2

2º ESO
DBH 2
2n ESO

All About
B Burlington Books

the USA
Emily Winston

T E A C H E R ’ S M AT E R I A L

CONTENTS

To the Teacher 2

Before Reading 3

After Reading 4

Final Test 5

Answers to Final Test 6

Answers to Activities in the Reader 6

Answers to Cross-Curricular Focus 7

Before using the following teacher’s material, we recommend that you visit the Teacher’s Zone
at www.burlingtonbooks.es and consult the Burlington Activity Reader Series general
information leaflet. The Final Test in this teacher’s material is also available in editable
Word format from the website. The Student’s Zone on the site offers additional activities.
 All About the USA
to the teacher
Summary

All About the USA gives readers an overview of the history and culture of the country and an introduction
to some of the famous people and places there.
Chapter 1 describes how the first group of pilgrims arrived on the American continent from England and
started their new lives there, overcoming difficulties, establishing the first colonies on the east coast and how
the colonists fought and won their independence. In chapter 2, readers learn about the expansion west and
about the American Civil War.
In chapter 3, readers discover why Washington, D.C. is the capital of the USA and interesting facts about the
White House, the home of the President of the USA. Chapter 4 shows us some of the USA’s most famous
symbols, like the Statue of Liberty, the American flag and the bald eagle.
Some of the natural wonders in the USA are the subject of chapter 5. Readers learn about the Grand Canyon,
Niagara Falls, the redwood forests and Death Valley.
Chapter 6 explains about two of the most popular holidays in the USA: Thanksgiving and Independence
Day. Independence Day on 4th July marks the birthday of the USA and the signing of the Declaration of
Independence.
Chapter 7 is about the Wright brothers, the inventors of the aeroplane, John F. Kennedy, a president who
brought new hope to Americans during a difficult time, and Martin Luther King, a civil rights leader in the
1960s.
Chapter 8 is about some great American writers: Mark Twain, who wrote in the 19th century, Harper Lee,
who won a Pulitzer Prize and Stephen King, the famous writer of horror stories.
Chapter 9 has some interesting facts about popular sports: basketball, baseball and American football. Many
Americans consider baseball their national sport.
Space travel is the subject of chapter 10. NASA became responsible for the American space programme in
1958. In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. NASA also explores other planets
in the solar system.
In chapter 11, readers read about some fascinating American myths and legends: Bigfoot, Johnny Appleseed
and Blackbeard’s Ghost.
Finally, chapter 12 is about the worlds of entertainment, hi-tech and fast food in the USA. We read about
the Academy Awards and Hollywood; Microsoft and Apple; and fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s,
Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut.

HISTORICAL bac kground

• George Washington (1732-1799) was Commander in Chief of the American and French forces in the
American Revolution (1775-1783) and became the USA’s first president.
• Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was a founding father of the USA and the third president. He wrote the
Declaration of Independence.
• Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was the 16th President of the USA. He was president during the American
Civil War and abolished slavery in 1862. Sadly, an actor named John Wilkes Booth assassinated him.
• Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) was a highly respected general and leader of the Confederate army during the
American Civil War and in the south, people saw him as a hero.
• Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) was a general and the commander of the Union forces. Grant accepted
Lee’s surrender in 1865. Three years later, he became the 18th president of the USA.
• The Union referred to all the states in the USA at the time of the Declaration of Independence. But during
the Civil War, the Union didn’t include the states that broke away and formed the Confederacy. After the
war, it once again referred to the entire United States.


 All About the USA
Before reading
These activities are designed to help the students’ reading comprehension. They help to activate the students’
background knowledge and ability to predict. At this level, these activities will usually be conducted in the students’
mother tongue. Students with a strong vocabulary can do some of these activities in English. Ask the questions and
elicit the answers from the whole class. Some possible answers are provided in italics. If you prefer, students can work
in pairs or small groups.

Suggestions for Lead-in Acti vities

1. What do you know about the USA? (It’s a democratic country with 50 states. The capital is Washington, D.C.)
2. Why do countries go to war? (over land, power, money, religion)
3. Who are some famous US presidents and what do people remember about them? (George Washington – the first
US president. Abraham Lincoln – the abolishment of slavery. Barack Obama – the first African-American president.)
4. What famous landmarks and places are in the USA? (the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the White
House, Disney World, Hollywood, Niagara Falls)
5. What famous American people do you know? (Bill Gates, Robert Pattison, Taylor Swift)

Before R eadi ng Acti v iti e s

1. Look at the cover of the book. Can you name any of the places or items you see in the photos? (the American flag;
Niagara Falls; the White House; Hollywood; the Capitol; the Statue of Liberty; the Grand Canyon) If you were
designing the cover of the book, what photos would you put on it?
2. Read lines 3-5 on page 9. What kind of relationship did the pilgrims have with the Native Americans? (The Native
Americans helped the pilgrims.) Now read the last paragraph on page 11. Why do you think this relationship
changed? (Because the US government forced the Native Americans to move far from their homes. Their traditions
were in danger.)
3. Read the bottom paragraph on page 13. In the American Civil War, what was the Confederacy and what was the
Union and what did they disagree about? (The Confederacy represented the people in the south and was in favour
of slavery. The Union represented the people in the north and was against slavery.)
4. Look at the pictures on page 29. How do Americans celebrate Independence Day? (They have barbecues, they eat
corn, hamburgers, hot dogs etc. They have firework displays.)
5. Read the first paragraph on page 34. What do you think Martin Luther King fought against? (discrimination against
black people)

list of irregular verb s

The following is a list of irregular verbs (Past Simple) which appear in the story. The page number refers to the page
where the Past Simple tense of the verb first appears. Go over the list with your students.
become – became (page 9) fight – fought (page 10) make – made (page 17) swim – swam (page 48)
begin – began (page 32) find – found (page 46) mean – meant (page 19) take – took (page 32)
bring – brought (page 33) fly – flew (page 21) meet – met (page 9) teach – taught (page 9)
build – built (page 8) get – got (page 10) pay – paid (page 18) think – thought (page 10)
choose – chose (page 21) give – gave (page 18) put – put (page 18) throw – threw (page 25)
cut – cut (page 24) go – went (page 25) rise – rose (page 32) wake – woke (page 21)
do – did (page 47) grow up – grew up (page 36) see – saw (page 8) wear – wore (page 47)
eat – ate (page 28) have – had (page 8) send – sent (page 42) win – won (page 10)
fall – fell (page 33) leave – left (page 8) steal – stole (page 48) write – wrote (page 28)


 All About the USA
After reading
Drama Activ iti e s

Work with a partner or a group. Learn one of the dialogues below and act it out in front of the class.

1.  rdering Food
O 3. Making Plans
Waiter: Can I help you? A: Do you want to go to a baseball game
Customer: Yes, please. tomorrow?
Waiter: What would you like to order? B: I’d love to. When does it start?
Customer: Have you got hamburgers? A: At four o’clock.
Waiter: Y
 es. Do you want a hamburger with B: OK. Let’s meet at 3.30 at my house.
chips? A: OK, see you then.
Customer: Yes, please and a salad.
4. Asking Directions
Waiter: Certainly. Would you like something
A: Excuse me. Do you know the way to the Space
to drink?
Museum?
Customer: Yes. I’d like an apple juice, please.
B: Go straight on Broadway.
2. Booking a ticket A: OK, straight on Broadway. And then what?
Customer: I’d like four tickets for the Statue of B: T  urn left on 33rd street and its on your right
Liberty tour please. near the School of Arts.
Salesperson: OK, do you want the tour at half A: Thanks for your help.
past two or at four o’clock? B: No problem.
Customer: The tour at half past two, please.
Salesperson: Right, that’s $96.
Customer: Here you are.

Project Suggestio ns

You may want to present some of these activities in the students’ own language.
1. Imagine you are one of the pilgrims from the Mayflower. Write a diary entry about your life in the New
World. Include your impressions of the Native Americans and your feelings and hopes for the future.
2. Make a timeline of important events in the history of the USA.
3. Write a multiple-choice quiz of ten questions about the USA. Use information from the reader. Ask the other
students in your class to do the quiz.
4. Design a new flag for the USA. Explain the reason for the colours and symbols in your design.
5. Plan an itinerary for a week’s trip to the USA. Include the places you will visit and what you can see there.
You can include places in the book or other places you might know.
6. Search the Internet to find information about one of the following US presidents:
Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama. Write a short paragraph using the information you find.


 All About the USA
FINAL TEST
A Number the sentences in chronological order.
a. The American Civil War began. e. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk
b. The first flight took place at Kitty Hawk. on the moon.

c. The Mayflower arrived in America. f. A man killed John F. Kennedy.

d. The colonies declared independence g. The US government moved to

from Great Britain. Washington, D.C.
7 points (1 point each)

B Write the name of the correct person in each sentence.

Johnny Appleseed Napoleon Abraham Lincoln Edward Teach Martin Luther King
John F. Kennedy Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi George Washington
1. sold land to the USA for $15 million.
2. ended slavery.
3. was the first president of the USA.
4. designed the Statue of Liberty.
5. was one of the youngest men to become a US president.
6. gave a famous speech in Washington, D.C.
7. planted apple trees in the USA.
8. attacked ships on the east coast of America in the early 18th century.
8 points (1 point each)

C Match A and B to form sentences.

A B
1. The Grand Canyon became a. Stephen King’s first novel.
2. The Civil War divided b. iPhones, iPads and iPods.
3. The Wright brothers flew c. a national park in 1919.
4. Philadelphia was d. the Pathfinder to explore Mars.
5. The US government forced e. the American people.
6. Harper Lee wrote f. the Cherokee people to leave their homes.
7. Carrie is g. the first plane.
8. NASA sent h. the capital of the USA before 1800.
9. The Super Bowl is i. a book about racism in the 1930s.
10. Steve Jobs invented j. an important sporting event.
20 points (2 points each)

D Answer the questions about the story.

1. What did the Native Americans teach the pilgrims? 4. W
 hy has the US flag got 50 stars and 13
2. Why did the colonists fight the British? stripes?

3. What does the Statue of Liberty symbolise? 5. How do people celebrate Thanksgiving
in the USA?
15 points (3 points each)


 All About the USA
answers to final test
A 1. c 4. a 6. f D 1. They taught the pilgrims how to grow corn,
2. d 5. b 7. e beans and pumpkins.

3. g 2. T
 he colonists refused to pay taxes because
they didn’t have a representative in the British
B 1. Napoleon government.
2. Abraham Lincoln 3. It symbolises freedom and democracy.
3. George Washington 4. The 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies
and the 50 stars represent the 50 states of the
4. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
USA.
5. John F. Kennedy
5. They have a special meal with their families and
6. Martin Luther King many of them watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving
7. Johnny Appleseed Day Parade in New York on TV.
8. Edward Teach

C 1. c 5. f 8. d
2. e 6. i 9. j
3. g 7. a 10. b
4. h

answers to activities in the reader

PRE-READING ACTIVITIES (page 7) CHAPTERS 3-4 ACTIVITIES (pages 22-23)
1 1. d 4. e 1 1 2
b r a n c h
2. c 5. a r
3. b r
3
2 1. b 2. a 3. a 4. a g o l d
w
4 5
CHAPTERS 1-2 ACTIVITIES (pages 14-15) s t a t u e
o
1 1. ship 4. tears 6
f i n g e r
2. frightened 5. army
c
3. danger 6. refuse h
The USA’s national motto: In God We Trust
2 1. location 4. loudly
2 1. c 4. b
2. entertaining 5. power
2. d 5. f
3. design 6. friendship
3. e 6. a
3 1. b 2. d 3. e 4. a 5. c
3 1. c 4. a
4 1. George Washington
2. e 5. d 2. the White House
3. b 3. James Hoban
4. John Adams
5. the Statue of Liberty
6. the bald eagle


 All About the USA

Answers to Activities in the Reader continued

CHAPTERS 5-6 ACTIVITIES (pages 30-31) CHAPTERS 9-10 ACTIVITIES (pages 44-45)
1 1. magazine 3. meal 5. cartoon 1 t i n s i d e 1. team
2. swimsuit 4. waterfall 6. forest e b a l a b t 2. helmet
a h o l e a s 3. rules
2 1. survive 3. advised 5. beautiful
m s a h o s f
2. environment 4. wonder 6. duck 4. hole
r u l e s k g
5. inside
3 1. Grand Canyon 4. Death Valley e f g d k e l
h e l m e t r 6. basket
2. Niagara Falls 5. The Artist’s Palette
3. Sequoia National 2 1. b 2. a 3. b 4. a 5. a
Park
3 1. c 2. a 3. b 4. b 5. c 6. a
4 1. Arizona 4. turkey
4 1. final 4. pictures
2. carbon dioxide 5. cartoon characters
2. into space 5. exploded
3. Lincoln 6. Independence Day
3. Neil Armstrong 6. laboratory
CHAPTERS 7-8 ACTIVITIES (pages 38-39)
CHAPTERS 11-12 ACTIVITIES (pages 52-53)
1 1. empty 3. wife 5. youngest
1 1. mountains 4. money
2. fishing 4. equal 6. speech
2. jewellery 5. ghost
2 a. 6 b. 2 c. 5 d. 4 e. 1 f. 3 3. costumes 6. awards
3 1. The Wright brothers tested different designs 2
thyhairyunfortunatelyvaluablecheapfriendly
of aeroplanes. heal
2. John F. Kennedy brought hope to Americans. 1. friendly 4. healthy
3. Martin Luther King fought against racial 2. hairy 5. Unfortunately
discrimination. 3. cheap 6. valuable
4. Mark Twain expressed the American spirit in 3 1. a 2. c 3. b 4. c 5. a
his books.
T
 he hidden picture is an Oscar / an Academy
5. Harper Lee wrote about racism in the 1930s. Awards.
6. Stephen King began to write at the age of
seven.
4 1. f 2. c 3. a 4. d 5. b 6. e

answers to cross-curricular focus

The Facts (page 59)
1 1. New York 4. North
2. towers 5. South
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2 1. e 2. f 3. d 4. c 5. b 6. a ger
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Survival Story (page 61) me
stairs

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3 1. dog 5. New Jersey rs
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mas
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2. life 6. died
3. blind 7. hero rk

4. stairs d e sk

Roselle takes Hingson to the subway.