The mysterious green children of Woolpit

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Elementary A2

PDF: The mysterious green children of Woolpit

Warm-up

Do you know any English folk stories? (Yes, I know... / No, I don't think so.)

Vocabulary Match

raw -   - small town
village -   - showed up
weird -   - not so strong
tale -   - cows, etc.
cattle -   - strange
appeared -   - uncooked
faded -   - story

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

In the 12th century, something strange happened in the English ________ of Woolpit. Two children, a boy and a girl, ________ near a field. They wore ________ clothes, spoke a language nobody understood, and their skin was green. They only ate ________ beans at first, but as time went on, they started eating other foods, and their green skin ________. Sadly, the boy became sick and died.

The girl, however, grew up, learned English and told her story. She said they came from a dark, green place. They heard a loud noise while looking after their father's ________, and then they were in Woolpit. The villagers didn't know if they should believe her, but the ________ of the green children has been told for hundreds of years. It's one of the most mysterious stories in English history.

Quiz

  1. What did the children eat at first?
  2. What language did the children speak?
  3. Where did the children come from?

True or False

  1. Something strange happened in the 21st century.  T  |  F
  2. The children appeared near a field.  T  |  F
  3. The girl grew up and became a famous writer.  T  |  F

Conversation

A: Hey, did you hear about those green kids that showed up in Woolpit?
B: Yeah, I heard they spoke a weird dialect that nobody could understand.
A: I wonder where they came from.
B: The girl said they came from a dark, green place.
A: That's so strange. And they only ate beans.

Discussion

  1. Do you believe the story of the green children?
  2. If you could time travel, which time period would you visit?
  3. Have you ever seen something mysterious or unexplained?
  4. What's the strangest food you have ever eaten?

True Story Answers

In the 12th century, something strange happened in the English village of Woolpit. Two children, a boy and a girl, appeared near a field. They wore weird clothes, spoke a language nobody understood, and their skin was green. They only ate raw beans at first, but as time went on, they started eating other foods, and their green skin faded. Sadly, the boy became sick and died.

The girl, however, grew up, learned English and told her story. She said they came from a dark, green place. They heard a loud noise while looking after their father's cattle, and then they were in Woolpit. The villagers didn't know if they should believe her, but the tale of the green children has been told for hundreds of years. It's one of the most mysterious stories in English history.

Vocabulary Answers

village → small town
appeared → showed up
faded → not so strong
cattle → cows, etc.
weird → strange
raw → uncooked
tale → story

Quiz Answers

  1. They only ate raw beans at first.
  2. They spoke a language nobody understood.
  3. They came from a dark, green place.

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. True
  3. False

Further Reading

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Green-Children-of-Woolpit/


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ESL Lessons: True Stories