How do they make snake anti-venom?

Advanced lesson plan (B2 and above): How do they make snake anti-venom? - BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content

Snake bites are a "significant yet neglected global health problem", killing 100,000 people every year and leaving another 400,000 with permanent disabilities. The technology underpinning snake anti-venom was discovered in the 1890s, yet over 100 years later it is still not readily accessible to people in developing countries where snake bites are most common. So why is snake anti-venom so difficult to produce and distribute to bite victims?  

In this B2+ worksheet, students will 

• Study a video about snake anti-venom
• Learn six bite-related idioms
• Discuss six phrasal verbs based on DIE (to DIE away, to DIE down, to be DYING for, to DIE on someone, etc.)
• See advanced adjectives to describe a snake
• Read and answer questions about a man who lets snakes bite him with the goal of developing a vaccine against snake venom
• Differentiate between modal verbs of deduction in the past (must have, couldn't have, might have)

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Click HERE for the worksheet answers

Lesson objectives:

1) To match six pictures with DIE-related phrasal verbs (to die away, to die off/die out, to die back, to die on (someone), to be dying for (something), to die down)

2) To find three adjectives from a list of advanced vocabulary that do NOT describe a snake

3) To choose the correct modal verbs of deduction in the past (must have, might have, couldn't have) to complete sentences related to snakes

4) To practise listening comprehension by studying a video about snake anti-venom

5) To expand the students' repertoire of idioms, matching six bite-related idioms/phrases with their definitions (to bite off more than one can chew, to bite one's tongue, to bite the bullet, to bite the hand that feeds you, to snap (someone's) head off, bite me!)

6) To improve reading comprehension by studying a short article about a man who lets snakes bite him in the hope it will lead to the development of a vaccine against snake bites.