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The West Coast

Episode of the series Awesome Stuff

CEFR: A1

In this episode

Illustrated slideshow (18 images)
Glossary (8 words)
Comprehension quiz (13 questions)
7 cultural notes

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The episode

What comes from the West Coast? Two friends find out about Hollywood, the tallest tree in the world, ten thousand small earthquakes a year, and the hottest place on Earth.

Episode worksheets (2)

Student sheet In your teacher account
Teacher sheet In your teacher account

Teaching guide

Objective & content

Two hosts, Jessa as the guide and a joking learner, ride the Pacific coast through California, Oregon and Washington. They compare the size of the three states, then move through Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Seattle's rain, the San Andreas Fault and Death Valley. The language focus is present simple, superlatives (the tallest tree, the hottest place) and short comparatives, with large numbers and quantity phrases such as "about one in five". The vocabulary covers US geography, natural disasters and the environment. Learners practise listening for figures and facts; the learner host sums up the first part with "So this region invented my phone AND my coffee."

Materials & prerequisites

Student sheet and teacher sheet (PDF and HTML versions, in `printables/`).
Prerequisites: present simple, numbers above 100, and the basic idea of a comparative and a superlative.

Curriculum alignment

Tagged to the cycle 3 axis "the child and the wider environment" (6e). The episode targets CEFR level A1+.

Possible adaptations

Lower levels: Offer segmented listening and additional visual aids.
Advanced levels: Encourage an oral summary and a debate in English on the theme.
Large groups: Organise group work with differentiated roles.

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