brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/christian-the-lion-reunion/
45-minute lesson plan
| Time | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3′ | Warm-up | Ask the class: “Do you have an old friend you have not seen for a long time? Do you think animals remember people?” Let a few students answer. |
| 3–13′ | Words | Pre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: lion, goodbye, remember, reunion, hug. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example. |
| 13–20′ | Video | Play the video (4:43). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed. |
| 20–28′ | Comprehension | Worksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?” |
| 28–35′ | Grammar | time + ago: to say how long before now something happened. Show “Over fifty years ago, they bought a lion.”, then do worksheet E together. |
| 35–43′ | Worksheet | Students do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key. |
| 43–45′ | Speaking | In pairs: “John and Ace loved Christian, but they let him go to Africa. When is saying goodbye the kindest thing to do?” |
Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.
Words and grammar
- lion (noun): a big wild cat from Africa; the male has long hair around his head. “Christian was a lion, but he lived in London.”
- goodbye (exclamation / noun): what you say when you leave someone. “In Kenya, the friends said goodbye to Christian.”
- remember (verb): to still know someone or something in your mind (past: remembered). “Christian remembered his old friends.”
- reunion (noun): a time when people (or animals) meet again after a long time. “It was a very happy reunion.”
- hug (verb): to put your arms around someone (past: hugged). “Christian jumped up and hugged them.”
Grammar: time + ago — to say how long before now something happened. “Over fifty years ago, they bought a lion.”
Discussion questions
- John and Ace loved Christian, but they let him go to Africa. When is saying goodbye the kindest thing to do?
- What was the hardest moment in Christian the lion's story? What did Christian the lion do?
- Make two sentences about your own life with “time + ago”. (From the story: “Over fifty years ago, they bought a lion.”)
Student worksheet
A Match the words to their meanings
- lion (noun)
- goodbye (exclamation / noun)
- remember (verb)
- reunion (noun)
- hug (verb)
- Kenya (noun)
- furniture (noun)
- department store (noun)
- to still know someone or something in your mind (past: remembered)
- things like tables, chairs and beds in a room
- a time when people (or animals) meet again after a long time
- a country in East Africa
- a very big shop that sells many different things
- a big wild cat from Africa; the male has long hair around his head
- what you say when you leave someone
- to put your arms around someone (past: hugged)
B Complete the sentences from the story
Kenya · department store · lion · remembered · furniture · hugged · reunion · goodbye
- John and Ace worked in a shop.
- Christian went to live in the wild in .
- They saw a lion cub in a big in London.
- Christian jumped up and them.
- In Kenya, the friends said to Christian.
- Christian was a , but he lived in London.
- Christian his old friends.
- It was a very happy .
C Did you understand?
- John and Ace bought Christian in a London shop.True / False
- Where did Christian play every afternoon?
- In a church garden
- At a zoo
- On a beach
- In a forest
- Who taught Christian to live in the wild?
- George Adamson
- John
- Ace
- Two actors
- When John and Ace came back, Christian ran away from them.True / False
- What happened in 2008?
- Millions of people watched the film online
- Christian came back to London
- John and Ace bought another lion
- Christian went to a zoo
D Put the words in order
- they / fifty / years / bought / Over / ago / lion / a
E Grammar: time + ago
We use it for to say how long before now something happened. They bought a lion in 1969. → Over fifty years ago, they bought a lion. · I came here in 2023. → I came here three years ago.
Example from the story: Over fifty years ago, they bought a lion.
- Over fifty years , they bought a lion. (ago / before / after)
- I saw my best friend three days . (ago / later / since)
- We moved here years ago. (five / for five / since five)
F Your turn
Retell Christian the lion's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Answer key
A. 1f 2g 3a 4c 5h 6d 7b 8e
B. 1 furniture · 2 Kenya · 3 department store · 4 hugged · 5 goodbye · 6 lion · 7 remembered · 8 reunion
C. 1 True · 2 a · 3 a · 4 False · 5 a
D. 1 Over fifty years ago they bought a lion.
E. 1 ago · 2 ago · 3 five
Transcript
In 1969, two young friends bought a lion cub in a London shop.
Later, they said goodbye to him in Africa.
Would he remember them?
This is the story of Christian the lion.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Lion. A lion is a big wild cat from Africa.
Christian was a lion, but he lived in London.
Goodbye. You say goodbye when you leave someone.
In Kenya, the friends said goodbye to Christian.
Remember. When you remember someone, you still know them.
Christian remembered his old friends.
Reunion. A reunion is when people meet again after a long time.
It was a very happy reunion.
Hug. When you hug someone, you put your arms around them.
The past is: hugged.
Christian jumped up and hugged them.
Now, one pattern: a time, plus ago.
It means: before now.
They bought a lion in 1969.
Over fifty years ago, they bought a lion.
Ready? Let's begin.
Over fifty years ago, two friends from Australia, John and Ace, saw a lion cub in a big London shop.
They bought him and called him Christian.
Christian was a lion, but he lived in London, in the furniture shop where John and Ace worked.
Every afternoon, he played football with them in a church garden nearby.
Christian grew fast, and soon he was too big for a shop.
Then two actors from the film Born Free came in.
They had an idea: Africa!
In 1970, Christian flew to Kenya.
There, a lion expert, George Adamson, taught him to live in the wild.
In Kenya, the friends said goodbye to Christian.
A year later, John and Ace went back to Kenya.
George said Christian was wild now.
Would he remember his old friends?
They waited near some big rocks.
Then a big lion walked out and stopped.
He looked at them.
Suddenly, he ran to them!
Christian jumped up and hugged them.
Christian remembered his old friends.
It was a very happy reunion.
The reunion was filmed over fifty years ago.
In 2008, millions of people watched the film online.
There were many more wild lions in Africa fifty years ago.
Today, Christian's story helps people care about them.
Let's review. Christian was a lion, but he lived in London.
In Kenya, the friends said goodbye to Christian.
Christian remembered his old friends.
It was a very happy reunion.
Christian jumped up and hugged them.
And remember: over fifty years ago, they bought a lion.
Christian's story teaches us: real friends do what is best for you, even when it means saying goodbye.
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