actions
Now, find examples for each use in the text.
a. Example: His food had disappeared.
b.
c.
d.
e.

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5 King Midas and the golden touch

Part A: Watch the video and answer the questions.
1. What is the golden touch?

2. Was King Midas happy when he got the golden touch? Why/why not?
Part B: There are eight wrong words in the text of the recording. Find them and replace them with
one of the words below. Then, watch the video again and check your answers.
food - greedy - meal - sad - smiled - touched - wash - wish
King Midas and the Golden Touch

1. Once there lived a funny king. His name was Midas. He had a visitor one day, Silenus.
‘Stay with us,’ Midas said.
2. Silenus’s friend was the god Dionysus. ‘You were kind to my friend,’ he said. ‘I want to
give you a gift. What do you wish?’ ‘I want gold,’ Midas said. ‘Give me the golden touch.’
3. Midas ate a stone. It turned to gold. He touched his roses. They turned to gold. Midas
cried.
4. Then he tried to eat, but his foot turned to gold. He tried to drink. His drink turned to
gold. Midas was happy. ‘Oh, why did I wish for gold?’ he said. He was mad, too.
5. ‘The roses are hard,’ Midas’s daughter cried. ‘They do not smell good.’ ‘Don’t worry,’ he
said. He gave her a hug. She turned to gold. ‘What have I done?’ Midas cried.
6. He ran to Dionysus. ‘Please, change my fish,’ Midas asked. ‘Go to the river,’ Dionysus
said. ‘Cook things in the river. They will change back.’
7. Midas brought his daughter to the river. She changed back. He was so happy he ate a
small rose with his daughter. He learned to be happy with less.

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Part C: Put the verbs in brackets in the correct past tense.
1. King Midas (collect) a lot of gold, but he always (want) more.
2. When his daughter (come) to his room in the morning, he (count)

his gold.
3. Midas (ask) Dionysus for the golden touch.
4. When king Midas (touch) food or drink, it (turn) into gold.
5. He (be) hungry, thirsty, and unhappy.
6. He (understand) that he (have) everything he needed before he

got the golden touch.
6 What’s your wish?
Imagine you meet an ancient god who can give you everything you want. Write down your wish on
a piece of paper. Fold the paper.

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7 Homework
Part A: Match two activities from the list and use them in a sentence. Use the past simple and past
continuous tense.
Examples: He fell when he was climbing a tree. They were wearing warm clothes because it was cold.
be cold, be windy, not call, cut his finger, climb a tree, cook, fall, fly on a plane, not hear, hide,
leaves fall, pick some flowers, not see, sleep, walk in the park, wear warm clothes
Part B: What had happened before? Complete the sentences with your ideas. Use verbs in past
perfect.
Example: 1. He was tired because he had walked all the way to school.
1. He was tired because
2. The girl was hot because
3. The teacher was angry because
4. The woman was happy because
5. They didn’t have any money because
6. The dog was sad because

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TEACHER MATERIALS · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)
ANCIENT STORIES
Transcripts
2. Greek mythology
Girl: Welcome to our weekly educational podcast. The topic of today’s podcast is Greek
mythology.
Boy: Let’s start by explaining what mythology is.
Girl: It’s a collection of stories from ancient Greece. They were collected thousands of years
ago.
Boy: But they are still popular today.
Girl: They were created to help people understand things they couldn’t explain, such as day
and night, lightning, or earthquakes.
Boy: What does ‘mythology’ mean?
Girl: The word comes from the word ‘myth’, which is a made-up story about gods and the
beginnings of the world. People had told the stories for thousands of years before they
were written down.
Boy: By Homer, the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey. He put a lot of the Greek myths in
his books.
Girl: There were many Greek gods.
Boy: I think there were twelve gods who lived on Olympus. Zeus was the king of the gods. He
could create storms with lightning and thunder. With his brothers, Hades and Poseidon,
they ruled the whole world.
Girl: Hades was the king of the underworld. He had a three-headed dog called Cerberus.
Poseidon ruled the oceans. He could create earthquakes with his trident, a spear with
three sharp points.
Boy: Zeus had many children. Athena was born out of his head. She was the goddess of
wisdom. She carried a spear and a shield and was often presented with an owl. Owls
soon became the symbol of wisdom.
Girl: Ares, Zeus’s son also carried a shield, and a spear or a sword, but he didn’t like to fight.
Boy: Not all myths were about gods. My favourite story is about king Midas because it teaches
an important lesson.
Girl: There were also other creatures.
Boy: Cyclops, Centaurs, Pegasus, and the Phoenix.
Girl: Pegasus was a beautiful white horse with wings. He lived with the gods on the mountain
Olympus. He became the symbol of artists’ inspiration.
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Boy: Phoenix was a bird that was born in fire. Only one phoenix lived at a time. After about
500 years, the phoenix built a nest and set it on fire. He burnt but a new phoenix was
born from the ashes.
Girl: Cyclops were giants with one eye.
Boy: Centaurs were half-man and half-horse.
Girl: There are many more characters and many more stories in Greek mythology. Go to our
website for more myths. Our time’s up. Thank you and goodbye.
Boy: Until next week.
3. An old story
Storyteller: Odysseus and his men were sailing back home. They had left their country, Ithaka many
years before. They had had many adventures and they were tired. When the sailors saw
an island, they decided to land on it. They needed fresh water and food. They found a
large cave, and they went inside. There was food and drink inside the cave, so they ate
and drank, and soon they fell asleep.
Storyteller: They didn’t know that the Cyclops lived in the cave. Cyclops were giants with one eye
in the middle of the forehead. A lot of them lived on the island. Soon, the Cyclops,
Polyphemus came into the cave with his sheep. He covered the entrance with a big
rock for the night, and he started a fire. In the light of the fire, he saw that his food had
disappeared. Then, he saw the men.
Storyteller: They were trying to hide behind rocks. Polyphemus knew they had eaten his food. He
grabbed one man with each hand and ate both of them in one bite. After that, he fell
asleep. During the night, when the Cyclops were sleeping, Odysseus made a plan. In the
morning, the Cyclops woke up and had two more men for breakfast. He left the cave
with his sheep and closed the entrance with the rock again. When Polyphemus came
back, Odysseus offered him some wine that his men had brought from the ship.
Storyteller: The Cyclops drank it. The wine was very strong, so he soon fell asleep. When he was
sleeping, Odysseus’s men brought the long piece of wood they had found in the cave.
They put the sharp end of the stick into the fire. They pushed it into Polyphemus’s only
eye when the end was red hot. The Cyclops woke up screaming with pain.
Storyteller: He waved his huge arms around, but he was blind and he couldn’t hurt the men. Soon,
he got tired and fell asleep. In the morning, the men tied themselves under the sheep’s
bellies and waited for Polyphemus to wake up. When the Cyclops opened the cave, the
sheep started to leave. He counted them and touched their backs to make sure nobody
was sitting there, but he didn’t check under their bellies. Odysseus and all his men left
the cave. They were safe.
FOOOOTERAPPENDIXLEFT
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5. King Midas and the golden touch
Narrator: Once there lived a greedy king. His name was Midas. He had a visitor one day, Silenus.
‘Stay with us,’ Midas said. Silenus’s friend was the god Dionysus. ‘You were kind to my
friend,’ he said. ‘I want to give you a gift. What do you wish?’ ‘I want gold,’ Midas said.
‘Give me the golden touch.’
Narrator: Midas touched a stone. It turned to gold. He touched his roses. They turned to gold.
Midas smiled. Then he tried to eat, but his food turned to gold. He tried to drink. His drink
turned to gold. Midas was sad. ‘Oh, why did I wish for gold?’ he said. He was mad, too.
Narrator: ‘The roses are hard,’ Midas’s daughter cried. ‘They do not smell good.’ ‘Don’t worry,’ he
said. He gave her a hug. She turned to gold. ‘What have I done?’ Midas cried. He ran to
Dionysus. ‘Please, change my wish,’ Midas asked. ‘Go to the river,’
Narrator: Dionysus said. ‘Wash things in the river. They will change back.’ Midas brought his
daughter to the river. She changed back. He was so happy he ate a small meal with his
daughter. He learned to be happy with less.
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Key
1. Warm up
5-7 min.
The warm-up draws the students’ attention to ancient names which are still used today for products and businesses.
Elicit anything the students know about ancient Greece. Provide brief explanations (see below).
Part A
1. a chocolate bar (Mars) 2. sports shoes (Nike) 3. a spacecraft (Apollo) 4. a camera (Olympus)
5. a bracelet (Pandora) 6. an online shop
(Amazon)
Image 6 taken from Reuters
Part B key:
The names of the objects or brands come from Greek mythology.
Olympus is a real mountain in Greece. All the others are fictional characters.
Apollo, Mars, and Nike were gods. Apollo was the god of music, song, poetry, and archery.
Mars was the Roman god of war, equivalent of the Greek god of war Ares. Nike was the goddess of victory.
Pandora and the Amazons were female characters from Greek myths. Pandora was the first mortal woman created
by Greek gods.
The Amazons were women who were famous for their riding skills and courage.
Example: Olympus was the mountain where all the Greek gods lived.
Part C key: They are the names of planets.
All of the planets, except for Earth, were named after Greek and Roman gods and goddesses.
Mercury was named after the Roman god of travel.

Venus was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
Mars was the Roman god of war.
Jupiter was the king of the Roman gods.
Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture.
Uranus was named after an ancient Greek king of the gods.
Neptune was the Roman god of the sea.
Pluto, which is now classified as a dwarf planet, was the Roman god of the underworld.
2. Greek mythology
15 min.
The first task (a) introduces the topic and the key words (myth, mythology, god, goddess).
Part A
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A myth is a made-up story about gods, goddesses and

the beginnings of the world. A collection of such stories
is called mythology. Gods and goddesses have power
over nature and people.
Students get a chance to become familiar with the audio and mythical entities.
✓ Zeus ✓ Poseidon
✓ Hades ✓ Cerberus
✓ Athena ✓ Ares
✓ Centaurs ✓ Cyclops
✓ Pegasus ✓ Phoenix
Part B
1. Zeus 2. Poseidon 3. Hades 4. Cerberus 5. Athena

6. Ares 7. Centaurs 8. Cyclops 9. Pegasus 10. Phoenixes
Part C
1. Earthquakes. 2. Kings used to rule their countries.

3. Inspiration. 4. Wisdom.
5. In nests. 6. Ash/ashes.
7. Giants. 8. We hear thunder and see lightning.
3. An old story
15 – 20 mins.
The students read about Iliad and Odysseus and focus on verb tenses.
Part A
1. came 2. lasted 3. told 4. sent

5. pretended 6. took 7. opened 8. won
Part B
Ask students to work individually and then play the recording to allow them to check their choices. Elicit correct
answers.
1. were sailing 2. had left 3. found 4. had disappeared

5. were trying 6. had eaten 7. ate 8. were sleeping
9. had brought 10. fell asleep 11. had found 12. woke up
13. opened 14. was sitting
4. Language point: narrative tenses
Part A
Past Continuous - was sitting, was sleeping, were sailing, were trying
Past Perfect - had brought, had disappeared, had eaten, had found, had left, had had;
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Past Simple - opened, pushed, woke up, ate, brought, covered, fell asleep, found.
Part B:
a completed action; a permanent situation; a series of complete actions

an incomplete action
an action that happened before another past action
Example sentences:
b. Odysseus and all his men left the cave.

c. They were trying to hide behind rocks.
d. A lot of them lived on the island.
e. He left the cave with his sheep and closed the entrance with the rock again.
5. King Midas and the golden touch
12 – 15 min.
The students start by listening for gist. Then, they move to working on the vocabulary. It may be necessary to
help with the meaning of some of the words (greedy, wish, meal). Finally, the students practise the tenses using
the context of the story.
Part A
students’ own answers.
Part B
(funny) greedy,
(ate) touched,
(cried) smiled,
(foot) food,
(happy) sad,
(fish) wish,
(cook) wash,
(rose) meal
Part C
1. had collected ≀ wanted 2. came ≀ was counting 3. asked

4. touched ≀ turned 5. was 6. understood ≀ had had
6. What’s your wish?
5 min.
Collect the papers with the wishes. Students take turns to come to the front of the class, pick one piece of paper,
and read the wish aloud. The rest of the class guesses whose wish it is.
7. Homework
The homework consolidates the use of the past tenses covered so far. When you check the answers in 7a, point
out that the completed activity must be expressed in the past simple. When you check the answers in 7b, point
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ANCIENT STORIES
out that the past perfect can be used when the activity (the reason) had already happened. If the situation causing
the result still existed, the past continuous or past simple must be used.
Part A
Possible answers
They were wearing warm clothes because it was cold.
He cut his finger when he was cooking.
The leaves were falling because it was windy.
I didn’t call you because I was flying on a plane.
We picked some flowers when we were walking in the park.
I didn’t hear anything because I was sleeping.
We didn’t see the cat because it was hiding under the bed.
Part B
Possible answers
1. ... (provided in example) 2. she had run to school. 3. the students hadn’t done their
homework.
4. her daughter had won a medal. 5. they had bought a new house. 6. its owner had left.
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT

ENGLISH FOR TEENAGERS · GENERAL ISSUES · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

a bracelet (Pandora) a camera (Olympus) a chocolate bar (Mars)

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 1/9

Amazon - Apollo - Mars - Nike - Olympus - Pandora

Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

goddesses gods myth mythology

A is a made-up story about , goddesses and the beginnings of the world.

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 2/9

Ares Athena Centaurs Cerberus Cyclops

1. → created thunder and lightning.

3. → ruled the underworld.

4. → was a three-headed dog.

5. → was the goddess of wisdom.

6. → carried a shield and a sword.

7. → were half-man and half-horse.

8. → were giants with one eye.

9. → gave artists inspiration.

1. When does the earth shake?

2. What did kings use to do?

3. What do we call the ideas that make artists create?

4. What do we call the understanding of life that old people have?

5. Where do birds lay their eggs?

6. What is left when you have burnt wood in a ﬁre?

7. What do we call very tall people?

8. What do you hear and see during a storm?

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 3/9

came lasted opened pretended

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4 Language point: narrative tenses

Part B: Match the tenses (1-3) to their uses (a-e).

1) Past Simple a. an action that happened before another

2) Past Continuous b. a completed action

3) Past Perfect d. a permanent situation

e. a series of complete actions

Now, ﬁnd examples for each use in the text.

a. Example: His food had disappeared.

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5 King Midas and the golden touch

1. What is the golden touch?

food - greedy - meal - sad - smiled - touched - wash - wish

King Midas and the Golden Touch

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Part C: Put the verbs in brackets in the correct past tense.

1. King Midas (collect) a lot of gold, but he always (want) more.

2. When his daughter (come) to his room in the morning, he (count)

3. Midas (ask) Dionysus for the golden touch.

4. When king Midas (touch) food or drink, it (turn) into gold.

5. He (be) hungry, thirsty, and unhappy.

6. He (understand) that he (have) everything he needed before he

6 What’s your wish?

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1. He was tired because

2. The girl was hot because

3. The teacher was angry because

4. The woman was happy because

5. They didn’t have any money because

6. The dog was sad because

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 9/9

Boy: Let’s start by explaining what mythology is.

Boy: But they are still popular today.

Boy: What does ‘mythology’ mean?

Girl: There were many Greek gods.