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English · Year 6e · Learning Journey 4 · Theme 4 Imagination, tales and legends · A1+

Dragons, saints and legends

St George and his dragon, the red dragon of Wales, Irish legends and Halloween: I tell a legend with can and must.

A1+can / can'tmust / mustn't · imperative
Yellow card · March → April · 6 lessons

Holiday videos → tap a picture to watch on YouTube

▶St George's Day: Who was England's patron saint?BBC Newsround▶Trick or Treat? A Brief History of Halloween TraditionsBBC Newsround▶The History of HalloweenBBC Newsround▶What is Halloween?CBBC Newsround

Culture → dragons and saints of the British Isles

Painting: St George on a horse attacks a dragon with his spear; a princess holds the dragon on a lead
Paolo Uccello, Saint George and the Dragon, about 1470, National Gallery, London · Paolo Uccello, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The flag of Wales: a red dragon on a white and green background
The flag of Wales, Y Ddraig Goch · Unknown Vector graphics by Tobias Jakobs, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In the legend, St George, a knight, saves a princess and kills a dragon. He is the patron saint of England: St George's Day is on 23 April, and his red cross on a white background is the English flag.

Wales has a dragon on its flag: Y Ddraig Goch, the red dragon. An old Welsh legend tells the story of a fight between a red dragon and a white dragon under a hill. In Welsh, a Celtic language people still speak today, Wales is Cymru.

In Ireland, legends tell of leprechauns: little shoemakers who hide gold at the end of the rainbow. St Patrick's Day, on 17 March, is celebrated in green all over the world. And Halloween comes from a Celtic festival, Samhain: people believed that the door between the world of the living and the world of the spirits opened that night.

Did you know? → tap a card

Can · must · Don't!

Creatures in legends can do amazing things, and heroes must follow rules. Tap the cards.

This is Glendor, a red dragon. It can fly and it can breathe fire, but it can't swim. If you meet Glendor, you must be brave. You mustn't run! Look into its eyes and say: "Hello, dragon!"
can
can + verb with no to: what you are able to do. Never -s, never to.
A dragon can fly.
can't
Negative: can't (cannot).
A dragon can't swim.
mustn't
must = obligation, mustn't = it is not allowed.
You mustn't run!
Don't!
Negative order: Don't + verb.
Don't touch the eggs!

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

I listen → Glendor the dragon

Listen. Write down what Glendor can do, what he can't do, and what you mustn't do.

I watch

Video: “St George's Day: Who was England's patron saint?” · channel BBC Newsround · watch on YouTube. The video only loads when you tap (youtube-nocookie player).

My mission during the video
  1. Write down the date of St George's Day.
  2. Write down two English words about the legend.
  3. Say what is true and what is only a legend.

I watch too

Video: “Trick or Treat? A Brief History of Halloween Traditions” · channel BBC Newsround · watch on YouTube. The video only loads when you tap (youtube-nocookie player).

My mission during the video
  1. Write down two Halloween traditions.
  2. Find the country where the festival comes from.
The lessons in this learning journey (6)
  1. What can a dragon do? can / can't.
  2. The legend of St George: reading.
  3. The Welsh dragon and the flags of the UK.
  4. Ireland: St Patrick's Day, leprechauns and where Halloween comes from.
  5. Grammar: must / mustn't, Don't…! Rules to beat a dragon.
  6. Final task: I invent a creature and its powers (poster + speaking).
Sentence starters → for my final task
  • “My creature is called…”
  • “It has got…”
  • “It can…”
  • “You must…”
  • “Don’t…!”
For the teacher → goals and official curriculum
  • Theme 4 “Imagination, tales and legends” → topics: the dragon; Ireland, a land of myths and legends.
  • Understand a short legend and tell it simply.
  • Grammar: can / can't (ability), must / mustn't (rules), the imperative (Look! Don't run!).
  • Discover the patron saints and festivals of the UK and Ireland.

Texts and materials: The legend of St George; the Welsh flag; the Irish legend of the leprechauns; BBC Newsround videos.

Theme 4 “Imagination, tales and legends”. 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.