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English · Year 6e · Learning Journey 3 · Theme 3 Countries and landscapes · A1

Welcome to the Scottish Highlands

Lochs, castles, kilts and Highland Games: I discover Scotland and I describe a landscape with there is / there are.

A1there is / there areprepositions · adjectives
Yellow card · January → February · 6 lessons

There is · there are · where?

To describe a landscape, I say what there is and where it is. Tap the cards.

Greetings from Scotland! There is a beautiful castle on a small island. There are three arches on the old bridge. Behind the castle, there are high mountains. In front of the castle, there is a loch. It's cold and windy, but I love it!
there is
There is + one thing.
There is a castle on the island.
there are
There are + two or more things.
There are three arches on the bridge.
an old castle
The adjective goes before the noun and never takes an -s.
It's an old castle.
under
Prepositions of place: on, in, under, behind, in front of, between.
Nessie is under the water.

My words → tap a card: it turns over and I hear the word

Culture → Scotland and the Highlands

A castle on a small island with a bridge, in a loch with mountains
Eilean Donan Castle, Highlands, Scotland · Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
An athlete in a kilt throws a huge tree trunk
The caber toss at the Highland Games, 2019 · AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The United Kingdom has four nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland is in the north; its capital is Edinburgh and its biggest city is Glasgow.

The Highlands are a region of mountains, wild land and lochs: long, deep lakes. The most famous one is Loch Ness. Since the 1930s, some people say they have seen a monster there: Nessie.

At the Highland Games, athletes in kilts throw a tree trunk (the caber), hammers and heavy weights, to the sound of bagpipes. The cloth of a kilt, tartan, has squares of different colours for different families, or clans.

Did you know? → tap a card

I listen → a postcard from Scotland

Listen. Draw the landscape: where is the castle? the loch? the mountains?

I watch

Video: “Scottish Highland Games: Explained” · channel VisitScotland (the Scottish tourist board) · watch on YouTube. The video only loads when you tap (youtube-nocookie player).

My mission during the video
  1. Write down three events you see or hear.
  2. Write down two kilt colours.
  3. Write a sentence with there is or there are to describe a picture from the video.
The lessons in this learning journey (6)
  1. The UK: four nations, four capitals (map).
  2. Describe the picture: there is / there are.
  3. Where's Nessie? Prepositions of place.
  4. Highland Games: listening and video.
  5. Adjectives: a big castle, an old bridge (the adjective before the noun).
  6. Final task: a postcard from Scotland.
Sentence starters → for my final task
  • “Dear…,”
  • “Greetings from Scotland!”
  • “There is a… / There are…”
  • “The castle is in front of… / next to…”
  • “See you soon,”
For the teacher → goals and official curriculum
  • Theme 3 “Countries and landscapes” → topic: the Scottish Highlands.
  • Describe a landscape, a photo, a postcard.
  • Grammar: there is / there are, prepositions of place (on, in, under, between, in front of), the adjective before the noun.
  • Find your way: the four nations of the UK and their capitals.

Texts and materials: Photos of the Highlands; a map of the UK; an official VisitScotland video.

Theme 3 “Countries and landscapes”. Source: French national English curriculum for lower secondary school, decree of 5 May 2025, BO no. 22 of 29 May 2025 (in force in 6e since September 2025).

Worksheet to fill in (paper or ENT)

The same learning journey, to print or to put on the ENT. For a PDF, choose “Save as PDF” in the print window.