REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER GUN POWDER, TREASON AND PLOT I SEE NO REASON WHY GUN POWDER TREASON SHOULD EVER, EVER, EVER BE FORGOT
It was the year 1605. James 1 was king. In a dark upstairs room a group of rich Catholics were meeting. They plotted. Gatsby was the leader. He sat in a large wooden chair at the head of the table. We must rid England of this king, Gatsby demanded in a hush voice. How shall we rid England of him? For many years the Catholics in England had a hard time. James had ordered all catholic priests to leave England. Some priest hid and when the soldiers came they could not find them. How shall we do it? Gatsby asked. How do we kill the king? We kill the king with Gunpowder. Finally they were ready. They had put 30 barrels of gun powder in the cellars of the parliament. The king and members of Parliament were going to meet the next day in the room above. Guy Fawkes was chosen to light the barrels. He went down into the cellars and waited. He was hid behind a large barrel. But one of the plotters was worried about his brother who would be in the room. He sent him a letter telling him not to go to the Parliament. The King was told. Soldiers were sent to the cellars. Down the stairs they went. They found the barrels of gun powder. And then they saw Guy Fawkes. There was a fight. Guy Fawkes hurt one of the soldiers but finally he was over-powered. Guy Fawkes was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. The plotters ran away to Gatesby s house. They hid in the upstairs room. But the soldiers came. Shots were fire. There was a fight. Three of the plotters were killed. Two others were taken to the tower. On a cold February day in 1606 the soldiers came to the tower. Today is the day of your execution. The three men were taken from the tower to the place of execution. Long live the King* the crowd of people shouted as the plotters were executed. Vocabulary To plot...to make a plan To get rid of...to make something go away To over-power.to take away the power To The execute...to Gun Powder kill Plot someone Gun powder..the powder used to make a bomb Priest...the church teacher Barrels...round box made of wood Cellar...room underground Stairs...steps down to the cellar Parliament...the government building
Scene One A dark room upstairs in Gatsby s house Gatsby: Shhhh! Shhhh! What can we do to save the catholic church? Catholic one: We must rid England of this king. Gatsby: How do we rid England of this terrible king? Catholic two: We put barrels of gunpowder under the Parliament. Catholic one: Guy Fawkes will do it. Gatsby: Guy Fawkes, will you do it? Will you save the Catholic Church? Guy Fawkes: Yes I will Guy Fawkes raises up his sword. All the others raise the sword Scene two In the cellars of the Parliament. (the soldiers creep down the stairs to the cellars) Soldier one: What is this? Soldier two: It s a barrel. Soldier one: And look there are more barrels over here. What is inside the barrels? The soldiers carefully take off the lid Soldier two: It is gun powder. Soldier one: Who goes there? Stop in the name of the king. The soldiers see Guy Fawkes. They take out their swords. There is a fight. Guy Fawkes is hurt. The soldiers take Guy Fawkes away. Scene three At Gatsby s house Soldier one: Open the door in the name of the king Soldier two: Open the door or we will break it down. The soldiers break down the door and rush in. There is a fight. There is a noise of swords. Soldier: Here take this (the soldier swings his sword) and this. Catholic one: uhhrrr! (he falls down to the ground, dead!) uhhhhrrrrr! Gatsby and the other Catholics are led away by the soldiers
At the bon fire It is November 5 th and the family has gone to the local bon fire display Mother: Well, here we are. Please stay together. Don t run off by yourselves! Johnny: It s so dark. When is it going to start? Mother:.. Jane: Oh, look mummy! They are selling toffee apples. Can we have one. Pleeeease! Mother: Father: Come here everyone. The fireworks are about to start. (The fire work display starts. There are bangs and crackles and bright lights everywhere. The sky is lit up.) Jane: Wow! Look at that. What is that fire work, daddy? What is it? Father: It is called Johnny: I can see the Guy is burning on top of the bon fire. Why do we burn the Guy on the bon fire, daddy? Father:.. Johnny: Well, why did the Catholics want to kill the king. Father:. Mother: Where is Jane? Jane where are you. Jane! Jane! Father: It looks like she has wandered off. Jane. Jane, where are you! Jane!...............
Teacher s notes As you can see this is not one of my stories. But I wrote the history and the play. The play always goes down well as it involves darkness and swords! I would say that the level is lower intermediate. Please note that this could be a CONTROVERSIAL topic as it deals with what a group of Catholics tried to do. You would not teach this to students from a catholic school. Also perhaps teachers may frown on a staged sword fight and killing. To be honest I have done this drama many and I have never run into any problems Introduction Do any students know about the gun powder plot? Probably not. You might like to start with talking about the pictures and poem on the first sheet. History After you have made sure students understand the vocabulary ask questions to test their understanding of the reading. The play This is usually lots of fun. I divide the class into groups of 7. There a 6 actors and a director. I look for the person who is the most competent and appoint that person to be the director. I usually talk to the students about a stage managed fight. Anyone can just hit another person. But to do it in a theatrical way is more difficult. I talk to them about facing the audience at all times. I mention that they need to follow their director s directions. I like to do the play in semidarkness with a single light on the actors. This adds a touch of drama. If possible you need some props. 4 swords and a cape are needed. You can usually buy these polystyrene swords in the supermarket. Of course do not give students sticks of anything else that they may be tempted to get carried away with. An improvised cape for Guy Fawkes is useful. Missing information A fairly easy exercise. Perhaps Jane has wandered off to the toffee apple stand. This lesson is part of the British culture strand. (See: Progression of Lessons)