New Orleans

Famous Places

PRE-READING WARM-UP QUESTIONS ☀

New Orleans
1. Have you ever been to New Orleans, Louisiana?
New Orleans has often been called the most unique city in the
United States. 2. Do you know what New Orleans is famous for?

3. Do you know what Mardi Gras is?

It is one of the oldest cities, and it is located in the state of Louisiana.
The Mississippi River winds around and through it. 4. What is a nickname? Do you know the nickname for
New Orleans?
New Orleans is famous for its food, its architecture, its celebrations,
and especially its music. It is said to be the birthplace of jazz. For 5. What do you know about Hurricane Katrina?
years, it has been a popular destination for tourists from around the
world, particularly at Mardi Gras time.

New Orleans was named after Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, Regent
of France. Because the city was on the Mississippi River, it became
an important port for shipping, and played a large role in the slave
trade. By 1840, with more than 100,000 residents, New Orleans was
one of the largest cities in the country.

By the early 1900s, New Orleans was an exciting place. Its

nickname, “The Big Easy,” was thought to have come from
musicians who said how easy it was to find work. Others said it
meant the city was more carefree than the city of New York,
nicknamed “The Big Apple.”

New Orleans was built mostly on higher ground along the river. A
drainage and pump system, devised by engineer A. Baldwin Wood,
allowed the city to grow into low-lying areas. But by the late 1900s,
COMPREHENSION ✍
people realized that these low-lying areas were at risk. In 1995, a
flood from heavy rain proved that the pumping system was not good A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the
enough. statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused the worst civil
engineering disaster in American history. Floodwalls failed, and
80% of New Orleans flooded. Even though most residents had been
evacuated before Katrina hit, thousands who stayed behind had to
be rescued, many by helicopter. More than 1,500 people died. Most
of the city has since reopened to residents, but some badly damaged
areas are not ready to be lived in yet. Before Katrina destroyed so
much of the city, 485,000 people lived in New Orleans. In June
2006, the population was less than 230,000.
Workers continue to clean up and rebuild this special city.
1. New Orleans’ nickname is “The Big Apple.”
2. New Orleans got its name from the title of a French
nobleman.
3. In the mid-19th century, New Orleans was one of the
biggest cities in the US.
4. People in low-lying areas of New Orleans were always
very safe because of an excellent pumping system.
5. Many people left New Orleans before Hurricane
Katrina hit.

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 New Orleans
Famous Places

B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.

1. What is New Orleans famous for?

2. Why did New Orleans grow to become a big American city by the mid 1800’s?
3. How did New Orleans get its nickname?
4. How was the city of New Orleans able to grow from its original high ground along the river to low-lying areas?
5. What warning did New Orleans have that its pumping system was not good enough?
6. What happened to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina?
7. What is the condition of New Orleans today?

VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍
A. Match the words on the left with the correct meanings on the right.

_____ 1. unique

a) having the possibility of danger
DISCUSS
_____ 2. wind

b) the title of a member of a noble or royal family
_____ 3. architecture
c) to save from danger 1. There are two words in the article
_____ 4. destination
d) to think of, to plan, to create that refer to royal titles. Try to think
_____ 5. duke

e) to move in a curving or twisting way of as many other words as possible
_____ 6. port

f) a terrible situation that refer to members of a royal or
_____ 7. slave

g) the only one of its kind, very special, not like others noble family.
_____ 8. drainage

h) a harbor, a place where ships dock


_____ 9. devise

i) an overflow of water 2. What is Mardi Gras? Have you ever
_____ 10. at risk

j) the design and style of buildings been to a Mardi Gras celebration or
_____ 11. flood

k) to move people away from a place of danger seen one on television? If so,
_____ 12. evacuate
l) a person who is owned by someone and forced to work describe it. Besides New Orleans,
_____ 13. rescue

m) a place a person is going to what other city is very famous for its
_____ 14. disaster
n) emptying water or making dry Mardi Gras celebrations?






3. Have you ever experienced a
B. Find a word in the story that means: hurricane? If so, describe it.
1. a person who performs the duties of a ruler - ____________________
4. Do you think that the American
2. a machine for forcing liquid or gas out of something - ____________________
government did enough to help the
3. the design and building of roads, railways, canals, docks, city structures, etc.
victims of Hurricane Katrina?
(two words) - ______________ ______________
Explain your answer.
4. hurt, injure, cause loss of value - ____________________
5. make useless, break into pieces - ____________________
5. Do you think that New Orleans will
6. without worry - ____________________
once again become a very popular
7. sending, transporting - ____________________ tourist destination? Why or why not?
8. a person who lives in a particular place - ____________________

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 New Orleans
Famous Places
ANSWER KEY

Lesson Description: In this lesson, students learn about New Orleans, also known as “The Big Easy.” They answer com-
prehension questions, learn vocabulary from the article, and discuss things related to New Orleans such as Mardi Gras and
hurricanes.

Please note: The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).

PRE-READING WARM-UP QUESTIONS

Individual answers.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
A. True or False
1. False. Its nickname is “The Big Easy.” 2. True. 3. True. 4. False. People in low-lying areas were at risk. 5.
True.

B. Written Answers
1. New Orleans is famous for its food, architecture, celebrations, and music.
2. New Orleans grew to become a big American city because of its location on the Mississippi River, which allowed the
city to become an important port for shipping and play a large role in the slave trade.
3. New Orleans’ nickname, “The Big Easy,” is thought to have come from musicians who said how easy it was to find
work. Others said it meant the city was more carefree than the city of New York.
4. A drainage and pump system, devised by engineer A. Baldwin Wood, allowed the city to grow into low-lying areas.
5. New Orleans was warned that its pumping system was not good enough in 1995 when heavy rains caused flooding.
6. During Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans floodwalls failed and 80% of the city flooded. The flooding caused massive
damage and over one thousand deaths.
7. Today, most of New Orleans has been reopened to residents, but some badly damaged areas are not ready to be lived in
yet. Workers continue to clean and rebuild this special city.

VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Match the words
1. g 2. e 3. j 4. m 5. b 6. h 7. l 8. n
9. d 10. a 11. i 12. k 13. c 14. f

B. Find a word in the story

1. regent 2. pump 3. civil engineering 4. damage 5. destroy
6. carefree 7. shipping 8. resident(s)

Spelling Note: This lesson shows the American spelling of the word Harbor on page 2. Most other English-speaking
countries spell it this way: Harbour. Make it a challenge for your students to find this word in the lesson and see if they
know the alternate spelling.

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 New Orleans
Famous Places

New Orleans

New Orleans has often been called the most unique city in the United States.

It is one of the oldest cities, and it is located in the state of Louisiana. The Mississippi River winds around
and through it.

New Orleans is famous for its food, its architecture, its celebrations, and especially its music. It is said to
be the birthplace of jazz. For years, it has been a popular destination for tourists from around the world,
particularly at Mardi Gras time.

New Orleans was named after Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, Regent of France. Because the city was on the
Mississippi River, it became an important port for shipping, and played a large role in the slave trade. By
1840, with more than 100,000 residents, New Orleans was one of the largest cities in the country.

By the early 1900s, New Orleans was an exciting place. Its nickname, “The Big Easy,” was thought to
have come from musicians who said how easy it was to find work. Others said it meant the city was more
carefree than the city of New York, nicknamed “The Big Apple.”

New Orleans was built mostly on higher ground along the river. A drainage and pump system, devised by
engineer A. Baldwin Wood, allowed the city to grow into low-lying areas. But by the late 1900s, people
realized that these low-lying areas were at risk. In 1995, a flood from heavy rain proved that the pumping
system was not good enough.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused the worst civil engineering disaster in American history.
Floodwalls failed, and 80% of New Orleans flooded. Even though most residents had been evacuated
before Katrina hit, thousands who stayed behind had to be rescued, many by helicopter. More than 1,500
people died. Most of the city has since reopened to residents, but some badly damaged areas are not ready
to be lived in yet. Before Katrina destroyed so much of the city, 485,000 people lived in New Orleans. In
June 2006, the population was less than 230,000.

Workers continue to clean up and rebuild this special city.

Copyright 2013, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms. 4