Famous Places

The Pentagon
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. Do you know what the Pentagon

is and where it is located?

2. Have you ever been to Washington, DC?

If so, what sights did you see?

3. Do you know what the prefix “penta” means?

4. Look at the picture of the Pentagon. Can you

guess how many square feet of office space it has?

5. How many people do you

think work in the Pentagon?

6. What do you think the Pentagon represents

to many people around the world?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match the words on the left with

the correct meanings on the right.

1. defense a)  a grassy area

2. provide b)  a specific measure of land
3. swampland c)  help, assistance
4. dump d)  the study of something
5. gravel e)  to do or give what is necessary
6. construct f)  a group of workers in a company or department
7. acre g)  protection against danger
8. military h)  an everyday person, not a member of the military or police force
9. civilian i)  soft, wet land
10. support j)  to build
11. staff k)  small stones and pieces of rock
12. lawn l)  the army, soldiers
13. research m)  a place to put garbage

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 The Pentagon
Famous Places

Reading
1. The Pentagon is the home of the United States Department
of Defense. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, although its
“Self-defense is
mailing address is Washington, DC. not only our right,
2. It was built during the Second World War to provide more space for
it is our duty.”
the War Department. Built on swampland that had been used as a —Ronald Reagan
dump, the builders used sand and gravel from the nearby Potomac
River to construct it. It took only 16 months to complete and cost
about $83 million. It was opened in January 1943.

3. The building is composed of five wedge-shaped sections that together

form a five-sided pentagon. These sections surround a five-acre open
space, or plaza. A snack bar is in the middle of the plaza.

4. The Pentagon has almost four million square feet (about 371,612
square meters) of office space, which is more office space than any
other office building in the world. There are five floors above ground,
two floors below ground, 131 stairways, 19 escalators, and more than
17 miles (about 27 kilometers) of corridors. It takes a maximum of only
seven minutes to get from one point to another in the building.

5. About 23,000 military and civilian employees and 3,000 support

staff work in the Pentagon. As well as offices, the building has a
dining room, two cafeterias, six snack bars, 284 restrooms, 691
water fountains, and 4,200 clocks. It is surrounded by 200 acres
(about 0.81 square kilometers) of lawn and has almost 9,000
parking spots in 16 parking lots.

6. It also has several research libraries, a post office that processes

more than one million pieces of mail each month, and 100,000
miles of telephone cable. Employees make a total of more than
200,000 phone calls on an average workday.

7. On September 11, 2001, the Pentagon was attacked by terrorists.

A hijacked 747 jet flew into the west side of the building. All 59
passengers and crew members, as well as 125 occupants from
the Pentagon, died. Between 2001 and 2011, the Pentagon
underwent major renovations to repair damage and enhance
security. The Pentagon Memorial was also added outside the
building on the southwest side.

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 The Pentagon
Famous Places

Comprehension
A. True or False?

Read the statements below.

If the statement is true, write T beside the sentence.
If it is false, write F and correct the information.

1. The Pentagon is the home of the president of the United States.

2. The Pentagon was built during World War I to give the US War Department more space.

3. There is a huge open space in the middle of the Pentagon.

4. The Pentagon is the tallest office building in the world.

5. Only military people work in the Pentagon.

B. Ask and Answer

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

1. Why was the Pentagon built?

2. Where is the Pentagon located?

3. Briefly describe the Pentagon.

4. Besides office space, what other facilities does the Pentagon have?

5. Why does the Pentagon require so much telephone cable?

6. Who works in the Pentagon?

7. What happened at the Pentagon in 2001?

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 The Pentagon
Famous Places

Vocabulary Review
Choose the word or phrase with the closest meaning to
the underlined word or phrase in the following sentences.

1. T
 he Pentagon is composed of 4. There are more than 17 miles
five wedge-shaped sections. of corridors in the Pentagon.

a) is painted a) telephone cables

b) is made up of b) hallways
c) employs c) lawn

2. The Pentagon is composed of 5. The Pentagon is a very impressive building.

five wedge-shaped sections.
a) big
a) shaped like a V b) leaving a strong effect on the memory
b) round c) having a lot of soldiers
c) square-shaped
6. There are 284 restrooms in the Pentagon.
3. A snack bar is in the middle of the plaza.
a) washrooms
a) exercise room b) places to relax
b) place to buy alcohol c) staffrooms
c) place to buy light meals, candy, etc.

Discussion
1. Have you ever been to the Pentagon?
If so, tell your classmates what it was like.

2. What other buildings around the world represent great power?

Where are they located? Have you visited any of these?
If so, describe them.

3. Why do you think the September 11 terrorists

chose the Pentagon as a place to crash the plane?

4. Why do you think the Pentagon has a mailing address of

Washington, DC, but is actually located in Arlington, Virginia?

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 The Pentagon
Famous Places

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Intermediate

In this lesson, students read about the home of the United States TIME: 1.5–2 hours
Department of Defense. They read about the massive size and unique
TAGS:  P
 entagon, US, America, war, defense,
structure of the Pentagon, and discuss the September 11 attack.
self-defense, defence, army, office

Pre-Reading 5. The Pentagon requires lots of telephone cable because of

the high volume of phone calls employees make each day.

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS 6. There are about 23,000 military and civilian employees
and 3,000 support staff who work in the Pentagon.
Individual answers. 7. A terrorist attack occurred on September 11, 2001. A jet flew
into the building killing 125 occupants and 59 passengers.
B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW

1. g 3. i 5. k 7. b 9. h 11. f 13. d Vocabulary Review

2. e 4. m 6. j 8. l 10. c 12. a
1. b 2. a 3. c 4. b 5. b 6. a
Comprehension
Discussion
A. TRUE OR FALSE?

1. F – T he Pentagon is the home of the Answers will vary.

United States Department of Defense.

2. F – The Pentagon was built during World War II. SPELLING NOTES:
3. T
This lesson shows the American spelling of the words Defense,
4. F – T he Pentagon has more square feet of office
Meters, Kilometers, and Practice. Most other English-speaking
space than any other office building in the world.
countries spell these words this way: Defence, Metres, Kilometres,
5. F – Both military and civilian employees work in the Pentagon.
and Practise (when used as a verb, Practice when used as a noun).
Make it a challenge for your students to find these words in the
B. ASK AND ANSWER
lesson and see if they know the alternate spellings.
1. The Pentagon was built to provide
more space for the US War Department.
2. The Pentagon is located in Arlington, Virginia.
3. The Pentagon consists of five wedge-shaped sections
that together form a five-sided pentagon. These sections
surround a five-acre open plaza. The Pentagon has
multiple staircases, escalators, and corridors.
4. Besides office space, the Pentagon has a dining
room and a post office as well as multiple cafeterias,
snack bars, research libraries, and restrooms.

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