Roald Amundsen: He Trained in the Cold… Then Reached the South Pole First
People say a boy in Norway slept with his window open in winter. In 1911, Roald Amundsen went to the South Pole with four other men and 52 dogs. Learn five A1 words and how to use had to + verb with the true story of Roald Amundsen.
Coming 11 December 2026, 3:00 pm New York time
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
People say a boy in Norway slept with his window open in winter.
This is the story of Roald Amundsen.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. A is an animal.
can pull sledges.
They had 52 .
. falls from the sky.
There was everywhere.
. is the opposite of hot.
It was very, very .
. is frozen water.
They went over and mountains.
. A is a small house made of cloth.
They left a small at the Pole.
Now, one pattern: had to, plus a verb.
They had to in the .
Ready? Let's begin.
Roald Amundsen was born in Norway in 1872.
He loved to .
He wanted to be strong in the .
In 1911, he went to the Pole with four other men.
They had 52 .
A team from Britain wanted to be first.
Who would be first?
There was everywhere.
It was very, very .
They had to in the .
They went over and mountains.
On 14 December 1911, they stopped.
They were at the Pole!
They were the first.
They left a small at the Pole.
The whole trip took 99 days.
Let's review. They had 52 .
There was everywhere.
It was very, very .
They went over and mountains.
They left a small at the Pole.
And remember: they had to in the .
Roald Amundsen's story teaches us: good plans help dreams come true.
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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.
dog noun
an animal; some dogs can pull a sledge
“They had 52 dogs.”
snow noun
soft white ice that falls from the sky
“There was snow everywhere.”
cold adjective
not hot; very low in temperature
“It was very, very cold.”
ice noun
frozen water
“They went over ice and mountains.”
tent noun
a small house made of cloth
“They left a small tent at the South Pole.”
ski verb
to move over snow on two long, thin boards
“He loved to ski.”
explorer noun
a person who travels to places that people don't know well
“He wanted to be an explorer.”
south noun
the direction to your right when you look at the sunrise
“They went south, to the Pole.”
Grammar in the story
had to + verb
We use it for: to say that something was necessary in the past
- They had to ski in the snow.
- They had to be strong.
From the story
- They had to ski in the snow.
- I had to get up early yesterday.
Find it in the story 4 times
Your turn
They had ski in the snow.
It was cold, so they had to fur clothes.
Yesterday I to walk to school.
Step 4
Story Challenge
7 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: Do you like cold weather or hot weather? Have you seen snow?
After you watch: Write three sentences with had to. For example: Yesterday I had to get up early. Last year I had to study a lot. In the rain, we had to wear coats.
Think about it: Amundsen planned very carefully. Why are good plans important for big dreams?
