A man named David Holmes, who did dangerous tricks for another actor in a magic movie, got very hurt. He can’t move his body from his chest down because he hurt his neck. David is still happy and has many friends who help him feel better. One of his best friends is the actor he did tricks for. David made a movie about his life to show people how to be strong when bad things happen.

In his movie, David talks about how getting hurt made him even stronger. He tells the truth about how hard it is to live with his hurt back. David is thankful for his friends who love him a lot. His movie shows how much his friends help him. David works hard to help other people who are hurt and teaches young people how to do safe tricks. He wants people who watch his movie to feel happy and know that they can get through hard times.

Original news source: Harry Potter stuntman: Breaking my neck made a man of me (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Prepare cards with verbs from the article such as “move,” “hurt,” “help,” “talk,” “show,” “work,” and “teach.” Divide the class into two teams. Students take turns drawing a card and acting out the verb without speaking. Their team has to guess the word within a time limit. This activity will help students associate actions with their corresponding English verbs.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Assign pairs of students the roles of a news reporter and David Holmes. Provide them with key vocabulary from the article such as “magic movie,” “tricks,” “hurt,” “friends,” and “strong.” The news reporter interviews ‘David’ about his accident and his life after it. Encourage them to use the vocabulary and to improvise additional questions and answers based on the article’s content.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Pose a question to the class: “What can we learn from David’s story?” Give students a minute to think about the answer on their own, then have them pair up with a partner to discuss their thoughts. After a few minutes, bring the class back together and ask pairs to share their ideas with the class. This activity encourages students to use English to express opinions and share personal reflections.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key nouns from the article on cards, such as “actor,” “magic,” “movie,” “neck,” “friends,” “strength,” and “tricks.” Divide the class into two teams. Students take turns drawing a card and sketching the word on the board without speaking or writing letters or numbers. Their team must guess the word, with correct guesses earning points. This game helps students learn and remember new vocabulary through visual association.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Ask students to imagine what David’s life might be like in the future based on the article. Encourage them to use the future tense to make predictions. For example, “In the future, David will continue to teach young people,” or “David’s movie will inspire many people.” Students can write down their sentences or share them with the class. This activity helps students practice constructing sentences in the future tense and reinforces their understanding of the narrative.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What did David Holmes do for another actor in a magic movie?
2. What part of David’s body got hurt?
3. Can David move his body now?
4. Who is one of David’s best friends?
5. What did David make about his life?
6. What does David teach young people?
7. What does David want people to feel when they watch his movie?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man named (1)______ Holmes, who did dangerous tricks for another actor in a magic movie, got very hurt. He can’t move his body from his (2)______ down because he hurt his neck. David is still happy and has many friends who help him feel better. One of his best friends is the actor he did (3)______ for. David made a movie about his life to show people how to be strong when bad things (4)______.

In his movie, David talks about how getting hurt made him even stronger. He (5)______ the (6)______ about how hard it is to live with his hurt back. David is thankful for his friends who love him a lot. His movie shows how much his friends help him. David works hard to help other (7)______ who are hurt and teaches young people how to do safe tricks. He (8)______ people who watch his movie to feel happy and know that they can get through hard times.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a friend?
2. How would you feel if you got hurt?
3. Do you like watching movies?
4. Do you think it’s important to have friends? Why or why not?
5. What makes you feel happy when you are sad?
6. How do you help your friends when they are hurt?
7. Do you think it’s good to be strong when bad things happen? Why?
8. What is a trick?
9. Do you like to learn new things? Why or why not?
10. How do you say “thank you” to your friends?
11. Can you tell me about a time you were brave?
12. Do you think movies can teach us things? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. David
2. hurt
3. movie
4. friends
5. strong
6. help
7. young
8. happy

Meanings:
(a) In pain or injured
(b) A story that you watch on a screen
(c) Feeling good and joyful
(d) Not old, but not a baby either
(e) People who like to spend time together
(f) A man’s name
(g) Having a lot of power and not easily giving up
(h) To give assistance or support to someone
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened to David Holmes?
(a) He won a magic competition
(b) He got hurt doing tricks
(c) He became a famous actor
(d) He went on a vacation

2. Where is David hurt?
(a) His arm
(b) His leg
(c) His head
(d) His neck

3. Who helps David feel better?
(a) His pets
(b) His teachers
(c) His neighbors
(d) His friends

4. Who is David’s best friend?
(a) His mom
(b) The actor he did tricks for
(c) His teacher
(d) His neighbor

5. What did David make a movie about?
(a) His life
(b) His favorite food
(c) His favorite toy
(d) His favorite movie

6. What does David want people to feel when they watch his movie?
(a) Sad
(b) Angry
(c) Happy
(d) Scared

7. What does David teach young people?
(a) How to do safe tricks
(b) How to play video games
(c) How to cook
(d) How to swim

8. What does David want people to know?
(a) They should never try tricks
(b) They should always be sad
(c) They can get through hard times
(d) They should never watch movies

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. David made a movie about his life to show people how to be strong when bad things happen.
2. A man named David Holmes got very hurt while doing dangerous tricks in a magic movie.
3. David is ungrateful for his friends who dislike him a lot and hinder him a lot.
4. David hurt his knee and now he can move his body from his chest down.
5. In his movie, David talks about how getting hurt made him even stronger.
6. One of David’s worst enemies is the actor he did tricks for in the movie.
7. David avoids working hard to help other people who are hurt and discourages young people from doing safe tricks.
8. David is still happy and has many friends who help him feel better.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What happened to David Holmes?
2. Can David move his body like before?
3. Who is David’s best friend?
4. What is David’s movie about?
5. What does David teach young people?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did David Holmes do for another actor in a magic movie?
David did dangerous tricks for another actor.

2. What part of David’s body got hurt?
David hurt his neck.

3. Can David move his body now?
No, he can’t move his body from his chest down.

4. Who is one of David’s best friends?
The actor he did tricks for is one of his best friends.

5. What did David make about his life?
David made a movie about his life.

6. What does David teach young people?
David teaches young people how to do safe tricks.

7. What does David want people to feel when they watch his movie?
David wants people to feel happy and know they can get through hard times.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) David
(2) chest
(3) tricks
(4) happen
(5) tells
(6) truth
(7) people
(8) wants
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. David
Answer: (f) A man’s name

2. hurt
Answer: (a) In pain or injured

3. movie
Answer: (b) A story that you watch on a screen

4. friends
Answer: (e) People who like to spend time together

5. strong
Answer: (g) Having a lot of power and not easily giving up

6. help
Answer: (h) To give assistance or support to someone

7. young
Answer: (d) Not old, but not a baby either

8. happy
Answer: (c) Feeling good and joyful
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What happened to David Holmes?
Answer: (b) He got hurt doing tricks

2. Where is David hurt?
Answer: (d) His neck

3. Who helps David feel better?
Answer: (d) His friends

4. Who is David’s best friend?
Answer: (b) The actor he did tricks for

5. What did David make a movie about?
Answer: (a) His life

6. What does David want people to feel when they watch his movie?
Answer: (c) Happy

7. What does David teach young people?
Answer: (a) How to do safe tricks

8. What does David want people to know?
Answer: (c) They can get through hard times
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. David made a movie about his life to show people how to be strong when bad things happen. (Answer: True)
2. A man named David Holmes got very hurt while doing dangerous tricks in a magic movie. (Answer: True)
3. David is ungrateful for his friends who dislike him a lot and hinder him a lot. (Answer: False)
4. David hurt his knee and now he can move his body from his chest down. (Answer: False)
5. In his movie, David talks about how getting hurt made him even stronger. (Answer: True)
6. One of David’s worst enemies is the actor he did tricks for in the movie. (Answer: False)
7. David avoids working hard to help other people who are hurt and discourages young people from doing safe tricks. (Answer: False)
8. David is still happy and has many friends who help him feel better. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧