The Eiffel Tower: The Tower Paris Hated

All levels48 minLandmarksLesson 1 of 6 · Free

Aims

Paris did not want this tower. Then it stayed. A simple story about taste, time and a very big piece of iron, for A2 students.

The lesson, stage by stage

  1. News10 min

    In the news: The story

    Read a 154-word news story: First they hated it. Then they loved it.

    The Eiffel Tower is in Paris, in France. It is 300 metres tall. It is made of iron, and it has more than 18,000 pieces. The company of Gustave Eiffel built it in about two years. It opened in 1889 for a big fair, a party for visitors from all over the world. Many people in Paris were angry. Artists and writers wrote a letter to the newspapers. They said the tower was ugly. They said it was too big, and it was only metal, not art. Some of them said they did not want to look at it every day. The plan was to take the tower down after twenty years. Then people put a radio antenna on the top. The radio was very useful, so the tower stayed. Today about seven million people visit it every year. Workers paint it again about every seven years, and that takes 60 tonnes of paint.

  2. Vocabulary8 min

    Vocabulary: Words to know

    7 items

  3. Discussion10 min

    Discussion: Look at the picture

    2 discussion questions

    • What can you see in the picture? What colour is it? Is it big or small?
    • The picture is from under the tower. Do you like this photo? Why?
  4. Discussion10 min

    Discussion: Your city

    3 discussion questions

    • What is the tallest building in your city? Do you like it?
    • Is there a new building near your home? Are people happy about it?
    • What colour do you want to paint your home? Why?
  5. Discussion10 min

    Discussion: Big questions, simple words

    3 discussion questions

    • People said the tower was ugly. Now they love it. Why do people change?
    • Do you want to go up the Eiffel Tower? Yes or no, and why?
    • What is more beautiful: a mountain or a big building?

Target vocabulary

In a Tuton account these words become your student's vocabulary deck, so they come back in practice between lessons.

iron
A strong grey metal
fair
A big public event where countries or companies show new things
artist
A person who makes art, for example paintings
tower
A tall, narrow building
ugly
Not beautiful, not nice to look at
radio
A machine that sends or receives sound through the air
paint
To put colour on something with a brush

This plan comes from the Wonders of the Modern World course in the Tuton library. Browse all free lesson plans.