The six boys that survived on an island

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: The six boys that survived on an island

Warm-up

Have you ever been to a small, uninhabited island?

Vocabulary Match

shelter •• steering part
permission •• floated
skipped •• missed
rudder •• house
rescued •• saved
drifted •• allowed

Vocabulary Answers

shelterhouse
permissionallowed
skippedmissed
ruddersteering part
rescuedsaved
driftedfloated

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

In 1965, six schoolboys in Tonga, aged 13 to 16, ________ school and took a small fishing boat without ________. They wanted to sail to Fiji or even New Zealand for an adventure. But a storm broke their sail and ________, and they ________ at sea for eight days with no food or water. Finally, they reached a small, empty island.

There, they survived by working together. They grew food, collected rainwater, built a ________, and kept a fire going. After 15 months, a fisherman saw smoke from the island and ________ them. Their families were shocked - they had thought the boys were dead. Amazingly, they were healthy and still good friends.

In 1965, six schoolboys in Tonga, aged 13 to 16, skipped school and took a small fishing boat without permission. They wanted to sail to Fiji or even New Zealand for an adventure. But a storm broke their sail and rudder, and they drifted at sea for eight days with no food or water. Finally, they reached a small, empty island.

There, they survived by working together. They grew food, collected rainwater, built a shelter, and kept a fire going. After 15 months, a fisherman saw smoke from the island and rescued them. Their families were shocked - they had thought the boys were dead. Amazingly, they were healthy and still good friends.

Quiz

  1. How did the boys sail on the sea?
  2. What broke during the storm?
  3. How long did they stay on the island?
  4. Who found the boys and rescued them?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. They took a small fishing boat without permission.
  2. Their sail and rudder.
  3. 15 months.
  4. A fisherman.

True or False

  1. The boys reached the island after two weeks at sea. T F
  2. They collected seawater, built a shelter, and kept a fire going. T F
  3. Their families had already given up hope. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. False
  3. True

Conversation

A:Can you believe we made it through 15 months here?
B:I know, right? I thought we'd never see home again!
A:Remember when we built that shelter? What a disaster at first!
B:Yeah, but it kept us dry, didn't it?
A:And that fire! I thought we'd never get it started.
B:Well, at least we'll never forget how to make one now!

Discussion

  1. What would you do first if you were on an island alone?
  2. Would you be scared to be on an island alone? Why?
  3. What food would you miss the most if you were on an island?
  4. If you could take three things to the island, what would you choose and why?

Further Reading

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months

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