Free Printable Lessons for English Teachers
Today, we are going to talk about Guy Fawkes’ Night, or Bonfire Night. The event is held every year in the United Kingdom, on the evening of the fifth of November.
The annual commemoration is to remind us of the events of the 5th November 1605, when Guy Fawkes’, who was a Catholic, was caught and arrested in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament, while guarding the gunpowder that was to be used to blow it up.
Guy Fawkes’ was a member of ‘The Gunpowder Plot’. The group’s aim was to kill King James I, who was a Protestant, and replace him with a Catholic King. In those days, Catholics in the United Kingdom had to practice their religion, in secret. When he became King, James I had introduced more laws against Catholics; many of whom thought the government were treating them unfairly.
Gap fill: Listening/Grammar/Reading -- Discussion: 1) What do you think about what you’ve read? 2) What did the gunpowder plotters want? 3) What do you know about King James I of England? 4) What do you celebrate on the fifth of November? 5) Do people light bonfires around your country for special events? Explain. -- Speaking/Role Play: In pairs. Compare Guy Fawkes’ night with an event that uses fireworks in your country. 5 mins. -- Article quiz, Etc.