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Bright Lives English · Teacher sheet

Kalpana Chawla: She Watched Planes Over Her Small Town… Then Flew Into Space

Level B1 (Intermediate) · Video 4:41 · 45-minute lesson

brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/kalpana-chawla-dream-big/

45-minute lesson plan

TimeStageWhat to do
0–3′Warm-upAsk the class: “Have you ever been on a plane? Have you ever looked at the stars and wanted to go there? What did you want to be when you were a child?” Let a few students answer.
3–11′WordsPre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: engineering, astronaut, shuttle, mission, dream big. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example.
11–18′VideoPlay the video (4:41). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed.
18–26′ComprehensionWorksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?”
26–34′GrammarHave you ever + past participle …?: present perfect for experience: to ask or talk about experiences at any time in a life, with no time word. Show “Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?”, then do worksheet E together.
34–42′WorksheetStudents do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key.
42–45′SpeakingIn pairs: “People told Kalpana that engineering was not for girls. Are there jobs that people in your country say are "not for girls" or "not for boys"? Do you agree?”

Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.

Words and grammar

  • engineering (noun): the work of designing and building machines, planes, roads or bridges. “She studied engineering in India and America.”
  • astronaut (noun): a person who travels into space. “NASA chose her as a new astronaut.”
  • shuttle (noun): (the space shuttle) a spaceship that flew to space and landed again like a plane. “The shuttle took her into space.”
  • mission (noun): an important job or trip that a team is sent to do. “Her first mission lasted almost sixteen days.”
  • dream big (phrase): to hope for something great, even if it seems impossible. “She showed girls in India how to dream big.”

Grammar: Have you ever + past participle …? — present perfect for experience: to ask or talk about experiences at any time in a life, with no time word. “Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?”

Discussion questions

  1. People told Kalpana that engineering was not for girls. Are there jobs that people in your country say are "not for girls" or "not for boys"? Do you agree?
  2. What was the hardest moment in Kalpana Chawla's story? What did Kalpana Chawla do?
  3. Make two sentences about your own life with “Have you ever + past participle …?”. (From the story: “Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?”)

Student worksheet

Name: Date:

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. engineering (noun)
  2. astronaut (noun)
  3. shuttle (noun)
  4. mission (noun)
  5. dream big (phrase)
  6. satellite (noun)
  7. aerospace (adjective / noun)
  8. flying club (noun)
  1. a person who travels into space
  2. about building and flying planes and spaceships
  3. a small airfield where people learn to fly and keep small planes
  4. the work of designing and building machines, planes, roads or bridges
  5. an important job or trip that a team is sent to do
  6. a machine sent into space to go around the Earth, for example to watch the weather
  7. (the space shuttle) a spaceship that flew to space and landed again like a plane
  8. to hope for something great, even if it seems impossible

B Complete the sentences from the story

satellite · flying club · astronaut · aerospace · dream big · shuttle · engineering · mission

  1. Her first lasted almost sixteen days.
  2. There was a small near her home.
  3. She became a doctor of engineering.
  4. NASA chose her as a new .
  5. India named a weather after her.
  6. She studied in India and America.
  7. She showed girls in India how to .
  8. The took her into space.

C Did you understand?

  1. Kalpana chose her own name when she started school.True / False
  2. How did she and her brother go to watch the planes?
    1. By bus
    2. In a plane
    3. On their bicycles
    4. On a horse
  3. What did people tell her about engineering?
    1. It was too easy
    2. It was not for girls
    3. It was only for old people
    4. It was very cheap
  4. She was afraid of flying and never flew small planes.True / False
  5. How many times did she fly around the Earth on her first mission?
    1. 16
    2. 7
    3. 1,000
    4. 252

D Put the words in order

  1. you / seen / from / Have / ever / space / the / Himalayas

E Grammar: Have you ever + past participle …?

We use it for present perfect for experience: to ask or talk about experiences at any time in a life, with no time word. Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space? · Has anyone ever told you that…? · Very few people have ever seen it.

Example from the story: Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?

  1. Have you ever the Himalayas? (seen / saw / see)
  2. anyone ever told you that something is not for you? (Has / Have / Did)
  3. Very few people have been to space. (ever / yesterday / ago)

F Your turn

Retell Kalpana Chawla's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Answer key

A. 1d 2a 3g 4e 5h 6f 7b 8c

B. 1 mission · 2 flying club · 3 aerospace · 4 astronaut · 5 satellite · 6 engineering · 7 dream big · 8 shuttle

C. 1 True · 2 c · 3 b · 4 False · 5 d

D. 1 Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space.

E. 1 seen · 2 Has · 3 ever

Transcript

Have you ever watched a plane and wanted to fly it?

A girl in a small Indian town did.

Years later, she flew around the Earth 252 times.

This is the story of Kalpana Chawla.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Engineering. Engineering is the work of designing and building things like machines, planes and bridges.

She studied engineering in India and America.

Astronaut. An astronaut is a person who travels into space.

NASA chose her as a new astronaut.

Shuttle. The space shuttle was a spaceship that flew into space and came back to land like a plane.

The shuttle took her into space.

Mission. A mission is an important job or trip that a team is sent to do.

Her first mission lasted almost sixteen days.

Dream big. When you dream big, you hope for something great, even if it seems impossible.

She showed girls in India how to dream big.

Now, one pattern: have you ever.

We use it to ask about experiences at any time in your life.

She saw the Himalayas from space.

Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?

Ready? Let's begin.

Kalpana Chawla was born in Karnal, a small town in northern India, in the early 1960s.

Her family called her Montu.

When she started school, she chose her own name: Kalpana.

It means "imagination".

Near her home, there was a small flying club.

Kalpana and her brother rode their bicycles to watch the planes.

In art class, she drew airplanes.

Could a girl from Karnal ever fly up there?

Has anyone ever told you that something is not for you?

People told Kalpana that engineering was not for girls.

Her father hoped she would be a doctor or a teacher.

But she studied aeronautical engineering.

In 1982, she finished her degree.

Then she moved to the United States.

She studied in Texas and Colorado and became a doctor of aerospace engineering.

She worked for NASA on how air moves around planes.

She also became a flying teacher, and she loved flying upside down.

In 1994, NASA chose her as one of nineteen new astronauts.

She trained for years as an astronaut.

Then the big day came.

On 19 November 1997, she sat in the space shuttle Columbia.

Ten. Nine. Eight.

The engines roared.

The shuttle shook.

A few minutes later, everything was quiet.

Below her was the blue Earth.

Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?

Kalpana did. She was the first woman born in India to go to space.

On this mission, she flew around the Earth 252 times.

Her first mission lasted almost sixteen days.

She said: "Earth is very beautiful.

I wish everyone could see it."

Very few people have ever seen it like that.

In 2003, she flew on a second mission, again on Columbia.

On 1 February, on the way home, there was an accident.

Kalpana and the six other astronauts died.

India named a weather satellite after her.

Many students from her old school in Karnal have visited NASA since 1998.

She showed girls in India how to dream big.

Let's review. She studied engineering in India and America.

NASA chose her as a new astronaut.

The shuttle took her into space.

Her first mission lasted almost sixteen days.

She showed girls in India how to dream big.

And remember: have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?

Kalpana Chawla's story teaches us: your imagination can take you higher than the sky.

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