Summary
This 90-minute ESL lesson for C1 learners explores Ancient life: discussing success and extinction through a real video. Across 9 interactive exercises, you'll develop listening comprehension, vocabulary, speaking skills — all built around authentic English content.
What you'll practise:
- 5 key vocabulary items with definitions and usage notes
- Gap-fill and cloze exercises to test vocabulary in context
- Matching exercise to connect terms with their meanings
Lesson activities (9 exercises)
Each exercise builds on the previous one. Work through them in order for the best learning experience.
- Warm-up — Discussion questions to activate what you already know about the topic.
- Watch — Watch the video and note the main arguments and examples.
- Comprehension — Answer questions to check your understanding of the main ideas and supporting details.
- Vocabulary — Learn key words and expressions from the video, with definitions and usage notes.
- True / False — Test your detailed understanding — decide if each statement matches the source.
- Fill the gaps — Complete sentences with the correct vocabulary. Drag and drop or type your answers.
- Multiple choice — Choose the correct answer from four options — testing comprehension and language use.
- Matching — Connect words, phrases, or concepts to their correct counterparts.
- Discussion — Reflect on the topic and share your opinions using the language you've learned.
Vocabulary
This lesson introduces 5 key terms drawn directly from the video:
- To stand the test of time — to endure and remain successful or relevant over a long period.
- To give rise to — to be the cause or origin of something, often a significant new development.
- To fill an ecological niche — to find and occupy a specific role or position within an ecosystem for which a species is particularly suited.
- An evolutionary arms race — a competitive cycle of adaptation between species, where each develops new traits to gain an advantage (e.g., between a predator and its prey).
- A long, drawn-out decline — a very slow and gradual process of weakening or reduction that leads to an eventual end.
Grammar
This lesson includes a grammar focus with clear explanations and practice exercises.
