LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERSARTEMIS II TAKES HUMANS TOTHE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
Apr. 10, 2026
Level: Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)
Type of language: General English
Tags: Science and Technology; The Future and Space; Historical Events; Celebrities and Historical Figures; Breaking News; Vocabulary Lesson; Adjectives; Speaking; Video; 10-12 Years Old; 13-15 Years Old; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old
Publication date: 04/10/2026
A breaking news lesson about the recent Artemis II mission, with a report focusing on the news story, and an article giving the opinions of four individuals on the topic. Students will learn related vocabulary, practice reading and listening skills and reinforce their new vocabulary with conversation practice. (by David J. Marriott)
- CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
- CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
- CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.
- CLICK HERE to download/watch the video in MP4.
AUDIO/VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Speaker: Artemis II has completed its record-breaking mission to fly past the dark side of the moon.
The spacecraft, which was carrying four astronauts – three from the US and one from Canada – broke a record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
Crew members Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen have now traveled farther away from Earth than any other human beings. Before turning around, Artemis II reached a maximum distance of 248,655 miles from our planet.
As they passed the dark side of the moon, the astronauts were unable to communicate for around forty minutes. In total, they had over six hours to observe and document the surface of the moon, taking photographs of the strange landscape.
The crew are expected to return with thousands of pictures, including images of the landing sites from the Apollo 12 and 14 missions in 1969 and 1971. One of their tasks was to photograph a potential location for a future moon landing.
The Artemis program aims to land humans on the moon by 2028, for the first time since the Apollo 17 expedition in 1972. Artemis II’s lunar fly-by mission is seen as an important step to bringing people back to the moon.
Although the mission was delayed, Artemis II launched on April 1st. No significant problems have been reported, although the spacecraft’s bathroom experienced some issues during the first few days of the journey.
The astronauts on board Artemis II received an important message before flying past the moon, watching a recording of Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission. Lovell, who died in 2025, told the crew not to forget to “enjoy the view”.
Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/artemis-ii-takes-humans-to-the-dark-side-of-the-moon. Accessed on April 15, 2026. LinguaHouse.com © 2008–2026. All rights reserved.





