Amelia Earhart: She Didn't Like Planes… Then She Flew Across the Ocean Alone
At ten, Amelia Earhart saw her first plane and didn't like it. In 1932, she flew across the Atlantic Ocean alone — at night, with ice on the wings and fire at the engine. Learn five A1 words with the true story of Amelia Earhart.
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
A young woman over the dark at night.
She was .
Would she get to the other side?
This is the story of Amelia Earhart.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. A is a machine.
It in the .
She saw her first at a .
. When you , you move through the air.
The past is .
She wanted to a .
. The is above us.
It is blue in the day.
Her red was high in the .
. An is a very big sea.
She across the .
. means with no other people.
She , all night.
Now, one pattern: the first person to.
We use it for someone who did something before anyone else.
No woman did it before her.
She was the first woman to across .
Ready? Let's begin.
Amelia Earhart was born in America in 1897.
When she was about ten, she saw her first at a .
She did not like it!
It was only old wire and wood, she said.
In 1920, she in a for ten minutes.
High in the , she knew: "I have to !"
She worked many jobs and paid for lessons.
In 1928, she went across the in a .
She was the first woman to do it.
But a man the .
She said she was like a bag of potatoes!
On 20 May 1932, she left Newfoundland in the evening.
Her was red.
Then there was ice on the wings.
Fire came from the engine.
The went down, near the waves.
But she did not stop.
She all night.
In the morning, she saw green fields.
It was Ireland!
She landed in a field with cows.
A man asked: "Have you come far?"
She said: "From America!"
She was the first woman to across the .
In 1935, she from Hawaii to California.
She was the first person to do it.
In 1937, she over the Pacific .
Nobody knows what happened.
Let's review. She saw her first at a .
She wanted to a .
Her red was high in the .
She across the .
She , all night.
And remember: she was the first woman to across .
Amelia Earhart's story teaches us: be brave and follow your dream.
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Step 3
Words from the story
Say the word, guess its meaning, then flip the card. Keep the ones you know, and practise the rest again.
Great work, you know every word in this story. Now try the quiz below.
plane noun
a machine that flies in the sky
“She saw her first plane at a fair.”
fly verb (flew)
to move through the air
“She wanted to fly a plane.”
sky noun
the space above us; it is blue in the day
“Her red plane was high in the sky.”
ocean noun
a very big sea
“She flew across the ocean.”
alone adjective / adverb
with no other people
“She flew alone, all night.”
pilot noun
a person who flies a plane
“Amelia was a pilot.”
fair noun
a big outdoor event with games, rides and animals
“She saw her first plane at a fair.”
flight noun
a trip in a plane
“Her flight across the ocean took about 15 hours.”
Grammar in the story
the first + noun + to + verb
We use it for: to say who did something before anyone else
- the first woman to fly across alone
- the first person to fly from Hawaii to California
- the first man to walk on the Moon
From the story
- She was the first woman to fly across alone.
- In 1935, she was the first person to fly alone from Hawaii to California.
Find it in the story 6 times
Your turn
She was the first woman fly across the ocean alone.
Neil Armstrong was the person to walk on the Moon.
Who was the first person climb Everest?
Step 4
Story Challenge
9 quick rounds: choose, fill the gap, build the sentence and match the words. Answer in a row to build a streak and earn bonus points.
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Take it further
Before you watch: Have you been on a plane? Did you like it? Would you like to fly a plane alone?
After you watch: Write three sentences with the first … to. For example: I was the first person to get up today. My brother was the first child in our family to go to university.
Think about it: When Amelia was a girl, people said women can’t fly planes. Did people ever say that you can’t do something? What did you do?
