Survival skills we need to know

1. Watch a video [https://youtu.be/8y9zfEuzK7Q] and discuss the questions.

• What do you think about the campaign in the video? Have you seen other campaigns or films about
first aid?
• Why is the song important in the video?
• Do you know how to administer first aid?
• Did you have a course on first aid at school?
• Which of these are first aid myths? What should you do instead?
- apply butter to burns
- tilt the head back for nosebleeds
- consume alcohol to warm up
- use a belt as a tourniquet
• Can you suggest other useful skills like first aid?

2. Look at the things and assess how well you’d be able to do them.
• navigate using a compass
• change a flat tyre
• react appropriately when attacked by an angry animal
• fix an electrical socket
• treat nausea
• start a fire without matches

3. Match the halves to create sentences. Decide which skills in ex. 2 the tips could relate to.
A. If you show resourcefulness, 1. some medicinal plants.
B. Any mistake you make 2. at mechanics to do it.
C. You need to think 3. on your feet in such situations.
D. You can try and forage for 4. you don’t need any specialized gear.
E. You don’t have to be adept 5. adversity like this, stay calm.
F. When facing 6. going into the wilderness.
G. Take bushcraft training before 7. can be deadly.

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Survival skills we need to know

4. Complete the texts with the words from ex. 3. Say which opinion you agree with the most.
A. For people who live in big cities the chances of getting lost in the
___________ are close to zero. I don’t get why anyone needs to learn
___________ unless it’s their hobby. With the abundance of supplies
and tech advancement that we have these days, I can hardly imagine a
situation where I would need to ___________ for food or be
___________ at navigating using the stars.

B. When it comes to survival skills, it’s not only about ___________ and
the ability to find things. It’s mainly about being able to ___________
on your feet when facing ___________ . And in survival, even a small
mistake can be ___________ . It’s also a must to have the right
___________ for emergency situations because the world is an
unpredictable place.

5. Look at the questions and answer them yes or no. Explain and give tips.
A. Supposing I encounter a bear in the wilderness, is it wise to run for my life?
B. If I were to get lost in the jungle, should I find a river and follow it upstream?
C. Should I ever be in a situation where I need to help a person choking, does the protocol say to
perform the Heimlich manoeuvre?
D. Would it be safe to collect and drink rainwater providing I boiled it first?
E. Can I make a fire using big logs provided that they are dry?

6. Look at the conditional phrases in ex. 5 and choose the correct option to complete the rules.
A. We use ‘supposing’ to mean ‘what if’/‘if not’. We can use it in first, second and third conditional
sentences.
B. ‘If I/you were to’ is similar to ‘If I/you’ used in the first/second conditional but it is considered to be
more formal.
C. ‘Should I/you (ever) + infinitive’ is the most/least formal phrase. It’s often followed by the first
conditional, a clause with a modal verb or imperative.
D. ‘Providing (that)’/‘Provided (that)’ mean ‘unless’/‘on condition (that)’ and can be used with first,
second and third conditionals. ‘Providing (that)’ is used more in speaking, whereas ‘provided (that)’
is more formal.

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Survival skills we need to know

7. Rewrite the questions in two or three different ways. Use the structures from ex. 6.
A. Is it safe to forage for edible wild food on condition that you can positively identify the plants?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
B. Imagine you get lost in a forest, what is the first thing you’ll do?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

8. Work in pairs. Choose a category and come up with a few scenario-based questions to ask your
partner. Use conditional phrases.
EXAMPLE: Supposing your car broke down in the middle of nowhere, what would you do? Would
you be able to fix it providing you had all the right tools?

basic home repairs wilderness survival navigation and orienteering

growing your own food vehicle maintenance self-defense basic first aid

9. Discuss the questions.

• What specific survival skills do you believe are essential for everyone to learn in today's world?
• Have you ever had to rely on any survival skills you've learned in a real-life situation? Please share
your experience.
• In your opinion, should schools and educational institutions incorporate survival skills into their
curriculum? Why/Why not?
• Supposing a person went to one of these places, what life or survival skills might it be crucial for
them to acquire?
- a military conflict zone - a country prone to natural disasters

Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.