A Brief History of the Sandwich

A ready-to-teach B1 listening lesson on connected speech and weak forms, built around a free 3-minute BBC Ideas video on the history of the humble sandwich.

Students predict who the sandwich was named after, match key words, then watch once to put five topics in order, and again for true/false statements with timings. They listen and repeat six short quotes to hear weak forms, linking and disappearing sounds, and notice the past simple passive (was named, were sold). They race in teams to complete sandwich facts with was or were and say them fast, then talk about a bread-and-filling food from their own country.

What's inside

• 12 colourful slides to project, with answer keys straight after each activity
• 4-page A4 exercise sheet: teacher's notes, answer key and a 2-page student worksheet
• Prediction, key words, two-step video tasks, listen-and-repeat quotes, team race and speaking
• Links to the free video (no download needed); the worksheet works even without it
• Easier and Harder options, an online tip, an exit ticket and free homework links

Level: B1 · Time: 60–75 minutes · Prep: play the video from the link and test the sound. Print, project and teach.

Facts are sourced, with full references.

Licensed to the purchaser for classroom use. Please do not share or resell.