Speaking Topics

Lets talk about HISTORY

Conversation cards
What is history? Work in group and make your own definition. Compare with others. Do/did you like History as a school subject? Explain why (not). What do you know about the history of your country? Give a brief overview. What do you know about world history? Name some important events.

Which period of history interests you most? How many periods from history can you name? According to you, what were the most important historical events of the last century? Work in group. Discuss. What are the most important historical sites in your country? Where are they and what can you see or do there? If you had a time machine, which period in history would you like to go back to? Why?

What are the most important events in your countrys history? What happened?

When was the last time you went to a history museum? Did you enjoy it? Who did you go with? Talk about it. Which historic figure would you most like to meet? Why? What would you ask him/her?

In your opinion, who were the most important figures in history? Explain.

Which recent event(s) might be called historic? Explain why.

Studying history is useless. Why waste time on things we cannot change anyway? Do you agree?

Imagine its the year 2100 and are asked to describe the history of the 21st century. What might have happened? Do you think History school books tell the same all over the world? Why or why not? Brainstorm and discuss.

Which historical films have you seen? Talk about one. Have you read any historical novels?

We learn from history that we learn nothing from history. (G.B. Shaw) Explain. Do you agree?

Match the descriptions with the pictures and the names a. Julius Caesar Macedonian king, general, empire builder b. Marco Polo 18th-19th century emperor of France, general leader of Nazi Germany, architect of genocide Chinese communist leader, founder of the PR China 13th century Venetian explorer of China American revolutionary, general, first US president Roman warlord and politician 20th century leader of India's independence movement c. Mahatma Gandhi d. Alexander the Great e. Napoleon Bonaparte f. Adolf Hitler g. Mao Zedong h. George Washington

Speaking Topics Definitions of history on the Web: the aggregate of past events; "a critical time in the school's history" a record or narrative description of past events; "a history of France"; "he gave an inaccurate account of the plot to kill the president"; "the story of exposure to lead" the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings; "he teaches Medieval history"; "history takes the long view" the continuum of events occurring in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future; "all of human history" all that is remembered of the past as preserved in writing; a body of knowledge; "the dawn of recorded history"; "from the beginning of history"

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Match the descriptions with the photos and the names a. Julius Caesar Macedonian king, general, empire builder A b. Marco Polo 18th-19th century emperor of France, general E leader of Nazi Germany, architect of genocide F Chinese communist leader, founder of the PR China G 13th century Venetian explorer of China B American revolutionary, general, first US president H Roman warlord and politician A 20th century leader of India's independence movement C c. Mahatma Gandhi d. Alexander the Great e. Napoleon Bonaparte f. Adolf Hitler g. Mao Zedong h. George Washington

Historic or Historical? Historical normally means "having taken place in history" or "from the past" or "having to do with history." Historic means "having significance in history." It usually refers to an event or person. Historically is the adverb form of both words.

1 Prehistory 1.1 Paleolithic 1.2 Mesolithic 1.3 Neolithic 1.4 Bronze Age 1.5 Early civilization 2 Ancient history 2.1 Religion and philosophy 2.2 Civilizations and regions 3 Middle Ages 4 Modern history 4.1 Early Modern period o 4.1.1 Rise of Europe o 4.1.2 Age of Discovery 4.2 19th century 4.3 20th century to present o 4.3.1 Early 20th century o 4.3.2 Late 20th century o 4.3.3 21st century

Recent (and not so recent) events that might be called historic: Election of the first black president of the USA, Barack Obama Discovery of DNA and cloning ...