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Bright Lives English · Teacher sheet

Beatrix Potter: She Wrote a Letter to a Sick Little Boy… Then Peter Rabbit Was Born

Level A1 (Beginner) · Video 4:30 · 45-minute lesson

brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/beatrix-potter-peter-rabbit/

45-minute lesson plan

TimeStageWhat to do
0–3′Warm-upAsk the class: “Do you have a pet? What is its name? Do you like drawing?” Let a few students answer.
3–13′WordsPre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: pet, draw, rabbit, garden, farm. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example.
13–20′VideoPlay the video (4:30). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed.
20–28′ComprehensionWorksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?”
28–35′Grammarlove / like + verb-ing: to talk about things we enjoy doing. Show “She loved drawing animals.”, then do worksheet E together.
35–43′WorksheetStudents do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key.
43–45′SpeakingIn pairs: “Beatrix wrote a letter to make a sick boy happy, and it became a famous book. Did a small, kind thing ever make you very happy? What was it?”

Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.

Words and grammar

  • pet (noun): an animal that lives with you at home. “She had many pets in her room.”
  • draw (verb (drew)): to make a picture with a pencil. “She drew her pets again and again.”
  • rabbit (noun): a small animal with long ears. “She had a rabbit called Peter.”
  • garden (noun): a place near a house with flowers and vegetables. “Peter Rabbit ran into a garden.”
  • farm (noun): a place in the country with fields and animals. “Later, she bought a farm.”

Grammar: love / like + verb-ing — to talk about things we enjoy doing. “She loved drawing animals.”

Discussion questions

  1. Beatrix wrote a letter to make a sick boy happy, and it became a famous book. Did a small, kind thing ever make you very happy? What was it?
  2. What was the hardest moment in Beatrix Potter's story? What did Beatrix Potter do?
  3. Make two sentences about your own life with “love / like + verb-ing”. (From the story: “She loved drawing animals.”)

Student worksheet

Name: Date:

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. pet (noun)
  2. draw (verb (drew))
  3. rabbit (noun)
  4. garden (noun)
  5. farm (noun)
  6. picture (noun)
  7. sheep (noun (plural: sheep))
  8. lake (noun)
  1. a small animal with long ears
  2. a place near a house with flowers and vegetables
  3. to make a picture with a pencil
  4. a farm animal with thick wool
  5. a place in the country with fields and animals
  6. a drawing or a painting
  7. an animal that lives with you at home
  8. a big area of water with land all around it

B Complete the sentences from the story

rabbit · sheep · garden · farm · lake · pictures · drew · pets

  1. Peter Rabbit ran into a .
  2. She had a called Peter.
  3. Later, she had more than a thousand .
  4. She had many in her room.
  5. Her farm was near a .
  6. Later, she bought a .
  7. She wrote a letter with .
  8. She her pets again and again.

C Did you understand?

  1. Beatrix went to a big school with many friends.True / False
  2. What was the name of her rabbit?
    1. Noel
    2. Benjamin
    3. Peter
    4. Tom
  3. Who was the letter for?
    1. Her teacher
    2. A sick little boy, Noel
    3. A book company
    4. Her brother
  4. The first book companies said yes at once.True / False
  5. What did she buy with her book money?
    1. A car
    2. A shop
    3. A school
    4. A farm

D Put the words in order

  1. animals / She / loved / drawing

E Grammar: love / like + verb-ing

We use it for to talk about things we enjoy doing. She loved drawing animals. · She loved working on the farm. · I like reading books.

Example from the story: She loved drawing animals.

  1. She loved her pets. (drawing / draw / drew)
  2. She loved on the farm. (working / work / works)
  3. Do you like books? (reading / read / reads)

F Your turn

Retell Beatrix Potter's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Answer key

A. 1g 2c 3a 4b 5e 6f 7d 8h

B. 1 garden · 2 rabbit · 3 sheep · 4 pets · 5 lake · 6 farm · 7 pictures · 8 drew

C. 1 False · 2 c · 3 b · 4 False · 5 d

D. 1 She loved drawing animals.

E. 1 drawing · 2 working · 3 reading

Transcript

A little boy was sick in bed.

A young woman sent him a letter about a rabbit.

Then the letter became a famous book.

This is the story of Beatrix Potter.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Pet. A pet is an animal that lives with you at home.

She had many pets in her room.

Draw. When you draw, you make a picture with a pencil.

The past is drew.

She drew her pets again and again.

Rabbit. A rabbit is a small animal with long ears.

She had a rabbit called Peter.

Garden. A garden is a place near a house with flowers and vegetables.

Peter Rabbit ran into a garden.

Farm. A farm is a place in the country with fields and animals.

Later, she bought a farm.

Now, one pattern: love and like.

After them, we can use a verb with -ing.

She loved animals.

She loved drawing animals.

Ready? Let's begin.

Beatrix Potter was born in London in 1866.

Her family was rich.

She did not go to school.

A teacher came to her house.

She did not have many friends.

But she had many pets in her room!

Mice, frogs, bats, lizards and rabbits.

She loved drawing animals.

She drew her pets again and again.

Later, as a young woman, she had a rabbit called Peter.

In 1893, a little boy, Noel, was sick in bed.

Beatrix wrote him a letter with pictures.

It was a story about four little rabbits.

In the story, Peter Rabbit ran into a garden.

A man ran after him!

Later, she wanted to make a book.

But many companies said no.

So she paid for it herself.

In 1901, she printed 250 little books.

Then a company said yes.

In 1902, thousands of people bought the book!

With her book money, she bought a farm in the Lake District.

She loved working on the farm.

Later, she had a lot of sheep, more than one thousand.

She died in 1943.

She gave her farms to the country, for everyone.

Children everywhere still love reading about Peter Rabbit.

Let's review. She had many pets in her room.

She drew her pets again and again.

She had a rabbit called Peter.

Peter Rabbit ran into a garden.

Later, she bought a farm.

And remember: she loved drawing animals.

Beatrix Potter's story teaches us: a small, kind letter can make the whole world happy.

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