Free Materials For ESL Teachers and Learners

English Newsroom

Learn English through news articles - complete lesson plans, including articles, listening, classroom activities, quiz questions and more!

David Holmes: The Strong Man Who Overcame Hardship

Try this article at a different level?

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)

πŸ“– Vocabulary:

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

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.

πŸ€” 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?

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man named Holmes, who did dangerous tricks for another actor in a magic movie, got very hurt. He can't move his body from his 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 for. David made a movie about his life to show people how to be strong when bad things . In his movie, David talks about how getting hurt made him even stronger. He the 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 who are hurt and teaches young people how to do safe tricks. He people who watch his movie to feel happy and know that they can get through hard times.

πŸ’¬ Discussion Questions:

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

πŸ“–πŸ’­ Vocabulary Meanings:

Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.

Words

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

Meanings

(A) A story that you watch on a screen
(B) A man's name
(C) Having a lot of power and not easily giving up
(D) In pain or injured
(E) Not old, but not a baby either
(F) To give assistance or support to someone
(G) People who like to spend time together
(H) Feeling good and joyful

πŸ”‘ Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened to David Holmes?
(a) He won a magic competition
(b) He became a famous actor
(c) He went on a vacation
(d) He got hurt doing tricks
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 friends
(c) His teachers
(d) His neighbors
4. Who is David's best friend?
(a) His mom
(b) His teacher
(c) The actor he did tricks for
(d) His neighbor
5. What did David make a movie about?
(a) His favorite food
(b) His life
(c) His favorite toy
(d) His favorite movie
6. What does David want people to feel when they watch his movie?
(a) Happy
(b) Sad
(c) Angry
(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

πŸ•΅οΈ True or False Questions:

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

πŸ“ Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Check your writing now with the best free AI for English writing!

Writing Questions:

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?

How about these other Level 1 articles?

Online
Class
Writing
Coach
β˜• 컀피 3μž” &
무료 ν”Όλ“œλ°±! πŸŽ“
β˜• 컀피 3μž” & 무료 ν”Όλ“œλ°±! πŸŽ“

X

[100% 온라인] λž­μ»€μŠ€ν„° λŒ€ν•™κ΅ μ˜μ–΄ 연ꡬ μ°Έμ—¬μž λͺ¨μ§‘
λ³„λ„μ˜ μ°Έκ°€λΉ„ 없이 영ꡭ λŒ€ν•™ 연ꡬ에 도움도 μ£Όμ‹œκ³ , 무료 μ˜μ–΄ μ‹€μ „ μ—°μŠ΅κ³Ό ν”Όλ“œλ°±λ„ λ°›μ•„λ³΄μ„Έμš”!

영ꡭ λž­μ»€μŠ€ν„° λŒ€ν•™κ΅(Lancaster University)μ—μ„œ ν•œκ΅­μΈ μ˜μ–΄ ν•™μŠ΅μžλΆ„λ“€μ„ λŒ€μƒμœΌλ‘œ μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ 연ꡬ ν”„λ‘œμ νŠΈλ₯Ό μ§„ν–‰ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ „ κ³Όμ • 온라인으둜 μ§„ν–‰λ˜μ–΄ μ–΄λ””μ„œλ“  νŽΈν•˜κ²Œ μ°Έμ—¬ν•˜μ‹€ 수 μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ—¬λŸ¬λΆ„μ˜ μ†Œμ€‘ν•œ μ°Έμ—¬λ‘œ ν•œκ΅­μΈμ˜ μ˜μ–΄ μ‚¬μš© 방식을 μ•Œμ•„λ³΄λŠ” ν₯미둜운 연ꡬ가 μ™„μ„±λ©λ‹ˆλ‹€.

🎁 μ°Έμ—¬ ν˜œνƒ:
– 원어민 μ—°κ΅¬μ›κ³Όμ˜ 1:1 νšŒν™” μ—°μŠ΅
– μ‹€μ „ μ˜μž‘ μ—°μŠ΅ & λ§žμΆ€ν˜• μ˜μ–΄ ν”Όλ“œλ°± 리포트
– 컀피 κΈ°ν”„ν‹°μ½˜ 총 3μž” μ„ λ¬Ό! (첫 μ„Έμ…˜ ν›„ 1μž”, λ§ˆμ§€λ§‰ μ„Έμ…˜ μ™„λ£Œ ν›„ 2μž” 더 λ“œλ €μš”! β˜•β˜•)

πŸ“… μ°Έμ—¬ 방식: 총 2회의 온라인 μ„Έμ…˜ (Zoom 등을 이용, 각 μ„Έμ…˜λ‹Ή μ•½ 60~80λΆ„ μ†Œμš”) λ§ν•˜κΈ°μ™€ μ“°κΈ° ν™œλ™μ΄ μ„žμ—¬ μžˆμ–΄ λΆ€λ‹΄ 없이 즐겁게 μ°Έμ—¬ν•˜μ‹€ 수 μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.

βœ… λŒ€μƒ: μ˜μ–΄ μ‹€λ ₯에 상관없이 μ°Έμ—¬λ₯Ό ν¬λ§ν•˜λŠ” 18μ„Έ 이상 ν•œκ΅­μΈ λˆ„κ΅¬λ‚˜

Feedback