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This teacher sheet opens with the lesson: 28 November 2026, 3:00 pm New York time. See the lesson map

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Bright Lives English · Teacher sheet

Diego the tortoise: Only 14 Were Left… Then One Old Tortoise Helped Save Them

Level B2 (Upper intermediate) · Video 5:43 · 45-minute lesson

brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/diego-tortoise-saved-his-species/

45-minute lesson plan

TimeStageWhat to do
0–3′Warm-upAsk the class: “Do you know an animal that is on the brink of extinction? What do you think people can do to help?” Let a few students answer.
3–10′WordsPre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: extinction, captivity, breeding, repatriate, descendant. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example.
10–17′VideoPlay the video (5:43). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed.
17–25′ComprehensionWorksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?”
25–33′Grammaron the brink of + noun: very close to something big — often something bad, like extinction, war or collapse. Show “The species was on the brink of extinction.”, then do worksheet E together.
33–40′WorksheetStudents do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key.
40–45′SpeakingIn pairs: “Diego was over 100 years old when he went home. Is it ever too late to make a big difference?”

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

Words and grammar

  • extinction (noun): when a type of animal dies out completely and none are left anywhere. “Sailors and goats pushed the tortoises towards extinction.”
  • captivity (noun): living in a zoo or another place made by people, not in the wild. “For decades, Diego lived in captivity in California.”
  • breeding (noun): keeping animals together so that they have young. “Scientists started a breeding programme on another island.”
  • repatriate (verb): to send someone back to the country or place they came from. “Young tortoises were repatriated to Española.”
  • descendant (noun): a person or animal that comes after you in your family: your children, their children, and so on. “All the tortoises on Española are descendants of just 15.”

Grammar: on the brink of + noun — very close to something big — often something bad, like extinction, war or collapse. “The species was on the brink of extinction.”

Discussion questions

  1. Diego was over 100 years old when he went home. Is it ever too late to make a big difference?
  2. What was the hardest moment in Diego the tortoise's story? What did Diego the tortoise do?
  3. Make two sentences about your own life with “on the brink of + noun”. (From the story: “The species was on the brink of extinction.”)

Student worksheet

Name: Date:

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. extinction (noun)
  2. captivity (noun)
  3. breeding (noun)
  4. repatriate (verb)
  5. descendant (noun)
  6. conservation (noun)
  7. hatchling (noun)
  8. enclosure (noun)
  1. living in a zoo or another place made by people, not in the wild
  2. a person or animal that comes after you in your family: your children, their children, and so on
  3. an area with walls or a fence around it where animals are kept
  4. keeping animals together so that they have young
  5. to send someone back to the country or place they came from
  6. a very young animal that has just come out of its egg
  7. protecting animals, plants and wild places so that they are not lost
  8. when a type of animal dies out completely and none are left anywhere

B Complete the sentences from the story

captivity · conservation · enclosures · hatchling · breeding · descendants · extinction · repatriated

  1. In 1991, scientists saw a born in the wild.
  2. Sailors and goats pushed the tortoises towards .
  3. For decades, Diego lived in in California.
  4. The tortoises lived in stone on Santa Cruz.
  5. Diego's story is one of the great stories of the Galápagos.
  6. All the tortoises on Española are of just 15.
  7. Young tortoises were to Española.
  8. Scientists started a programme on another island.

C Did you understand?

  1. In the 1960s, only 14 giant tortoises were left on Española.True / False
  2. Where was Diego living before he came back to the Galápagos?
    1. In a zoo in California
    2. On Española
    3. On a ship
    4. In a zoo in Ecuador
  3. Diego was the father of all the young tortoises.True / False
  4. Why did the 15 tortoises wait in quarantine before going home?
    1. So they would not carry seeds from Santa Cruz to Española
    2. Because they were sick
    3. Because the boat was broken
    4. Because Española was too cold
  5. How many tortoises live on Española today?
    1. More than 2,000
    2. About 15
    3. About 200
    4. None
  6. In June 2020, Diego was taken back to Española after more than 80 years away.True / False

D Put the words in order

  1. brink / species / extinction / the / on / of / was / The

E Grammar: on the brink of + noun

We use it for very close to something big — often something bad, like extinction, war or collapse. The species was very close to extinction. → The species was on the brink of extinction. · The programme was close to success. → The programme was on the brink of success.

Example from the story: The species was on the brink of extinction.

  1. In the 1960s, the tortoises were the brink of extinction. (on / in / at)
  2. The species was on the brink extinction. (of / to / from)
  3. By the 1990s, the programme was on the brink of . (success / succeed / successful)

F Your turn

Retell Diego the tortoise's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Answer key

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

B. 1 hatchling · 2 extinction · 3 captivity · 4 enclosures · 5 conservation · 6 descendants · 7 repatriated · 8 breeding

C. 1 True · 2 a · 3 False · 4 a · 5 a · 6 True

D. 1 The species was on the brink of extinction.

E. 1 on · 2 of · 3 success

Transcript

In the 1960s, only 14 giant tortoises were left on one Galápagos island.

One more lived far away, in a zoo in California.

Could 15 old tortoises give their species a future?

This is the story of Diego.

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

Extinction. Extinction is when a type of animal dies out completely, and none are left anywhere.

Sailors and goats pushed the tortoises towards extinction.

Captivity. An animal in captivity lives in a zoo or another place made by people, not in the wild.

For decades, Diego lived in captivity in California.

Breeding. Breeding is when people keep animals together so that they have young.

Scientists started a breeding programme on another island.

Repatriate. To repatriate means to send someone back to the country or place they came from.

Young tortoises were repatriated to Española.

Descendant. Your descendants are your children, their children, and everyone after them in your family.

All the tortoises on Española are descendants of just 15.

Now, one pattern: on the brink of, plus a noun.

It means very close to something big, often something bad.

The species was very close to extinction.

The species was on the brink of extinction.

Ready? Let's begin.

Española is one of the oldest islands in the Galápagos, and it is very dry.

Thousands of giant tortoises once lived there.

Their shells curve up at the front like a saddle, so they can stretch their necks to reach cactus.

Hundreds of years ago, sailors and whalers took them onto their ships as food, because a tortoise can live for months without eating.

Later, goats ate the cactus.

Sailors and goats pushed the tortoises towards extinction.

In the 1930s, a scientific expedition took one male from Española to California.

At first, people called him Macho.

Later, his name became Diego.

For decades, Diego lived in captivity in California.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, scientists searched Española.

There were only 14 tortoises left: 12 females and 2 males.

They lived so far apart that they had stopped having young.

The species was on the brink of extinction.

Scientists started a breeding programme on another island, Santa Cruz.

They collected the eggs and kept them warm.

In 1971, the first young tortoises hatched there and survived.

But the programme needed more males.

Scientists looked in zoos for tortoises from Española.

One was living in San Diego: Diego.

In the 1970s, after more than 40 years away, he came back to the Galápagos.

Now there were 15.

Young tortoises were repatriated to Española.

It happened once or twice a year.

By the 1990s, the programme was on the brink of success.

In 1991, scientists saw a hatchling born in the wild.

In 2016, scientists shared a DNA study.

Diego was the father of about 40 per cent of the young tortoises: about 800 of them.

But a quieter male, known only by a number, was the father of most of the rest!

In 2019, a count showed that the island could look after its tortoises without help.

In January 2020, after more than 50 years, the breeding programme ended.

The species was no longer on the brink of extinction.

There was one last job: to take the 15 old tortoises home.

First, they waited in quarantine, so they would not carry seeds from Santa Cruz to Española.

Then, on 15 June 2020, the 15 tortoises were taken back to Española.

Diego was over 100 years old.

He had been away for more than 80 years.

Now, he was home.

Each of the 15 got a small satellite tracker on its shell.

Today, more than 2,000 tortoises live on Española.

All the tortoises on Española are descendants of just 15.

Fifteen old tortoises gave their species a future.

Let's review. Sailors and goats pushed the tortoises towards extinction.

For decades, Diego lived in captivity in California.

Scientists started a breeding programme on another island.

Young tortoises were repatriated to Española.

All the tortoises on Española are descendants of just 15.

And remember: the species was on the brink of extinction.

Diego's story teaches us: it's never too late, and one old tortoise from a faraway zoo can change the whole story.

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