A farmer's son fights for his country's freedom. The real story is different — no kilts, no princess.
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These are the new words. Match each word (1–10) to its meaning (A–J). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = C (a soldier) · 2 = E (a sword) · 3 = G (a castle) · 4 = A (a king) · 5 = H (freedom)
6 = J (an army) · 7 = D (a battle) · 8 = I (to fight) · 9 = B (brave) · 10 = F (to die)
Mel Gibson's Braveheart (1995). Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one. (There are spoilers — that is fine, we want to talk about it. There is violence and sadness in this story; we tell it simply and calmly.)
Long ago, England's King Edward ruled Scotland with a hard hand. When William Wallace was a boy, English soldiers killed his father and his brother. His uncle raised him and taught him many things, including how to fight with a sword.
When William became a man, he wanted a quiet life. He fell in love with a woman from his village, Murron, and they married secretly. But soon, an English soldier tried to hurt Murron. She fought back, and the English soldiers killed her in front of everyone.
William was full of anger and sadness. He and the other men from his village attacked the English soldiers in the town and killed their leader.
1. What happened to William's family when he was a boy?
2. Why does William attack the English soldiers?
1. English soldiers killed his father and brother. His uncle raised him.
2. English soldiers killed his wife, Murron. He was angry and wanted to fight for justice.
News about William spread across Scotland. Many men joined him — farmers, not soldiers. At the Battle of Stirling, William's small army fought a much bigger English army. William's men won! The king's men made him a knight, and he became a leader of Scotland.
But not all the Scottish nobles supported William. At the Battle of Falkirk, some nobles took their soldiers away before the fighting started. William's army lost the battle. During the fight, William saw a knight on a horse. He fought him and took off his helmet. It was Robert the Bruce — a Scottish noble William trusted — fighting for the English!
1. What happens at the Battle of Stirling?
2. What goes wrong at the Battle of Falkirk?
1. William's small army defeats the bigger English army. He becomes a knight and a leader of Scotland.
2. Some nobles take their soldiers away and William's army loses. He finds Robert the Bruce fighting for the English.
For years, William fought the English alone, moving from place to place. He never accepted peace with the English king. He travelled to France, and there he met Princess Isabella. She began to respect him and, in the film, tried to help him.
One day, a Scottish noble told the English where William was, for money. English soldiers caught him. They took him to London and said he was a traitor — but William said this was not true, because he never promised loyalty to the English king. They killed him in public. Before he died, he shouted one word: "Freedom!"
Robert the Bruce watched this. After William's death, Robert finally decided to fight for Scotland. Years later, he led the Scots to a big victory that William never saw.
1. How is William caught by the English?
2. What does William shout before he dies, and what does Robert the Bruce do next?
1. A Scottish noble tells the English where he is, for money.
2. He shouts "Freedom!" Robert the Bruce decides to fight, and later he leads Scotland to victory.
This whole story happened a long time ago, so we need the past simple to tell it. Some verbs are regular; some are irregular and change their form completely.
Put the verb in brackets into the correct past simple form.
1. English soldiers (kill) William's father and brother.
2. William (marry) Murron in secret.
3. William's small army (win) the Battle of Stirling.
1. killed (regular)
2. married (regular)
3. won (irregular)
Use the correct irregular past form.
1. William (fight) the English for many years.
2. Robert the Bruce (become) the leader of Scotland later.
3. A Scottish noble (take) money to betray William.
1. fought
2. became
3. took
Fill each gap with the correct past simple form (regular or irregular). Then read it aloud.
William (grow) up in a small Scottish village. English soldiers (control) his country, and this (make) life very hard. William (not / accept) this, so he (lead) a rebellion against the English king.
grew · controlled · made · didn't accept · led
Notice: -ed verbs are regular; grew, made, led are irregular; and the negative uses didn't + base verb.
The film is based on a real man, William Wallace. But many famous parts of the film are not true.
The real Battle of Stirling was really the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297). The English army had to cross a very narrow bridge — only two men could cross at the same time. Wallace waited until half the English soldiers had crossed, then attacked. This bridge was the reason the Scots won! But the film does not show a bridge at all.
In the film, the Scottish soldiers wear kilts and blue face paint. But real Scottish soldiers in Wallace's time did not wear kilts — kilts came about 300 years later. And blue face paint was used by a different people, the Picts, about a thousand years before Wallace.
The film also shows a love story between Wallace and Princess Isabella of France. This is impossible: when Wallace was fighting, Isabella was only about two years old and lived in France. They never met. And Wallace himself was not a poor farmer — his family were small landowners, part of the lower nobility.
Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Braveheart in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a hard childhood and a secret marriage → Murron's death and revenge → victory at Stirling, then betrayal at Falkirk → years of fighting alone, capture, and "Freedom!"
Try to use some key words (soldier, sword, castle, king, freedom, army, battle, fight, brave, die) and the past simple.
William fights the English because of a personal loss, and it becomes a fight for his whole country. Do you think fighting against an unfair ruler is always right? Or is it sometimes wrong? Say why.
Talk about history and stories. Use the past simple.
Not sure what to say? Choose one: