A huge fleet of ships sailed to attack England — and met fire and a great storm.
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These are the new words for the Spanish Armada. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = D (a fleet) · 2 = C (a warship) · 3 = G (an invasion) · 4 = F (a sailor)
5 = A (a storm) · 6 = E (to sink) · 7 = H (to attack) · 8 = B (a coast)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
In the year 1588, two countries did not like each other: Spain and England. The King of Spain was Philip II. He was very rich and very powerful, and he was Catholic. The Queen of England was Elizabeth I. She was Protestant. So the two leaders had different religions, and they did not trust each other.
There were other problems too. English sailors, like Francis Drake, attacked Spanish ships and took their treasure. England also helped people who were fighting against Spain. King Philip was angry. He decided to make a big plan: he would send a huge fleet of ships to England, attack the country, and remove Queen Elizabeth.
The plan was simple. About 130 ships — the Armada — would sail from Spain to the sea near England. There they would meet a Spanish army. The ships would carry the soldiers across the water to England. Then the soldiers would march to London. Philip was sure that God wanted him to win. Unless something went very wrong, he thought, nothing could stop him.
1. Why did King Philip of Spain and Queen Elizabeth of England not trust each other?
2. What was Philip's plan for his fleet of ships?
1. They had different religions — Philip was Catholic and Elizabeth was Protestant. Also, English sailors attacked Spanish ships, and England helped people fighting against Spain.
2. He would send a huge fleet to England, carry an army across the water, attack the country, and remove Queen Elizabeth.
England knew the Spanish ships were coming. So the English made warning fires on the hills near the sea. When people saw the Armada, they would light the first fire. Then the next hill would see it and light its own fire. In this way, the warning could travel quickly across the country to London in one night.
The English ships were smaller than the Spanish ships, but they were faster. Queen Elizabeth went to talk to her soldiers. She told them she was not afraid, and that she would stay with them. The English sailors got ready to fight.
In July 1588, the Armada arrived. The big Spanish ships sailed together in a long line, close to each other, so the English could not break the line. For more than a week, the two fleets fought near the coast. The Spanish ships were big and full of soldiers, and they were dangerous if they got close. So the English stayed far away and used their faster ships and their guns. If the English stayed at a distance, they were safe. The fighting went on, but no one won — and the Spanish ships kept sailing.
1. How did the warning fires on the hills work?
2. Why did the English ships stay far away from the Spanish ships?
1. When people saw the Armada, they lit a fire on a hill. The next hill saw it and lit its own fire, so the warning travelled fast across the country to London.
2. The Spanish ships were big and full of soldiers and very dangerous close up. The English ships were smaller and faster, so staying far away and using their guns kept them safe.
The Spanish ships stopped near the coast of France to wait for their army. But the army was not ready. So the big fleet sat together in one place, close to the land. This was very dangerous. Unless the army came quickly, the Spanish ships were in great danger.
One night, the English had a clever idea. They took eight old ships and filled them with things that burn easily. Then they set the ships on fire and sent them, with the wind, straight into the Spanish fleet. The Spanish sailors were afraid. They thought the burning ships might explode. So they cut their ropes and sailed away fast, in all directions. Now the Spanish ships were not together any more, and the English attacked them. The smaller English ships won this battle.
Then the weather changed. The wind pushed the Spanish ships north, away from home, and the English ships blocked the way back. So the Armada had to sail the long way home: north around Scotland, then down past Ireland, and back to Spain. But terrible storms came. The wind and the sea threw many ships onto the rocks. Many ships sank, and thousands of men died. Of the 130 ships that left Spain, only about 65 came home. The invasion had failed. Small England had beaten the most powerful empire in the world — and people still talk about it today, more than 400 years later.
1. What did the English do with the eight old ships, and what happened next?
2. Why did so many Spanish ships sink on the way home?
1. They filled the ships with things that burn, set them on fire, and sent them into the Spanish fleet. The Spanish sailors were afraid and sailed away in all directions, so they were no longer together and the English attacked and won.
2. The wind pushed them the long way home, around Scotland and Ireland. Terrible storms threw the ships onto the rocks, so many sank and thousands of men died.
This story is full of conditions — things that had to be true for the plan to work. In English we often use if and unless to talk about conditions. They are very useful, but they are different.
Choose if or unless for each gap. Say the sentence out loud.
1. the army came quickly, the Spanish ships were in danger. (= they were safe only when the army came)
2. the English ships stayed close, they were in danger. (= staying close was dangerous)
3. The English were safe they stayed far away. (= far away = safe; close = not safe)
4. the storm came, many ships would survive. (= the storm stopped them surviving)
1. Unless (= if the army did not come quickly, the ships were in danger)
2. If (staying close → danger)
3. unless (= they were not safe if they did not stay far away)
4. Unless (= if the storm did not come, many ships would survive)
Make one short sentence with unless. Remember: unless already means "if not", so the verb stays positive.
1. If the wind did not change, the ships were trapped. →
2. If the army did not come, the plan would fail. →
3. If the weather did not stay calm, the ships would sink. →
1. Unless the wind changed, the ships were trapped.
2. Unless the army came, the plan would fail.
3. Unless the weather stayed calm, the ships would sink.
Choose if or unless, then read the short story out loud.
King Philip thought nothing could stop him God turned against him. the army was ready, the plan would work. England was safe the navy got weak. the storm had not come, the end of the story might be different.
unless (= if God did not turn against him) · If (the army is ready → the plan works) · unless (= England was safe if the navy did not get weak) · Unless (= if the storm had not come)
Tip: "unless" carries the "not". "If" just means "when this is true".
There is a real podcast about the Spanish Armada. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of The Spanish Armada" on Spotify.
Play on Noiser →Prefer Spotify? Open the show and find the Spanish Armada episode.
Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of the Spanish Armada in your own words. Use these steps to help you: Philip's big plan against England → the huge fleet sailing to England → the warning fires and the faster English ships → the burning ships at night → the Spanish ships running away → the great storm and the long way home.
Try to use if and unless, and some of the key words (fleet, warship, invasion, sailor, storm, sink, attack, coast).
England won partly because of clever ideas, and partly because of the storm. Do you think England won because of skill, or because of luck? Why? Can you think of a time when someone won a game or a fight more by luck than by skill?
Tell a story of your own. It can be about a plan, a journey, or a time when one small thing changed everything. Use if and unless to show what had to happen.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: