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Bright Lives English · Teacher sheet

Marie Curie: The Secret School and Two Nobel Prizes

Level A2 (Elementary) · Video 3:45 · 45-minute lesson

brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/marie-curie-two-nobel-prizes/

45-minute lesson plan

TimeStageWhat to do
0–3′Warm-upAsk the class: “What do you think a "secret school" was? Why was it secret? Guess, then watch and check.” Let a few students answer.
3–13′WordsPre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: prize, scientist, discover, element, university. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example.
13–20′VideoPlay the video (3:45). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed.
20–28′ComprehensionWorksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?”
28–35′Grammarboth … and: putting two things together: two people, two subjects, two places. Show “She won prizes in both physics and chemistry.”, then do worksheet E together.
35–43′WorksheetStudents do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key.
43–45′SpeakingIn pairs: “Marie found another way to learn when the door was closed. What is one way you learn English outside class?”

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

Words and grammar

  • prize (noun): something you get when you win or do something very well. “She won a Nobel Prize.”
  • scientist (noun): a person who studies the world to learn how it works. “Marie was a great scientist.”
  • discover (verb): to find something for the first time (past: discovered). “She discovered two new elements.”
  • element (noun): one of the simple things that everything is made of, like gold or iron. “Radium is an element.”
  • university (noun): a place where you study after school. “Women couldn't go to university in Poland.”

Grammar: both … and — putting two things together: two people, two subjects, two places. “She won prizes in both physics and chemistry.”

Discussion questions

  1. Marie found another way to learn when the door was closed. What is one way you learn English outside class?
  2. What was the hardest moment in Marie Curie's story? What did Marie Curie do?
  3. Make two sentences about your own life with “both … and”. (From the story: “She won prizes in both physics and chemistry.”)

Student worksheet

Name: Date:

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. prize (noun)
  2. scientist (noun)
  3. discover (verb)
  4. element (noun)
  5. university (noun)
  6. physics (noun)
  7. chemistry (noun)
  8. husband (noun)
  1. something you get when you win or do something very well
  2. the science of energy, light, heat and how things move
  3. one of the simple things that everything is made of, like gold or iron
  4. the science of what things are made of and how they change
  5. the man a woman is married to
  6. to find something for the first time (past: discovered)
  7. a person who studies the world to learn how it works
  8. a place where you study after school

B Complete the sentences from the story

element · Prize · discovered · husband · chemistry · physics · scientist · university

  1. She two new elements.
  2. Women couldn't go to in Poland.
  3. She won a Nobel .
  4. She studied both and mathematics.
  5. Radium is an .
  6. In 1911, she won a Nobel Prize in .
  7. Her , Pierre, was a scientist too.
  8. Marie was a great .

C Did you understand?

  1. In Poland at that time, women could study at university.True / False
  2. What was the Flying University?
    1. A school for pilots
    2. A secret school
    3. A university in Paris
    4. A plane
  3. Why did they call one element polonium?
    1. After Pierre
    2. After Poland
    3. After Paris
    4. After a flower
  4. Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.True / False
  5. After Pierre died, Marie stopped working.True / False

D Put the words in order

  1. and / in / Pierre / an / old / Marie / shed / Both / worked

E Grammar: both … and

We use it for putting two things together: two people, two subjects, two places. both + noun + and + noun · Both Marie and Pierre…

Example from the story: She won prizes in both physics and chemistry.

  1. She studied physics and mathematics. (both / and / or)
  2. Both Marie Pierre were scientists. (and / or / both)
  3. She is the only person with Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry. (both / two / all)

F Your turn

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

Answer key

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

B. 1 discovered · 2 university · 3 Prize · 4 physics · 5 element · 6 chemistry · 7 husband · 8 scientist

C. 1 False · 2 b · 3 b · 4 True · 5 False

D. 1 Both Marie and Pierre worked in an old shed.

E. 1 both · 2 and · 3 both

Transcript

In her country, girls couldn't go to university.

So she studied at a secret school.

Years later, she won two Nobel Prizes.

This is the story of Marie Curie.

Hello, and welcome to Bright Lives English.

Real stories. Real English.

Today's level is A2.

In this story, listen for five new words.

Prize. A prize is something you get when you win, or when you do something very well.

She won a Nobel Prize.

Scientist. A scientist is a person who studies the world to learn how it works.

Marie was a great scientist.

Discover. When you discover something, you find it for the first time.

The past is discovered.

She discovered two new elements.

Element. An element is one of the simple things that everything is made of, like gold or iron.

Radium is an element.

University. A university is a place where you study after school.

Women couldn't go to university in Poland.

Now, one pattern: both… and.

It puts two things together.

She studied physics and mathematics.

She studied both physics and mathematics.

And she won prizes in both physics and chemistry.

Ready? Let's begin.

Marie Curie was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1867.

Her first name then was Maria.

She loved books and learning.

But women couldn't go to university in Poland.

So Maria studied at a secret school called the Flying University.

Later, she worked as a teacher for about five years and saved her money.

In 1891, she moved to Paris and went to university.

She had very little money, and she was often cold and hungry.

But she studied both physics and mathematics.

In Paris, she met a French scientist named Pierre Curie.

They got married in 1895.

Both Marie and Pierre worked in an old, cold shed, day and night.

In 1898, they discovered two new elements.

They called one polonium, after Poland, and the other radium.

In 1903, they won the Nobel Prize in physics.

Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.

But in 1906, Pierre died in a street accident.

Marie was very sad, but she didn't stop working.

In 1911, she won a second Nobel Prize, this time in chemistry.

Today, she is still the only person with Nobel Prizes in both physics and chemistry.

Let's review. She won a Nobel Prize.

Marie was a great scientist.

She discovered two new elements.

Radium is an element.

Women couldn't go to university in Poland.

And remember: she won prizes in both physics and chemistry.

Marie's story teaches us: if one door is closed, find another way to learn.

Want more practice?

Go to brightlivesenglish.com for flashcards, a worksheet and a quiz.

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See you in the next true story!