About this Unit
This is an eight-lesson romp through the origins of the English language, from the earliest protolanguages up to Middle English. Many of the lessons can be
lengthened or shortened as appropriate for your classes.
This wide-ranging scheme covers languages and protolanguages, suffixes, prefixes, Greek and Latin roots, Anglo Saxon and Chaucerian English. There is a
broad selection of activities ranging from imaginative writing to giving a presentation.
Lessons
History of English
Unit Overview
Lesson 1: Our Ancestors
Lesson 5: Linguam Autem Rex
Lesson 2: Animal Communications
Lesson 6: It’s All Greek to Me!
Lesson 3: The Tower of Babel Part 1
Lesson 7: Old English
Lesson 4: The Tower of Babel Part 2
Lesson 8: Middle English
Lesson 1 – Our Ancestors
Included in this Pack
Learning Objectives
Additional Resources Required
Teaching Ideas
Lesson PowerPoint
Questions for Our Ancestors Cards
Our Ancestors Worksheet
To understand what ‘true language’ is.
Exercise books
Main Pupil Activities
•
Working in pairs
•
Assimilating information
•
Note-taking
Topics Covered
•
How humans communicate
•
Protolanguage and language
•
Children’s communication
National Curriculum and GCSE AOs
National Curriculum English Reading Objectives:
3.a;
GCSE English Language Objectives:
AO1, AO5.
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Lesson 2 – Animal Communications
Included in this Pack
Learning Objectives
Additional Resources Required
Teaching Ideas
Lesson PowerPoint
Animal Communication Sort Cards
Information Sheets
Animal Communications Worksheet
To understand how human language has
developed.
Exercise books
Main Pupil Activities
National Curriculum and GCSE AOs
•
Working in pairs
•
Assimilating information
•
Giving a presentation
Topics Covered
•
Animal communication
•
Auditory, touch, electric, olfactory
and seismic communication
National Curriculum English Writing Objectives:
1.a.iii; 1.b.
National Curriculum Spoken English Objectives:
1.a; 1.b.
GCSE English Language Objectives:
AO1, AO8, AO9.
Lesson 3 – The Tower of Babel Part 1
Included in this Pack
Learning Objectives
Additional Resources Required
Teaching Ideas
Lesson PowerPoint
Tower of Babel Worksheet
Tower of Babel Sort Cards
Tower of Babel Map
To understand how English fits into the
families of languages.
Exercise books
Main Pupil Activities
•
Working in pairs
•
Assimilating information
•
Answering questions
National Curriculum and GCSE AOs
National Curriculum English Reading Objectives:
2.a; 2.d;
GCSE English Language Objectives:
AO1, AO5.
Topics Covered
•
Language groups
•
Italian
•
Hindi
•
Polish
•
Arabic
•
Mandarin
•
New terms relating to
language groups
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Lesson 4 – The Tower of Babel Part 2
Included in this Pack
Learning Objectives
Additional Resources Required
Teaching Ideas
Lesson PowerPoint
Tower of Babel 2 Worksheet
Tower of Babel Match Up Worksheet
To understand how English fits into the
families of languages.
Exercise books
Main Pupil Activities
•
Note taking
•
Assimilating information
•
Defining key terms
•
Investigating their own
language background
National Curriculum and GCSE AOs
Topics Covered
•
Prevalence of IndoEuropean languages
•
Language isolates
•
Language destruction
•
Spontaneous language development
National Curriculum English Reading Objectives:
2.a; 2.d.
GCSE English Language Objectives:
AO1, AO5.
Lesson 5 – Linguam Autem Rex
Included in this Pack
Learning Objectives
Additional Resources Required
Teaching Ideas
Lesson PowerPoint
Linguam Autem Rex Worksheet
Calendar Definitions Match Up
Worksheet
Roman Gods and Heroes Fact File
Mottos from Around the World
Worksheet
Football Club Mottos Worksheet
Homework Tasks
To understand where the English language
gets some of its words and roots.
Exercise books
Main Pupil Activities
•
Dividing words into root/prefix/suffix
•
Note taking
•
Finding patterns in words
Topics Covered
•
Root words (Latin)
•
Suffixes/prefixes
•
Timeline of English
National Curriculum and GCSE AOs
•
Origins of month names
•
Greek and Roman mythology
National Curriculum English Reading Objectives:
1.a; 2.a; 2.d.
•
Word meanings changing over time
National Curriculum English Grammar and
Vocabulary Objectives:
1.c; 1.f.
GCSE English Language Objectives:
AO1.
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Lesson 6 – It’s All Greek to Me!
Included in this Pack
Learning Objectives
Additional Resources Required
Teaching Ideas
Lesson PowerPoint
Greek Words Sort Cards
It’s All Greek to Me Worksheet
Naming Dinosaurs Worksheet
My Amazing Dinosaur Fact File
Greek God and Heroes Fact File
Homework Task
To understand where the roots of English
words come from.
Exercise books
Main Pupil Activities
National Curriculum and GCSE AOs
•
Using prefixes to think
of English words
National Curriculum English Reading Objectives:
1.a; 2.a; 2.d.
•
Note taking
•
Assimilating information
•
Creating a dinosaur with
a logical name
National Curriculum English Grammar and
Vocabulary Objectives:
1.c; 1.f.
•
Reviewing learning
Topics Covered
•
Prevalence of IndoEuropean languages
•
Language isolates
•
Language destruction
•
Spontaneous language development
GCSE English Language Objectives:
AO1
Lesson 7 – Old English
Included in this Pack
Learning Objectives
Additional Resources Required
Teaching Ideas
Lesson PowerPoint
The Lord’s Prayer in Old English
Guess the Word Worksheet
Anglo Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf
Extracts
Kennings Worksheet
Revive a Dead Language Worksheet
To explore the origins of the English
language.
Exercise books
Main Pupil Activities
National Curriculum and GCSE AOs
•
Listening to Old English
•
Comparing Old English and
contemporary English/German
•
Translating Old English words
•
Group/class discussion
•
Work in pairs
•
Summarising
National Curriculum English Reading Objectives:
1.a.i; 2.a.
Topics Covered
•
Germanic/Frisian Languages
•
The Old English alphabet
•
Old English manuscripts
•
Anglo-Saxon poetry
•
Kennings
National Curriculum English Grammar and
Vocabulary Objectives:
1.c; 1.f.
GCSE English Language Objectives:
AO1
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Lesson 8 – Middle English
Included in this Pack
Learning Objectives
Additional Resources Required
Teaching Ideas
Lesson PowerPoint
Extract and Translation from
The Prologue – The Knight
Extract and Translation from
The Cook’s Tale
To understand the evolution of Middle
English.
Exercise books
Main Pupil Activities
National Curriculum and GCSE AOs
•
Making connections
between genres.
National Curriculum English Reading Objectives:
1.a.i; 2.a; 2.d.
•
Class/group discussion
•
Listening to Middle English
National Curriculum English Writing Objectives:
1.a.ii; 1.d.
•
Translating ME into
contemporary English
GCSE English Language Objectives:
AO1, AO5.
•
Creative writing
Topics Covered
•
Fairy story conventions
•
The Medieval era
•
Influence of invasion on English
•
English language timeline
•
Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales
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