Tentative/planned timing

Contents/activities

1

Organizing. Greeting.

5

Warmer up activity

5

Homework checking/Review material of the previous lesson

1. What are the main economical sectors in Britain?

2. What is the main sector in British Industry?

3. What are the largest manufacturing concerns in Britain?

4. Which cities/areas are the centres of steel production?

1

Introducing the topic of the lesson – Today we are going to speak about the history of Great Britain.

20

Introducing the new material

Celts and Romans. The first inhabitants of Britain were the Celts. They crossed the English Channel many centuries before the Christian era. The Celts or Britons practised agriculture and dug up minerals such as tin, lead and gold. Their religion was Druidism and their priests, the Druids, were famous for their magic arts. Roman legions led by Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 BC. The Romans eventually conqyered much of the island and ruled it for almost 400 years. They built cities, country estates, bridges, and roads. The Romans could not control the entire island. In the northern part of Britain, in the area known today as Scotland, lived peoples called the Picts and the Scots. They resisted Roman rule and attacked Roman settlements in the south. To keep them out, Roman soldiers built great walls with forts and towers. The greatest monument they left is Hadrian’s Wall, between England and Scotland. The Romans also had difficulties in the area that they did rule. They could not win over the Celts. Most Celts lived in their own villages and were not interested in or influenced by the Roman culture. Roman rule in Britain began to crumble during the fourth century AD. This was because Roman soldiers were called home to defend the empire’s borders against the invasions by the Germans and the Huns.

The Anglo-Saxons. After the last legions left in 410 AD the island was gradually invaved by groups from northern Germany and Denmark called Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They were strong warriors and by the seventh century AD controlled most of the island. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes united to become the Anglo-Saxons. They built settlements, farmed the land, and set up several small kingdoms. The southern part of Britain soon became known as Angleland, or England. The people became known as the English. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain followed the Germanic religions. Pope Gregory I decided to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. In 597 AD he sent a mission of 411 monks to England under the leadership of the monk Augustine. By 700 AD, all England was Christian. The Pope was the head of the church. Many monasteries were built in England and they became centres of religion and culture. One of the monks, Bede, was a great scholar. He wrote the first history of the English people. Even though they accepted Christianity, the Anglo-Saxons kept much of their old culture. They told and retold old legends about brave warriors fighting monsters and dragons. One such legend was about a warrior named Beowulf. In the eighth century AD, it was written down as an epic poem called Beowulf which became known as the most important work of Anglo-Saxon literature.

The Hundred Years’ War. In the early 1300s, the English still held a small part of southwest France. The kings of France, who were growing more powerful, wanted to drive the English out. In 1337, the English king, Edward III, declared himself king of France. This angered the French even more. In 1339, the French and English fought the first in a long series of battles known as the Hundred Years’ War.

The Hundred Years’ War began when the English defeated the French fleet and won control of the sea. The English then invaded France. They defeated the French at the Battle of Crecy in 1347 and again at the Battle of Agincourt in 1417. By 1453, the English held only the French seaport at Calais, and the war came to an end.

The Wars of the Roses. Peace did not come to England after the Hundred Years’ War. In 1455, two noble families, York and Lancaster, began a srtuggle for the throne which lasted many years. The York symbol was a white rose, and the Lancaster symbol was a red rose. For this reason the struggle between York and Lancaster was called the Wars of the Roses. All rivalry between the Roses ended by the marriage Henry VII, the Lancastrian with Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, the Yorkist in 1485.

5

Practising the new material

1. When did the romans come to Britain?

2. How did the Roman way of life influence the life of Celts?

3. Are there any things in Britain to remind the people of the Romans?

4. Who is Bede?

5. What do you know about Beowulf?

6. When was the Hundred Years’ War?

7. What was the symbol of the York in the Wars of the Roses?

8. What was the symbol of the Lancasters?

9. What was the end of the rivalry between the Roses?

1

Evaluating the learners activity and knowledge of the lesson

3

Summarizing the whole material of the lesson

4

Homework giving

End-of-lesson activity

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