brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/temple-grandin-thinks-in-pictures/
45-minute lesson plan
| Time | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3′ | Warm-up | Ask the class: “Do you think in words or in pictures? Close your eyes and imagine your home. What do you see?” Let a few students answer. |
| 3–11′ | Words | Pre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: autism, institution, calm, cattle, design. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example. |
| 11–18′ | Video | Play the video (3:31). 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 | would + verb: the future seen from the past, often after said / thought / believed. Show “Doctors said she would never talk.”, 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: “Temple saw small things that other people missed. What small thing do you notice that others often miss?” |
Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.
Words and grammar
- autism (noun): a difference in how a person's brain works, which can change how they talk, learn and feel sounds and touch. “Temple is autistic: she has autism.”
- institution (noun): a large building where people live and are looked after, often far from their families. “Doctors wanted to send her to an institution.”
- calm (verb): to make a person or an animal feel less worried or afraid (past: calmed). “Deep pressure calmed her.”
- cattle (noun (plural)): cows and bulls that people keep on farms. “She watched the cattle on her aunt's ranch.”
- design (verb): to plan how something will look and work (past: designed). “She designed new systems for farms.”
Grammar: would + verb — the future seen from the past, often after said / thought / believed. “Doctors said she would never talk.”
Discussion questions
- Temple saw small things that other people missed. What small thing do you notice that others often miss?
- What was the hardest moment in Temple Grandin's story? What did Temple Grandin do?
- Make two sentences about your own life with “would + verb”. (From the story: “Doctors said she would never talk.”)
Student worksheet
A Match the words to their meanings
- autism (noun)
- institution (noun)
- calm (verb)
- cattle (noun (plural))
- design (verb)
- speech therapy (noun)
- ranch (noun)
- professor (noun)
- cows and bulls that people keep on farms
- a difference in how a person's brain works, which can change how they talk, learn and feel sounds and touch
- to make a person or an animal feel less worried or afraid (past: calmed)
- a very large farm, especially in America, where cattle are kept
- help from a specialist to learn to speak more easily
- to plan how something will look and work (past: designed)
- a large building where people live and are looked after, often far from their families
- a senior teacher at a university
B Complete the sentences from the story
institution · designed · calmed · professor · ranch · autistic · cattle
- She spent a summer on her aunt's in Arizona.
- Temple is : she has autism.
- Temple became a at Colorado State University.
- She new systems for farms.
- Doctors wanted to send her to an .
- Deep pressure her.
- She watched the on her aunt's ranch.
C Did you understand?
- What did doctors say when Temple was two?
- She would be a great scientist
- She would never talk
- She should move to Arizona
- She should play more sport
- Temple's mother agreed to send her to an institution.True / False
- Why did Temple build a squeeze machine?
- To catch cattle
- To sell to farmers
- Because deep pressure calmed her
- For a school sports day
- Temple thinks in pictures.True / False
- What small things frighten cattle, according to Temple?
- Grass and water
- Shadows, sudden noises and quick movements
- Music and lights
- Other cattle
D Put the words in order
- never / she / said / would / Doctors / talk
E Grammar: would + verb
We use it for the future seen from the past, often after said / thought / believed. will → would · They say she will… → They said she would…
Example from the story: Doctors said she would never talk.
- The doctors said she never talk. (would / will)
- Few people believed she succeed in the cattle business. (would / will)
- Today she is a professor. In 1950, nobody thought she become one. (would / will)
F Your turn
Retell Temple Grandin's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Answer key
A. 1b 2g 3c 4a 5f 6e 7d 8h
B. 1 ranch · 2 autistic · 3 professor · 4 designed · 5 institution · 6 calmed · 7 cattle
C. 1 b · 2 False · 3 c · 4 True · 5 b
D. 1 Doctors said she would never talk.
E. 1 would · 2 would · 3 would
Transcript
When she was two, she didn't speak.
Doctors said she would never talk, and that she should live in an institution.
Her mother said no.
This is the story of Temple Grandin.
Hello, and welcome to Bright Lives English. Real stories. Real English.
Today's level is B1. In this story, listen for five new words.
Autism. Autism is a difference in how a person's brain works.
It can change how people talk, learn, and feel sounds and touch. Temple is autistic.
Institution. An institution is a large building where people live and are looked after, often far from their families.
Doctors wanted to send her to an institution.
Calm. When you calm someone, you help them feel less worried or afraid. The past is calmed.
Deep pressure calmed her.
Cattle. Cattle are cows and bulls that people keep on farms.
It's a plural word: we say "the cattle are". She watched the cattle on her aunt's ranch.
Design. When you design something, you plan how it will look and work.
She designed new systems for farms.
Now, one pattern: would, for the future in the past. Doctors said she would never talk.
Ready? Let's begin.
Temple Grandin was born in Boston, in the United States, in 1947.
As a small child, she didn't speak.
Loud sounds hurt her ears, and she hated being hugged.
When she was two, doctors said she had brain damage.
They said she would never talk, and that she should go to an institution.
But her mother refused, and found her a speech teacher.
Slowly, Temple learned to talk.
At school, other children laughed at her, and life was very hard.
But a science teacher, William Carlock, believed in her and showed her how exciting science could be.
At fifteen, she spent a summer on her aunt's ranch in Arizona.
She watched the cattle go into a squeeze chute, a machine that held them tightly.
The pressure calmed the animals.
Temple had an idea.
At eighteen, with help from her teacher, she built her own squeeze machine.
When she felt anxious, the deep pressure calmed her too.
Temple thinks in pictures.
She can walk through a farm in her mind, like watching a film.
She understood that cattle, like her, were afraid of small things: shadows, sudden noises and quick movements.
In the 1970s, the cattle business was a world of men.
Few people believed she would succeed.
But she designed calmer, curved paths for cattle.
Today, almost half of the cattle in North America are handled in a system she designed.
Temple became a professor at Colorado State University.
The girl who doctors said would never talk now speaks to audiences all over the world, about animals and about autism.
Let's review. Temple is autistic.
Doctors wanted to send her to an institution.
Deep pressure calmed her.
She watched the cattle.
And she designed new systems for farms.
And remember: doctors said she would never talk.
Temple's story teaches us that a different mind can see what others miss.
Want more practice? Go to brightlivesenglish.com for flashcards, a worksheet and a quiz.
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