brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/jonas-salk-patent-the-sun/
45-minute lesson plan
| Time | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3′ | Warm-up | Ask the class: “Have you had any vaccines? Do you know a disease that people were afraid of in the past?” Let a few students answer. |
| 3–11′ | Words | Pre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: polio, vaccine, announce, effective, own. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example. |
| 11–18′ | Video | Play the video (4:29). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed. |
| 18–26′ | Comprehension | Worksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?” |
| 26–34′ | Grammar | it took + (time) + to + verb: to say how long something needed: it took + time + to + verb, or it took + time + for + someone/something + to + verb. Show “It took years to make the vaccine.”, then do worksheet E together. |
| 34–42′ | Worksheet | Students do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key. |
| 42–45′ | Speaking | In pairs: “Salk said nobody could own the vaccine, just like nobody can own the sun. Should important medicines belong to everyone? Why, or why not?” |
Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.
Words and grammar
- polio (noun): a disease caused by a virus that can make people unable to move their arms or legs. “Polio could leave children unable to walk.”
- vaccine (noun): a medicine that teaches your body to fight a disease. “He gave the vaccine to himself and his family.”
- announce (verb (passive: was / were announced)): to tell many people about something officially. “The results were announced on 12 April 1955.”
- effective (adjective): working well; doing what it should. “The vaccine was safe and effective.”
- own (verb (past: owned)): to have something that belongs to you. “A reporter asked him who owned the patent.”
Grammar: it took + (time) + to + verb — to say how long something needed: it took + time + to + verb, or it took + time + for + someone/something + to + verb. “It took years to make the vaccine.”
Discussion questions
- Salk said nobody could own the vaccine, just like nobody can own the sun. Should important medicines belong to everyone? Why, or why not?
- What was the hardest moment in Jonas Salk's story? What did Jonas Salk do?
- Make two sentences about your own life with “it took + (time) + to + verb”. (From the story: “It took years to make the vaccine.”)
Student worksheet
A Match the words to their meanings
- polio (noun)
- vaccine (noun)
- announce (verb (passive: was / were announced))
- effective (adjective)
- own (verb (past: owned))
- laboratory (noun)
- trial (noun)
- injection (noun)
- a disease caused by a virus that can make people unable to move their arms or legs
- to tell many people about something officially
- to have something that belongs to you
- a medicine that teaches your body to fight a disease
- medicine put into the body with a needle
- a room or building where scientists do experiments (short: lab)
- working well; doing what it should
- a test to see if something is safe and works
B Complete the sentences from the story
trial · vaccine · laboratory · injection · announced · owned · effective · Polio
- could leave children unable to walk.
- About 1.8 million children took part in the .
- The results were on 12 April 1955.
- The vaccine was safe and .
- He gave the to himself and his family.
- A reporter asked him who the patent.
- In 1947, he started work in a new in Pittsburgh.
- The children got an at school.
C Did you understand?
- In the early 1950s, many American parents loved summer.True / False
- Who did Salk give the vaccine to in 1953?
- The President
- Only adults
- Himself and his family
- Nobody
- What were the 1.8 million children in the 1954 test called?
- The March of Dimes
- The Polio Pioneers
- The Salk Kids
- The Lab Team
- On 12 April 1955, the results showed that the vaccine was safe and effective.True / False
- What did Salk say when a reporter asked who owned the patent?
- I own it
- The university owns it
- I don't know
- Could you patent the sun?
D Put the words in order
- It / to / years / make / the / took / vaccine
E Grammar: it took + (time) + to + verb
We use it for to say how long something needed: it took + time + to + verb, or it took + time + for + someone/something + to + verb. It took years to make the vaccine. · It took almost a year to study the results. · It took only seven years for polio cases to fall by 97 percent.
Example from the story: It took years to make the vaccine.
- It years to make the vaccine. (took / needed / spent)
- It took almost a year study the results. (to / for / that)
- It took seven years polio cases to fall by 97 percent. (for / to / that)
F Your turn
Retell Jonas Salk's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Answer key
A. 1a 2d 3b 4g 5c 6f 7h 8e
B. 1 Polio · 2 trial · 3 announced · 4 effective · 5 vaccine · 6 owned · 7 laboratory · 8 injection
C. 1 False · 2 c · 3 b · 4 True · 5 d
D. 1 It took years to make the vaccine.
E. 1 took · 2 to · 3 for
Transcript
A reporter once asked a famous scientist who owned his new vaccine.
His answer became famous.
But first, the vaccine had to work.
This is the story of Jonas Salk.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Polio. Polio is a disease caused by a virus.
It can make people unable to move their arms or legs.
Polio could leave children unable to walk.
Vaccine. A vaccine is a medicine that teaches your body to fight a disease.
He gave the vaccine to himself and his family.
Announce. To announce something means to tell many people about it officially.
The results were announced on 12 April 1955.
Effective. Effective means that something works well.
The vaccine was safe and effective.
Own. To own something means that it belongs to you.
A reporter asked him who owned the patent.
Now, one pattern: it took + time + to + verb.
We use it to say how long something needed.
They needed years to make the vaccine.
It took years to make the vaccine.
Ready? Let's begin.
In the early 1950s, many American parents were afraid of summer.
Every summer, polio came back.
Polio could leave children unable to walk, and some needed big machines to help them breathe.
Swimming pools closed.
Jonas Salk was born in New York in 1914.
He was the first in his family to go to college, and he started at only fifteen.
He studied medicine, but he did not want to work as a doctor.
He wanted to be a researcher.
In 1947, he started work in a new laboratory in Pittsburgh.
Money came from millions of ordinary Americans, who sent coins to the March of Dimes.
Soon his team had one aim: a vaccine against polio.
His idea was to use polio viruses that had been killed with a chemical.
It took years to make the vaccine.
In 1953, he gave the vaccine to himself and his family, his wife and their three sons.
In 1954, about 1.8 million children took part in a huge test.
They were called the Polio Pioneers.
It took almost a year to study the results.
Was the vaccine safe?
Did it really work?
Hundreds of scientists and reporters waited at a university in Michigan.
The results were announced on 12 April 1955.
The vaccine was safe and effective.
Across America, church bells rang and factory whistles blew.
People ran into the streets, crying with joy.
It was exactly ten years after the death of President Roosevelt, who had had polio himself.
That evening, a reporter asked him who owned the patent.
Salk answered, "Well, the people, I would say."
"There is no patent."
"Could you patent the sun?"
Salk did not get rich from the vaccine.
Millions of children were vaccinated, and it took only seven years for polio cases in America to fall by 97 percent.
Later, he started a research centre in California, and he died in 1995.
Today, polio cases around the world have fallen by more than 99 percent.
Let's review. Polio could leave children unable to walk.
He gave the vaccine to himself and his family.
The results were announced on 12 April 1955.
The vaccine was safe and effective.
A reporter asked him who owned the patent.
And remember: it took years to make the vaccine.
Jonas Salk's story teaches us: the greatest discoveries can belong to everyone.
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