ACTIVITY SHEET (number) ____________ LEVEL _________
Before reading...
1. What do you think this text is about? Do you know the story of Guy Fawkes? Can you
explain it a bit?
2. Look at the first picture. What can you see? Have you ever seen a display like this before?
Where? When?
3. Now look at the fourth picture, which city do you think this picture is in? Have you ever
visited this city? If yes, did you like it? If no, would you like to go?
Bonfire Night
What is Bonfire Night?
On November 5th people across the UK
celebrate Bonfire Night.
There are small fireworks parties in back
gardens along with big organized displays in
public parks.
The reason we do it is because it's the
anniversary of an attempt to blow up the
Houses of Parliament led by a man called Guy
Fawkes.
Bonfires are lit all over the UK every November 5 It's called the Gunpowder Plot, and bonfires
are lit to burn the "Guy" - a kind of dummy that
represents Fawkes.
Reading in pairs
What was the Gunpowder Plot?
Guy (Guido) Fawkes led the Gunpowder plot in 1605.
It was a plan to blow up King James I and his
government. Fawkes and his group put 36 barrels of
gunpowder in cellars under the Houses of Parliament
in London, ready to set off a massive explosion.
One member of the group sent a letter to his friend Guy Fawkes (second from right) and the
who worked in Parliament, warning him to stay away conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot
on November 5th.
The King's supporters got hold of the letter
and the plot was rumbled!
Guards broke into the cellars where the
gunpowder plotters were waiting. They
were arrested, tortured and executed.
The Gunpowder Plot was about religion.
England was a Protestant country, and the
plotters were Catholic.
The plot was to blow up the Houses of Parliament
in London The group wanted to return England to the
Catholic faith. They thought they could do
this by killing King James I and his
ministers.
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Reading comprehension
1. Did you guess that the text explained a historical fact from the past? How did you know?
2. Did you guess the city that was involved in this text? How?
3. Choose the best option for each question:
Reading in pairs
Who was Guy Fawkes? Which was the main reason for the plot?
a) A king a) Ethnic differences
b) A terrorist b) Dissimilarities in religion
c) A protestant c) Ideological differences in politics
Who was James I? When is Bonfire Night?
a) A criminal a) In 1605
b) A protestant king b) December 5
c) A catholic king c) November 5
What did Guy Fawkes want to What can you do on Bonfire Night?
do? a) Burn a puppet that represents Guy
a) To eat a Christmas pudding Fawkes
b) To burn Buckingham Palace b) Play cards
c) To blow up the Houses of c) Watch a horror film
Parliament
Reading in pairs
4. What can you see in parks and gardens during Bonfire Night?
5. What was the thing that stopped the plot? Where have you found this information?
6. Do people in the UK celebrate Bonfire Night to commemorate Guy’s Fawkes idea of
blowing up the Parliament, or to rejoice that he couldn’t do it in the end?
7. Does Bonfire Night remind you of another celebration in Catalonia? Which one? Why do
we celebrate it?
Extra activities
1. On Bonfire Night, people in the UK have a big party and they eat typical food. Look for
information on the Internet and talk about it with your partner.
2. Look for information on the Internet about the historical period of the Gunpowder plot.
3. Learn a part of the Bonfire Night poem by heart and recite it to your partner:
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot.
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
Bonfire Night
Before reading…
TUTOR TUTEE
1. What do you think this text is about? I think it’s about…
2. Do you know the story of Guy Fawkes? Yes, I do.
No, I don’t.
3. Can you explain it a bit? Guy Fawkes was…
On Bonfire Night…
4. What can you see in this picture? I can see…
5. Have you ever seen a display like this before? Yes, I have…
No, I haven’t.
6. Where and when did you see it? I saw it in…
7. Which city do you think this picture is in? I think…
8. Have you ever been in this city? Yes, I have.
No, I haven’t.
9. Did you like it? Yes, I did.
No, I didn’t.
10. Would you like to visit it? Yes, I’d like to.
No, I wouldn’t like to.
Reading comprehension
Reading in pairs
TUTOR TUTEE
1. Did you guess that the text explained a historical Yes, I did.
fact from the past? No, I didn’t.
2. How did you know? Because…
3. Did you guess the city that was involved in this Yes, I did.
text? How? No, I didn’t.
Because I see…
4. Who was Guy Fawkes? He was a…
5. Who was James I? He was a…
6. What did Guy Fawkes want to do? He wanted to…
7. Which was the main reason for the plot? The main reason was…
8. When is Bonfire Night? It is…
9. What can you do on Bonfire Night? You can…
10. Which was the thing that stopped the plot? It was…
11. Where have you found this information? It was on the…paragraph
12. Do people in the UK celebrate Bonfire Night to They do Bonfire Night to…
commemorate Guy’s Fawkes idea of blowing up the
Parliament, or to rejoice that he couldn’t do it at the
end?
13. Does Bonfire Night remind you of another Yes.
celebration in Catalonia? No.
14. Which one? It reminds me to…
15. Why do we celebrate it? We celebrate it because…
Reading in pairs
