The Reading / Listening - Metal Detecting - Level 3

The British Museum in the U.K. has reported record levels of historical discoveries this year. People have found more than 47,000 objects with metal detectors. Metal detecting is a big hobby in the U.K. Many people go out in the countryside to try and find old coins and other treasure. This year, more people have been metal detecting. This is because of the coronavirus. Metal detecting is a good hobby that means social distancing is very easy. People have been recording their finds on an app on the British Museum's website. The U.K. Culture Minister said: "It is brilliant to see the [app] growing from strength to strength during lockdown thanks to garden discoveries and digital reporting."

The British Museum said people have dug up many exciting and interesting things this year. Perhaps the best find among the new discoveries are two hoards of coins. One of the hoards contained 50 South African solid gold coins found 50 miles northwest of London. The other coin hoard contained gold coins and one silver coin featuring the British kings Edward IV and Henry VIII. Experts believe they were buried in the 16th century. Another find was an ancient Roman furniture fitting made of copper. It featured the face of the god Oceanus and dates to AD 43-200. The British Museum said the app, "ensures finds, important for understanding Britain's past, are not lost but instead recorded".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Metal Detecting - Level 0,  Metal Detecting - Level 1   or  Metal Detecting - Level 2

Sources
  • https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/lockdown-garden-archaeology-trnd/index.html
  • https://nypost.com/2020/12/11/british-gardeners-find-archeological-gems-during-quarantine/
  • https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/tudor-coins-0014657


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. TREASURE: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about treasure. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       British / museum / record / discoveries / hobby / countryside / treasure / brilliant /
       app / coins / gold / silver / ancient / furniture / face / important / understanding
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. TREASURE: Students A strongly believe it is very important to find ancient treasure to understand our past; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. MY COUNTRY'S PAST: What do you know about your country 1,000 years ago? What do you want to know? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What I Know

What I Want To Know

Food

 

 

Archaeology

 

 

Music

 

 

Literature

 

 

Fashion

 

 

Technology

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. METAL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "metal". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. HISTORICAL TIMES: Rank these with your partner. Put the most interesting historical times at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • 20th century
  • 19th century
  • 18th century
  • 17th century
  • 10th century
  • 1st century
  • The Stone Age
  • The age of the dinosaurs

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. record a. A quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects.
      2. historical b. The action or process of discovering or being found for the first time.
      3. discovery c. Belonging to the past, not the present.
      4. countryside d. The state of telling people to stay at home and not go out during a pandemic.
      5. treasure e. The best performance or best event of its kind.
      6. brilliant f. The land and scenery of a rural area.
      7. lockdown g. Really, really great.

    Paragraph 2

      8. dug up h. A person who has a lot of knowledge of or skill in a particular area.
      9. hoard i. Find out when something happened or started.
      10. solid j. Large movable equipment, such as tables and chairs, used to make a house, office, or other space suitable for living or working.
      11. expert k. A store of old coins or other valuable things.
      12. furniture l. Gone by in time and no longer existing; history.
      13. date m. Took something out that was under the ground.
      14. past n. Consisting of the same substance all the way through.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. A man in the U.K. found 47,000 historical objects.     T / F
  2. Metal detecting is a popular hobby in the U.K.     T / F
  3. Coronavirus has increased the popularity of metal detecting.     T / F
  4. The U.K. Culture Minister said a discovery was brilliant.     T / F
  5. The article says the best finds were probably two hoards of coins.     T / F
  6. A silver coin was found with the face of a British queen on it.     T / F
  7. A furniture fitting was found with a picture of the god Oceanus on it.     T / F
  8. The British Museum said it is important to understand the UK's future.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. discoveries
  2. treasure
  3. hobby
  4. recording
  5. brilliant
  6. dug out
  7. contained
  8. ancient
  9. ensures
  10. past
  1. makes certain
  2. noting
  3. included
  4. excellent
  5. very old
  6. riches
  7. history
  8. finds
  9. excavated
  10. leisure activity

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. record levels
  2. People have found more
  3. Metal detecting is a big
  4. social
  5. growing from strength
  6. Perhaps the best find among
  7. solid gold
  8. Experts believe they were buried
  9. ancient Roman
  10. important for understanding Britain's
  1. distancing
  2. hobby in the U.K.
  3. past
  4. to strength
  5. in the 16th century
  6. of historical discoveries
  7. furniture
  8. coins
  9. than 47,000 objects
  10. the new discoveries

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
website
social
digital
objects
strength
levels
app
treasure

The British Museum in the U.K. has reported record (1) _____________________ of historical discoveries this year. People have found more than 47,000 (2) _____________________ with metal detectors. Metal detecting is a big hobby in the U.K. Many people go out in the countryside to try and find old coins and other (3) _____________________. This year, more people have been metal detecting. This is because of the coronavirus. Metal detecting is a good hobby that means (4) _____________________ distancing is very easy. People have been recording their finds on an (5) _____________________ on the British Museum's (6) _____________________. The U.K. Culture Minister said: "It is brilliant to see the [app] growing from (7) _____________________ to strength during lockdown thanks to garden discoveries and (8) _____________________ reporting."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
buried
instead
northwest
furniture
dug
featuring
among
app

The British Museum said people have (9) _____________________ up many exciting and interesting things this year. Perhaps the best find (10) _____________________ the new discoveries are two hoards of coins. One of the hoards contained 50 South African solid gold coins found 50 miles (11) _____________________ of London. The other coin hoard contained gold coins and one silver coin (12) _____________________ the British kings Edward IV and Henry VIII. Experts believe they were (13) _____________________ in the 16th century. Another find was an ancient Roman (14) _____________________ fitting made of copper. It featured the face of the god Oceanus and dates to AD 43-200. The British Museum said the (15) _____________________, "ensures finds, important for understanding Britain's past, are not lost but (16) _____________________ recorded".

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) The British Museum in the U.K. has reported record levels of ______
     a.  historical discover seas
     b.  historical discovery
     c.  historical discoveries
     d.  history call discoveries
2)  People have found more than 47,000 objects with ______
     a.  metallic detectors
     b.  meet all detectors
     c.  metal detectors
     d.  met all detractors
3)  people go out in the countryside to try and find old coins ______
     a.  and others treasure
     b.  and other treasure
     c.  and another treasure
     d.  end other treasure
4)  Metal detecting is a good hobby that means social distancing ______
     a.  is very easily
     b.  is very easy
     c.  is verily easy
     d.  is verily easily
5)  brilliant to see the [app] growing from strength to strength ______
     a.  during locks down
     b.  daring lockdown
     c.  during lockdown
     d.  during locked down

6)  The British Museum said people have dug up many exciting ______
     a.  and interest in things
     b.  and interesting thing
     c.  end interest in things
     d.  end interesting things
7)  Perhaps the best find among the new discoveries are two ______
     a.  hoards of coins
     b.  boards of coins
     c.  heads of coins
     d.  herds of coins
8)  The other coin hoard contained gold coins and one silver coin ______ British kings
     a.  feature in the
     b.  feature ring the
     c.  featuring in the
     d.  featuring the
9)  Experts believe they were buried in ______
     a.  the 16th centuries
     b.  the 16 century
     c.  the 16 centuries
     d.  the 16th century
10)  It featured the face of the god Oceanus ______ AD 43-200
     a.  and dates to
     b.  and days to
     c.  and date to
     d.  and updates to

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The British Museum in the U.K. has reported (1) ____________________ historical discoveries this year. People have found more than 47,000 objects (2) ____________________. Metal detecting is a big hobby in the U.K. Many people go out in the countryside to try and find old coins (3) ____________________. This year, more people have been metal detecting. This is because of the coronavirus. Metal detecting is a good hobby that means (4) ____________________ very easy. People have been recording their finds on an app on the British Museum's website. The U.K. Culture Minister said: "It (5) ____________________ see the [app] growing from strength to strength during lockdown thanks to garden discoveries (6) ____________________."

The British Museum said people (7) ____________________ many exciting and interesting things this year. Perhaps the (8) ____________________ the new discoveries are two hoards of coins. One of the hoards contained 50 South African (9) ____________________ found 50 miles northwest of London. The other coin hoard contained gold coins and one silver coin featuring the British kings Edward IV and Henry VIII. (10) ____________________ were buried in the 16th century. Another find was an ancient Roman furniture fitting made of copper. It (11) ____________________ of the god Oceanus and dates to AD 43-200. The British Museum said the app, "ensures finds, important for understanding Britain's past, are not lost (12) ____________________".

Comprehension questions

  1. How many historical discoveries were there?
  2. What does the article say is a big hobby in the UK?
  3. Why has metal detecting increased in popularity?
  4. What does metal detecting make it easy to do?
  5. How did a UK minister say an app was growing?
  6. How many hoards of coins were found?
  7. How many South African coins were found?
  8. How many British kings were mentioned in the article?
  9. What was an ancient Roman furniture fitting made of?
  10. What does the British Museum say the finds can help us understand?

Multiple choice quiz

1) How many historical discoveries were there?
a) exactly 47,000
b) less than 47,000
c) around 47,000
d) more than 47,000
2) What does the article say is a big hobby in the UK?
a) treasure hunting
b) metal detecting
c) walking in the countryside
d) coin collecting
3) Why has metal detecting increased in popularity?
a) there are more gold coins
b) cheaper equipment
c) metal is popular
d) coronavirus
4) What does metal detecting make it easy to do?
a) walk in the countryside
b) get rich
c) social distance
d) find lost keys
5) How did a UK minister say an app was growing?
a) from record to record
b) from height to height
c) from here to there
d) from strength to strength

6) How many hoards of coins were found?
a) 4
b) 3
c) 2
d) 1
7) How many South African coins were found?
a) 50
b) 60
c) 70
d) 80
8) How many British kings were mentioned in the article?
a) 4
b) 3
c) 2
d) 1
9) What was an ancient Roman furniture fitting made of?
a) silver
b) copper
c) gold
d) iron
10) What does the British Museum say the finds can help us understand?
a) Britain's past
b) coins
c) metal detectors
d) gods

Role play

Role  A – 20th Century
You think the 20th century is the most interesting period of history. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their periods. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): 19th century, the Stone Age or the age of the dinosaurs.

Role  B – 19th Century
You think the 19th century is the most interesting period of history. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their periods. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): 20th century, the Stone Age or the age of the dinosaurs.

Role  C – The Stone Age
You think the Stone Age is the most interesting period of history. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their periods. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): 19th century, 20th century or the age of the dinosaurs.

Role  D – The Age Of The Dinosaurs
You think the age of the dinosaurs is the most interesting period of history. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their periods. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): 19th century, the Stone Age or 20th century.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'museum'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'coin'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • record
    • big
    • countryside
    • social
    • recording
    • growing
    • dug
    • best
    • other
    • buried
    • face
    • lost

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Metal Detecting

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'coin'?
    3. What do you think of museums?
    4. What is your favourite museum?
    5. What do you think of metal detecting?
    6. Have you ever found something valuable?
    7. What do you like to do in the countryside?
    8. How important are historical discoveries?
    9. What treasure do you like?
    10. Would you like to visit the British Museum?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'museum'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Would you like to go digging for old things?
    5. Who should keep the old coins?
    6. What do you know about British kings?
    7. What parts of your country's history are you interested in?
    8. What do you think life was like in AD43?
    9. How important is it to record the past?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the metal detectors?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    The British Museum in the U.K. has (1) ____ record levels of historical discoveries this year. People have (2) ____ more than 47,000 objects with metal detectors. Metal detecting is a big hobby in the U.K. Many people go out (3) ____ the countryside to try and find old coins and other treasure. This year, more people have been metal detecting. This is (4) ____ of the coronavirus. Metal detecting is a good hobby that means social distancing is very easy. People have been recording their finds (5) ____ an app on the British Museum's website. The U.K. Culture Minister said: "It is brilliant to see the [app] growing from (6) ____ to strength during lockdown thanks to garden discoveries and digital reporting."

    The British Museum said people have dug (7) ____ many exciting and interesting things this year. Perhaps the best find among the new discoveries are two hoards of coins. One of the hoards (8) ____ 50 South African solid gold coins found 50 miles northwest of London. The other coin hoard contained gold coins and one silver coin (9) ____ the British kings Edward IV and Henry VIII. Experts believe they were buried (10) ____ the 16th century. Another find was an ancient Roman furniture fitting made of copper. It featured the face of the god Oceanus and (11) ____ to AD 43-200. The British Museum said the app, "ensures finds, important for understanding Britain's past, are not lost but (12) ____ recorded".

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     report     (b)     reports     (c)     reporting     (d)     reported    
    2. (a)     fund     (b)     fend     (c)     find     (d)     found    
    3. (a)     on     (b)     in     (c)     at     (d)     of    
    4. (a)     due     (b)     however     (c)     because     (d)     thus    
    5. (a)     on     (b)     in     (c)     at     (d)     as    
    6. (a)     strength     (b)     strengthen     (c)     strong     (d)     strongest    
    7. (a)     in     (b)     of     (c)     along     (d)     up    
    8. (a)     contained     (b)     contents     (c)     container     (d)     content    
    9. (a)     futures     (b)     featuring     (c)     fattening     (d)     fathering    
    10. (a)     of     (b)     at     (c)     in     (d)     to    
    11. (a)     years     (b)     calendars     (c)     dates     (d)     times    
    12. (a)     inside     (b)     instead     (c)     instep     (d)     instant

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. record levels of osicalhirt discoveries
    2. go out in the dtrionscuye
    3. lcisoa distancing
    4. edrgrocin their finds on an app
    5. It is lanrlbiti to see
    6. dialgti reporting

    Paragraph 2

    1. igtcxein and interesting
    2. two shdaor of coins
    3. they were buried in the 16th cntreuy
    4. ancient Roman ftrruniue
    5. It ufreetda the face of the god Oceanus
    6. not lost but tesdani recorded

    Put the text back together

    (...)  year, more people have been metal detecting. This is because of the coronavirus. Metal detecting is a good hobby that means social
    (...)  for understanding Britain's past, are not lost but instead recorded".
    (...)  in the U.K. Many people go out in the countryside to try and find old coins and other treasure. This
    (...)  find was an ancient Roman furniture fitting made of copper. It featured the face of the god
    (  1  ) The British Museum in the U.K. has reported record levels of historical discoveries this year. People have
    (...)  distancing is very easy. People have been recording their finds on an app on the British Museum's
    (...)  northwest of London. The other coin hoard contained gold coins and one silver coin featuring the British
    (...)  to strength during lockdown thanks to garden discoveries and digital reporting."
    (...)  website. The U.K. Culture Minister said: "It is brilliant to see the [app] growing from strength
    (...)  found more than 47,000 objects with metal detectors. Metal detecting is a big hobby
    (...)  The British Museum said people have dug up many exciting and interesting things this year. Perhaps the best find among
    (...)  Oceanus and dates to AD 43-200. The British Museum said the app, "ensures finds, important
    (...)  kings Edward IV and Henry VIII. Experts believe they were buried in the 16th century. Another
    (...)  the new discoveries are two hoards of coins. One of the hoards contained 50 South African solid gold coins found 50 miles

    Put the words in the right order

    1. 47,000   found   objects   .   than   more   People   have
    2. countryside   .   go   in   people   the   Many   out
    3. more   year,   have   This   metal   people   been   detecting   .
    4. app   .   have   People   an   recorded   finds   their   on
    5. from   the   strength   app   See   growing   to   strength   .
    6. things   .   have   dug   and   People   up   interesting   exciting
    7. the   new   best   The   discoveries   .   find   among
    8. hoard   other   coin   The   gold   contained   coins   .
    9. 16th   were   coins   in   The   the   buried   century   .
    10. the   god   Oceanus   .   the   featured   face   It   of

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The British Museum in the U.K. has repeated / reported record levels of historical discoveries this year. People have fund / found more than 47,000 objects with metal detectors / detects. Metal detecting is a big hobby in the U.K. Many people go out in / at the countryside to try and find old coins and other treasure. This year, more people have being / been metal detecting. This is because of the coronavirus. Metal detecting is a well / good hobby that means social distancing is very easily / easy. People have been recording their finds on an app on / in the British Museum's website. The U.K. Culture Minister said: "It is brilliant to see the [app] growth / growing from strength to strength during lockdown thanks / pleases to garden discoveries and digital reporting."

    The British Museum said people have dug / dig up many exciting and interesting things this year. Perhaps the best find among / between the new discoveries are two hoards / boards of coins. One of the hoards contained 50 South African sold / solid gold coins found 50 miles northwest of London. The other coin hoard contents / contained gold coins and one silver coin featuring the British kings Edward IV and Henry VIII. Experts / Expats believe they were buried in the 16th century / country. Another find was an ancient Roman furniture fitting make / made of copper. It featured the face of the god Oceanus and dates to / of AD 43-200. The British Museum said the app, "ensures finds, important for understanding Britain's past, are not lost but instead / prefer recorded".

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    Th_  Br_t_sh  M_s__m  _n  th_  _.K.  h_s  r_p_rt_d  r_c_rd  l_v_ls  _f  h_st_r_c_l  d_sc_v_r__s  th_s  y__r.  P__pl_  h_v_  f__nd  m_r_  th_n  47,000  _bj_cts  w_th  m_t_l  d_t_ct_rs.  M_t_l  d_t_ct_ng  _s  _  b_g  h_bby  _n  th_  _.K.  M_ny  p__pl_  g_  __t  _n  th_  c__ntrys_d_  t_  try  _nd  f_nd  _ld  c__ns  _nd  _th_r  tr__s_r_.  Th_s  y__r,  m_r_  p__pl_  h_v_  b__n  m_t_l  d_t_ct_ng.  Th_s  _s  b_c__s_  _f  th_  c_r_n_v_r_s.  M_t_l  d_t_ct_ng  _s  _  g__d  h_bby  th_t  m__ns  s_c__l  d_st_nc_ng  _s  v_ry  __sy.  P__pl_  h_v_  b__n  r_c_rd_ng  th__r  f_nds  _n  _n  _pp  _n  th_  Br_t_sh  M_s__m's  w_bs_t_.  Th_  _.K.  C_lt_r_  M_n_st_r  s__d:  "_t  _s  br_ll__nt  t_  s__  th_  [_pp]  gr_w_ng  fr_m  str_ngth  t_  str_ngth  d_r_ng  l_ckd_wn  th_nks  t_  g_rd_n  d_sc_v_r__s  _nd  d_g_t_l  r_p_rt_ng."

    Th_  Br_t_sh  M_s__m  s__d  p__pl_  h_v_  d_g  _p  m_ny  _xc_t_ng  _nd  _nt_r_st_ng  th_ngs  th_s  y__r.  P_rh_ps  th_  b_st  f_nd  _m_ng  th_  n_w  d_sc_v_r__s  _r_  tw_  h__rds  _f  c__ns.  _n_  _f  th_  h__rds  c_nt__n_d  50  S__th  _fr_c_n  s_l_d  g_ld  c__ns  f__nd  50  m_l_s  n_rthw_st  _f  L_nd_n.  Th_  _th_r  c__n  h__rd  c_nt__n_d  g_ld  c__ns  _nd  _n_  s_lv_r  c__n  f__t_r_ng  th_  Br_t_sh  k_ngs  _dw_rd  _V  _nd  H_nry  V___.  _xp_rts  b_l__v_  th_y  w_r_  b_r__d  _n  th_  16th  c_nt_ry.  _n_th_r  f_nd  w_s  _n  _nc__nt  R_m_n  f_rn_t_r_  f_tt_ng  m_d_  _f  c_pp_r.  _t  f__t_r_d  th_  f_c_  _f  th_  g_d  _c__n_s  _nd  d_t_s  t_  _D  43-200.  Th_  Br_t_sh  M_s__m  s__d  th_  _pp,  "_ns_r_s  f_nds,  _mp_rt_nt  f_r  _nd_rst_nd_ng  Br_t__n's  p_st,  _r_  n_t  l_st  b_t  _nst__d  r_c_rd_d".

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the british museum in the uk has reported record levels of historical discoveries this year people have found more than 47000 objects with metal detectors metal detecting is a big hobby in the uk many people go out in the countryside to try and find old coins and other treasure this year more people have been metal detecting this is because of the coronavirus metal detecting is a good hobby that means social distancing is very easy people have been recording their finds on an app on the british museums website the uk culture minister said it is brilliant to see the app growing from strength to strength during lockdown thanks to garden discoveries and digital reporting

    the british museum said people have dug up many exciting and interesting things this year perhaps the best find among the new discoveries are two hoards of coins one of the hoards contained 50 south african solid gold coins found 50 miles northwest of london the other coin hoard contained gold coins and one silver coin featuring the british kings edward iv and henry viii experts believe they were buried in the 16th century another find was an ancient roman furniture fitting made of copper it featured the face of the god oceanus and dates to ad 43200 the british museum said the app ensures finds important for understanding britains past are not lost but instead recorded

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    TheBritishMuseumintheU.K.hasreportedrecordlevelsofhistoricaldis
    coveriesthisyear.Peoplehavefoundmorethan47,000objectswithmet
    aldetectors.MetaldetectingisabighobbyintheU.K.Manypeoplegoouti
    nthecountrysidetotryandfindoldcoinsandothertreasure.Thisyear,m
    orepeoplehavebeenmetaldetecting.Thisisbecauseofthecoronavirus.
    Metaldetectingisagoodhobbythatmeanssocialdistancingisveryeasy.
    PeoplehavebeenrecordingtheirfindsonanappontheBritishMuseum's
    website.TheU.K.CultureMinistersaid:"Itisbrillianttoseethe[app]gro
    wingfromstrengthtostrengthduringlockdownthankstogardendiscov
    eriesanddigitalreporting."TheBritishMuseumsaidpeoplehavedugup
    manyexcitingandinterestingthingsthisyear.Perhapsthebestfindamo
    ngthenewdiscoveriesaretwohoardsofcoins.Oneofthehoardscontain
    ed50SouthAfricansolidgoldcoinsfound50milesnorthwestofLondon.T
    heothercoinhoardcontainedgoldcoinsandonesilvercoinfeaturingthe
    BritishkingsEdwardIVandHenryVIII.Expertsbelievetheywereburiedi
    nthe16thcentury.AnotherfindwasanancientRomanfurniturefittingm
    adeofcopper.ItfeaturedthefaceofthegodOceanusanddatestoAD43-
    200.TheBritishMuseumsaidtheapp,"ensuresfinds,importantforunde
    rstandingBritain'spast,arenotlostbutinsteadrecorded".

    Free writing

    Write about metal detecting for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    Finding things from the past is very important. Discuss.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. TREASURE: Make a poster about treasure. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. NATIONAL HISTORY: Write a magazine article about all historical treasure people find belonging to the nation and not the finder. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on treasure. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on what to do with ancient treasure that people find. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Back to the top

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You