Have you ever visited Stonehenge in the UK? It’s a fascinating place and is a really interesting topic to teach as a lesson with kids. This is a Stonehenge EFL ESL lesson plan for primary/elementary aged kids of about 8-12 years old. You could adapt it for a class of teenagers too without too many problems. It would be great as part of a larger project about the Stone Age or British history. The lesson will last about an hour to an hour and a half. However, you could add some more activities if you need a longer lesson. In the lesson we will learn about Stonehenge, prepare for an expedition and go on a fun adventure in our time machine to visit Stonehenge. Get ready for an exciting trip to the past, we’re going to Stonehenge!
For this Stonehenge EFL ESL lesson plan, you will need:
- Paper and markers for drawing
- Flashcards for a list of things to pack – something like this would be good or you could invent your own. You need a mixture of objects that are practical for travelling to the Stone Age and others that are not.
- Whiteboard or blackboard and markers or chalks
Songs and Videos for EFL ESL Stonehenge lesson plan
- The History of Stonehenge for Kids: Stonehenge for Children by FreeSchool
- Michael Rosen performs We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Walker Books – you’re not actually going to watch this video in class but you’ll use it as a base for one of your activities in the lesson.
Introduction – What is Stonehenge?
Begin your class with your usual Hello routine or, if you prefer, use one of my ideas for starting a lesson. Then start introducing your subject. As this is a lesson for older kids, some of them probably already know what Stonehenge is and some may have even visited it. Talk a little about what it is, how old it is and what it was used for. Then watch the video about the history of Stonehenge together and ask questions afterwards to make sure the class has understood the main points. Then tell them that we are going to travel through time to the Stone Age to visit Stonehenge.
What do we need to pack?
Ask the class what we need to travel to Stonehenge in the Stone Age and make a very quick list on the board. They will probably (hopefully) come up with things like a time machine, warm clothes, food, etc. When you’ve done a quick brainstorming, rub out what you’ve written and give out the flashcards. Go around the class asking questions: “Do we need a sleeping bag?”, or “Do we need warm clothes?”, “Do we need money?”, “Do we need a mobile phone?” and get the students to reply ” Yes, we do” or “No, we don’t”. Then do a quick mingle so that they can practice asking each other the questions with different objects. Once you’ve finished this, put the kids in pairs and ask them to come up with their packing list for their trip to Stonehenge.
Prepare your next activity
While the class is preparing their packing lists, you’ll need to get ready for your next activity. On the board, draw Stonehenge in the top left or right hand corner. In the bottom opposite corner, draw a time machine. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, just a drawing that the kids can recognize. Between the two, draw a pathway with lots of different obstacles. You could have a forest, a fallen tree, a mammoth, a sabre tooth tiger, a mountain, a group of hunters, a river; it’s really up to you. Make sure there are about 5 different obstacles and that they are something to do with the Stone Age. It should look something like this:
When you’ve done this, get the class back together to see what they’ve put on their packing lists and if the rest of the class agrees.
We’re going to the Stone Age!
We’ve packed our bags, got our time machine ready and now it’s time to travel back in time to the Stone Age. Show the class your map and the obstacles that they will find between the time machine and Stonehenge. Use lots of TPR to demonstrate each one. Then teach them over, under, through, around, again using lots of TPR.
Play a game
Choose one child to be each obstacle and place them around the classroom. With the rest of the class, walk around until you come to an obstacle. The child who is the obstacle has to say, “I’m a mammoth. How can you get past me?”. Let the kids decide whether they will go over, under, through or around and then do this for each obstacle.
Let’s go to Stonehenge!
It’s time for our expedition to Stonehenge. Make sure you’ve got enough space to do this standing up and walking around. We’ve arrived in the Stone Age and there are lots of obstacles to be faced on our path. We’re going to do this as a class story telling activity based on Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. So you will need to perform each line and action and then get the kids to copy you. They will get the hang of it pretty quickly and can then join in rather than repeating. These are the words I used.
We're going to the Stone Age.
We've got our time machine.
We're not scared!
Oh no! Look!
What is it?
It's a forest
We can't go over it.
We can't go around it.
We'll have to go through it!
(swishing sounds and actions of walking through a thick forest)
Do the same thing for each obstacle and make it as dramatic as possible with lots of actions and sound effects. Let the kids decide if you will go over, under, around or through, When you get past the last obstacle, point to Stonehenge and say “We’ve arrived! Hooray!!”. If you want, you can then do the same thing to go back to your time machine from Stonehenge, maybe giving a verse to each child or a pair of kids. Once you’re back at the time machine, it’s time to travel back to the present.
Conclusion
If you’ve still got some time at the end of the lesson, you could ask the kids to draw a map of their journey from the time machine to Stonehenge. They could use the same obstacles as you used or invent their own. Then finish the lesson with your usual Goodbye routine or use one of my favorite goodbye songs or routines.
If you’ve enjoyed this EFL ESL Stonehenge lesson plan, you can find more of my lesson plans for kids of all ages here. If you do any of my lesson plans with your class, I’ve love to hear how they go and if you changed anything or did something different that worked really well. You can keep up to date with all my articles on the GoogooEnglish Facebook page or sign up for email updates at the bottom of this article.