Lesson Plan: Wally the Walrus

Lead-in: What do you think is happening in this video? What would you do? Do you think there should be a society/government response to this?
Listen to to this explanation. Who is Wally? What places has he been to? What problems has he caused?
Listen again. Are the following true or false?
- Wally was first seen in March
- He has destroyed two rowboats
- It is common to see walruses in the UK
- The authorities want to make him a type of floating couch
- He has two distinctive marks on his flipper.
Discussion: How should modern societies accomodate nature?
Language: Talking about current affairs
Match the two halves of the following sentences:
Scientists believed | pleased to see him |
People are quite | that he will make his way back |
He seems to | he seems to be relaxing quite a bit |
Scientists are hoping | to make him a floating couch |
By all accounts, | have classy taste |
There are now plans | he fell asleep on a sheet of ice and floated away |
Discussion: What is a story you having been reading about / thinking about recently? Can you use the above expressions to describe that event?
Part 2: Reading
What do you think might be the motivations of the walrus? What do you think might be different reactions of people?
Read this article and find out: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/01/hes-so-majestic-wally-the-walrus-hits-iceland-on-tour-of-europe
Language
Find adjectives that match these definitions:
- much thinner s_________________________
- relaxing, without any problems p__________________________
- awkward, not physically adept: c____________________
- glorious, wonderful m_________________________
- adult, older stage of life m_______________________
Discussion: Think of an animal that you like How would you describe it?
Easier Audio:
Answer the following questions:
- Where has Wally been?
- What damage has he caused?
- What deterrents have the townspeople considered?
Match the following sentences:
And it’s not clear why | to make sure Wally keeps his distance |
He’s started to become, well, | around potentially using dung – bear dung. |
So the Isles of Scilly hatched a plan | a walrus doing this before. |
Unfortunately, there was a discussion | Wally is spending so much time away from his normal Arctic habitat. |
We’ve never had | Wally is still a star far from home. |
To his human visitors, | something of a nuisance, I suppose |