brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/yuri-gagarin-first-in-space/
45-minute lesson plan
| Time | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3′ | Warm-up | Ask the class: “Would you like to go to space? Why or why not?” Let a few students answer. |
| 3–13′ | Words | Pre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: choose, capsule, around, parachute, land. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example. |
| 13–20′ | Video | Play the video (3:21). 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 | verb + around / over / down: to say how something moves. Show “He flew around the Earth.”, 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: “Yuri came from a small farm village. Can big dreams start in small places?” |
Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.
Words and grammar
- choose (verb): to take one from many. “They chose Yuri to fly first.”
- capsule (noun): a small room on a rocket for a person in space. “The capsule was very small.”
- around (preposition): in a circle. “The capsule went around the Earth once.”
- parachute (noun): a big cloth that helps you come down slowly from the sky. “He came down by parachute.”
- land (verb): to come down to the ground. “He landed in a field.”
Grammar: verb + around / over / down — to say how something moves. “He flew around the Earth.”
Discussion questions
- Yuri came from a small farm village. Can big dreams start in small places?
- What was the hardest moment in Yuri Gagarin's story? What did Yuri Gagarin do?
- Make two sentences about your own life with “verb + around / over / down”. (From the story: “He flew around the Earth.”)
Student worksheet
A Match the words to their meanings
- choose (verb)
- capsule (noun)
- around (preposition)
- parachute (noun)
- land (verb)
- cosmonaut (noun)
- space programme (noun)
- hometown (noun)
- in a circle
- a big cloth that helps you come down slowly from the sky
- to take one from many
- a small room on a rocket for a person in space
- the town where you were born or grew up
- a Russian astronaut
- a country's plan and work to send people and machines into space
- to come down to the ground
B Complete the sentences from the story
capsule · space programme · parachute · chose · hometown · cosmonaut · landed · around
- The capsule went the Earth once.
- Yuri Gagarin was a .
- Twenty pilots joined the .
- The was very small.
- They Yuri to fly first.
- He came down by .
- He in a field.
- His is now called Gagarin.
C Did you understand?
- Yuri landed inside the capsule.True / False
- What did he say when the rocket went up?
- Goodbye!
- Let's go!
- Help!
- Stop!
- Why did he fit in the capsule?
- He was very old
- He was a child
- He was short
- The capsule was big
- He was the first person in space.True / False
D Put the words in order
- He / Earth / the / flew / around
E Grammar: verb + around / over / down
We use it for to say how something moves. He flew around the Earth. · He looked down. · He came down by parachute.
Example from the story: He flew around the Earth.
- He flew the Earth. (around / down / under)
- He came by parachute. (down / around / up)
- The plane flew the village. (over / down / under)
F Your turn
Retell Yuri Gagarin's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Answer key
A. 1c 2d 3a 4b 5h 6f 7g 8e
B. 1 around · 2 cosmonaut · 3 space programme · 4 capsule · 5 chose · 6 parachute · 7 landed · 8 hometown
C. 1 False · 2 b · 3 c · 4 True
D. 1 He flew around the Earth.
E. 1 around · 2 down · 3 over
Transcript
A farm woman saw a man in an orange suit come down from the sky.
He said: don't be afraid.
Who was he?
This is the story of Yuri Gagarin.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Choose. When you choose, you take one from many.
They chose Yuri to fly first.
Capsule. A capsule is a small room on a rocket.
The capsule was very small.
Around. Around means in a circle.
The capsule went around the Earth once.
Parachute. A parachute helps you come down slowly.
He came down by parachute.
Land. To land is to come down to the ground.
He landed in a field.
Now, one pattern: around, over, down.
He flew around the Earth.
Ready? Let's begin.
Yuri Gagarin was born in a small farm village in Russia in 1934.
He loved planes.
He became a pilot.
Twenty pilots trained.
They chose Yuri to fly first.
He was short, so he fitted in the small capsule.
On 12 April 1961, he said, "Let's go!"
The rocket went up.
The capsule was very small.
He flew around the Earth.
He looked down and saw the Earth.
The capsule went around the Earth once, in less than two hours.
He came down by parachute.
He landed in a field.
He was the first person in space!
Let's review. They chose Yuri to fly first.
The capsule was very small.
The capsule went around the Earth once.
He came down by parachute.
He landed in a field.
And remember: he flew around the Earth.
Yuri Gagarin's story teaches us: big dreams can start in small villages.
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