brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/joseph-lister-clean-hospitals/
45-minute lesson plan
| Time | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3′ | Warm-up | Ask the class: “Why do doctors and nurses wash their hands so often?” Let a few students answer. |
| 3–10′ | Words | Pre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: infection, antiseptic, wound, instrument, sterile. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example. |
| 10–17′ | Video | Play the video (5:09). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed. |
| 17–25′ | Comprehension | Worksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?” |
| 25–33′ | Grammar | It wasn't until + time + that + past simple: to show that something happened later than expected. Show “It wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid.”, then do worksheet E together. |
| 33–40′ | Worksheet | Students do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key. |
| 40–45′ | Speaking | In pairs: “Many surgeons laughed at the idea of invisible germs. Why do people sometimes refuse new ideas?” |
Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.
Words and grammar
- infection (noun): an illness caused by germs that get into the body. “After surgery, many people died of infection.”
- antiseptic (noun): a substance that kills germs and stops infection. “He decided to use carbolic acid as an antiseptic.”
- wound (noun): an injury where the skin is cut or broken. “In those days, a wound like this often meant losing the leg.”
- instrument (noun): a tool for careful work, especially one that doctors use. “He and his team washed their hands and their instruments in carbolic acid.”
- sterile (adjective): completely clean, with no germs at all. “Later surgeons made their instruments completely sterile with heat.”
Grammar: It wasn't until + time + that + past simple — to show that something happened later than expected. “It wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid.”
Discussion questions
- Many surgeons laughed at the idea of invisible germs. Why do people sometimes refuse new ideas?
- What was the hardest moment in Joseph Lister's story? What did Joseph Lister do?
- Make two sentences about your own life with “It wasn't until + time + that + past simple”. (From the story: “It wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid.”)
Student worksheet
A Match the words to their meanings
- infection (noun)
- antiseptic (noun)
- wound (noun)
- instrument (noun)
- sterile (adjective)
- carbolic acid (noun)
- germ theory (noun)
- operating theatre (noun)
- a substance that kills germs and stops infection
- a room in a hospital where surgeons operate
- completely clean, with no germs at all
- an illness caused by germs that get into the body
- the idea that tiny living germs cause many diseases
- a tool for careful work, especially one that doctors use
- an injury where the skin is cut or broken
- a chemical that kills germs, used by Lister
B Complete the sentences from the story
operating theatre · instruments · germ theory · sterile · infection · antiseptic · wound · carbolic acid
- Later surgeons made their instruments completely with heat.
- He and his team washed their hands and their in carbolic acid.
- He decided to use carbolic acid as an .
- Lister used in surgery.
- Lister covered the wound with cloth soaked in .
- In those days, a like this often meant losing the leg.
- Students watched operations in the .
- After surgery, many people died of .
C Did you understand?
- Lister made his instruments sterile with heat.True / False
- Whose work about germs gave Lister his idea?
- Queen Victoria's
- James Greenlees's
- Louis Pasteur's
- His father's
- What happened to the boy's leg?
- Doctors cut it off
- The bone healed and he kept his leg
- It got an infection
- He never walked again
- Lister asked for a mouthwash to be named after him.True / False
D Put the words in order
- wasn't / acid / that / 1865 / tried / he / carbolic / until / It
E Grammar: It wasn't until + time + that + past simple
We use it for to show that something happened later than expected. It wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid. · It wasn't until the 1880s that many surgeons accepted his ideas.
Example from the story: It wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid.
- It wasn't 1865 that he tried carbolic acid. (until / since / during)
- It wasn't until 1865 he tried carbolic acid. (that / when he / which)
- It until the 1880s that many surgeons agreed. (wasn't / didn't / isn't been)
F Your turn
Retell Joseph Lister's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Answer key
A. 1d 2a 3g 4f 5c 6h 7e 8b
B. 1 sterile · 2 instruments · 3 antiseptic · 4 germ theory · 5 carbolic acid · 6 wound · 7 operating theatre · 8 infection
C. 1 False · 2 c · 3 b · 4 False
D. 1 It wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid.
E. 1 until · 2 that · 3 wasn't
Transcript
In the 1860s, some surgeons were proud of their dirty coats.
Then an 11-year-old boy arrived with a badly broken leg.
The bone had come through the skin.
Would he keep his leg?
This is the story of Joseph Lister.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Infection. An infection is an illness caused by germs that get into the body.
After surgery, many people died of infection.
Antiseptic. An antiseptic is a substance that kills germs and stops infection.
He decided to use carbolic acid as an antiseptic.
Wound. A wound is an injury where the skin is cut or broken.
In those days, a wound like this often meant losing the leg.
Instrument. An instrument is a tool for careful work, especially one that doctors use.
He and his team washed their hands and their instruments in carbolic acid.
Sterile. Sterile means completely clean, with no germs at all.
Later surgeons made their instruments completely sterile with heat.
Now, one pattern: it wasn't until, then a time, then that.
It shows that something happened later than we might expect.
It wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid.
It wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid.
Ready? Let's begin.
Joseph Lister was born near London in 1827, into a Quaker family.
His father made better lenses for microscopes, so Joseph grew up looking at tiny living things.
He studied medicine in London.
As a student, he is said to have watched one of the first operations with anaesthetic.
Now people slept through surgery.
But a bigger danger remained.
After surgery, many people died of infection.
Wounds turned red and swollen, and the wards smelled terrible.
Most doctors blamed bad air.
In 1860, he became a professor of surgery in Glasgow.
It wasn't until the mid-1860s that a chemistry professor showed him the work of Louis Pasteur.
Pasteur had shown that tiny living germs make things rot.
Lister had an idea.
Perhaps germs were also causing infection in wounds.
If he could kill them, people might live.
He had read that carbolic acid helped to clean the sewage of a town.
He decided to use carbolic acid as an antiseptic.
In August 1865, the boy from the start of our story arrived: James Greenlees, 11 years old.
The wheel of a cart had gone over his leg.
In those days, a wound like this often meant losing the leg, or even dying.
It wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid.
Lister covered the wound with cloth soaked in it.
Days passed, and there was no infection.
After six weeks, the bone had healed.
The boy kept his leg.
In 1867, he published his results.
Over the next years, he and his team washed their hands and their instruments in carbolic acid.
In his wards, deaths after amputations went down from about 45% to about 15%.
Many surgeons were sceptical.
Some laughed at the idea of invisible germs.
But slowly, the results changed their minds.
In 1871, he even treated an infection under Queen Victoria's arm.
Later surgeons went further.
They wore gloves and gowns.
Later surgeons made their instruments completely sterile with heat.
But Lister's ideas led the way.
It wasn't until 1897 that a doctor was made a lord, and that doctor was Lister.
A famous mouthwash was named after him, but he had nothing to do with it.
He died in 1912.
Let's review. After surgery, many people died of infection.
He decided to use carbolic acid as an antiseptic.
In those days, a wound like this often meant losing the leg.
He and his team washed their hands and their instruments in carbolic acid.
Later surgeons made their instruments completely sterile with heat.
And remember: it wasn't until 1865 that he tried carbolic acid.
Joseph Lister's story teaches us: the things we cannot see can matter the most.
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