What a happy accident! In this lesson, students will discuss interesting facts about some of the greatest inventions. This lesson features a video that discusses some of the greatest inventions we use every day that were created by accident. Students will learn and practice narrative tenses and vocabulary relating to this topic. The lesson includes plenty of engaging discussion activities and worksheets that have been developed for adult and teenage learners.

Lesson Objectives

To discuss interesting facts about some of the greatest inventions that were created by accident

To learn and review narrative tenses

To develop speaking and listening skills

To learn and use new vocabulary relating to the topic

Video

Have you ever wondered how potato chips or Coca-Cola were created? It might not be how you imagined it. Watch this video and learn about how some of the greatest inventions we know and use every day were created by accident. You may be surprised to see what’s on the list!

Video Transcript

Vocabulary and Pronunciation

commodity [noun]: anything that you can buy or sell

sandpaper [noun]: strong paper with a layer of sand or a similar rough substance that is stuck to one side, used for smoothing the surface by rubbing against it

hazardous [adjective]: dangerous

vanish [verb]: disappear, especially quite suddenly

patent [noun]: a legal right a person or company receives to make or sell a particular product or idea, which cannot be copied by others

slather [verb]: to spread something thickly over something else

ingredient [noun]: one of the parts in a mixture

recipe [noun]: instructions how to prepare and cook a particular food, including a list of needed ingredients

bizarre [adjective]: strange and unusual

booth [noun]: a small structure just big enough for one person to go into, e.g., phone booth

cone [noun]: a crisp usually cone-shaped wafer for holding ice cream

come up with something [phrasal verb]: to think of or suggest an idea or plan; to invent

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