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Bright Lives English · Teacher sheet

Tenzing Norgay: He Tried Again and Again, Then Stood on Top of the World

Level A2 (Elementary) · Video 3:58 · 45-minute lesson

brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/tenzing-norgay-top-of-the-world/

45-minute lesson plan

TimeStageWhat to do
0–3′Warm-upAsk the class: “What is the highest mountain in your country? Would you like to climb it?” Let a few students answer.
3–13′WordsPre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: climb, top, rope, oxygen, carry. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example.
13–20′VideoPlay the video (3:58). 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′Grammarthe + -est / the most + adjective: to say that something is number one in a group. Show “Everest is the highest mountain in the world.”, 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: “Tenzing tried seven times. Is there something you want to try again? What will help you?”

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

Words and grammar

  • climb (verb): to go up something, often with your hands and feet (past: climbed). “He tried to climb Everest again and again.”
  • top (noun): the highest part of something (opposite: bottom). “They stood on the top of the world.”
  • rope (noun): a long, thick, strong line. “Tenzing quickly held the rope.”
  • oxygen (noun): a gas in the air that we need to breathe. “They carried oxygen on their backs.”
  • carry (verb): to hold something and take it with you (past: carried). “He carried heavy bags for climbers.”

Grammar: the + -est / the most + adjective — to say that something is number one in a group. “Everest is the highest mountain in the world.”

Discussion questions

  1. Tenzing tried seven times. Is there something you want to try again? What will help you?
  2. What was the hardest moment in Tenzing Norgay's story? What did Tenzing Norgay do?
  3. Make two sentences about your own life with “the + -est / the most + adjective”. (From the story: “Everest is the highest mountain in the world.”)

Student worksheet

Name: Date:

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. climb (verb)
  2. top (noun)
  3. rope (noun)
  4. oxygen (noun)
  5. carry (verb)
  6. porter (noun)
  7. camp (noun)
  8. peak (noun)
  1. a place where people stay in tents for a short time
  2. a long, thick, strong line
  3. a person whose job is to carry bags for other people
  4. a gas in the air that we need to breathe
  5. to go up something, often with your hands and feet (past: climbed)
  6. the highest part of something (opposite: bottom)
  7. the pointed top of a mountain
  8. to hold something and take it with you (past: carried)

B Complete the sentences from the story

rope · peak · carried · oxygen · camp · porter · top · climb

  1. They stood on the of the world.
  2. Everest has the highest in the world.
  3. As a young man, Tenzing worked as a for climbers.
  4. They left their early in the morning.
  5. He heavy bags for climbers.
  6. He tried to Everest again and again.
  7. Tenzing quickly held the .
  8. They carried on their backs.

C Did you understand?

  1. Where did Tenzing grow up?
    1. In a big city in India
    2. In a small village in Nepal
    3. In New Zealand
    4. In a town in China
  2. Tenzing could read and write.True / False
  3. What was Tenzing's job in Darjeeling?
    1. He sold yaks
    2. He taught languages
    3. He made ropes
    4. He carried heavy bags for climbers
  4. How many times did Tenzing try to climb Everest?
    1. Two times
    2. Four times
    3. Seven times
    4. Ten times
  5. Tenzing saved Hillary when he fell into a hole in the ice.True / False
  6. What did Tenzing leave in the snow on the top?
    1. Some sweets
    2. A flag
    3. His rope
    4. A letter

D Put the words in order

  1. mountain / Everest / the / the / is / world / highest / in

E Grammar: the + -est / the most + adjective

We use it for to say that something is number one in a group. short words: high → the highest, hard → the hardest · long words: dangerous → the most dangerous

Example from the story: Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

  1. Everest is mountain in the world. (the highest / the most high / higher)
  2. The last part was . (the hardest / the most hard / hard)
  3. It is one of mountains to climb. (the most dangerous / the dangerousest / more dangerous)

F Your turn

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

Answer key

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

B. 1 top · 2 peak · 3 porter · 4 camp · 5 carried · 6 climb · 7 rope · 8 oxygen

C. 1 b · 2 False · 3 d · 4 c · 5 True · 6 a

D. 1 Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

E. 1 the highest · 2 the hardest · 3 the most dangerous

Transcript

It is the highest mountain in the world.

Many people tried to climb it.

Many failed. One man from the mountains tried seven times.

And who stepped on the top first?

This is the story of Tenzing Norgay.

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

Climb. When you climb, you go up something, often with your hands and feet.

The past is climbed.

He tried to climb Everest again and again.

Top. The top is the highest part of something.

The opposite is the bottom.

They stood on the top of the world.

Rope. A rope is a long, thick, strong line.

Climbers use ropes to stay safe.

Tenzing quickly held the rope.

Oxygen. Oxygen is a gas in the air.

We need it to breathe.

They carried oxygen on their backs.

Carry. When you carry something, you hold it and take it with you.

The past is carried.

He carried heavy bags for climbers.

Now, one pattern: the superlative.

We use it to say that something is number one.

High, the highest.

Dangerous, the most dangerous.

Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

Ready? Let's begin.

Tenzing Norgay was born in 1914.

He grew up in a small village in Nepal.

His family had yaks.

Not far away was Everest, the highest mountain in the world.

As a young man, he moved to Darjeeling in India to find work.

He carried heavy bags for climbers.

He could not read or write.

But he spoke seven languages.

In 1935, he went to Everest for the first time.

After that, he tried to climb Everest again and again.

In 1952, he climbed higher than anyone before.

But not to the top.

In 1953, he tried for the seventh time, with Edmund Hillary from New Zealand.

One day, Hillary fell into a deep hole in the ice.

Tenzing quickly held the rope.

He saved him.

High up, there is very little oxygen.

So they carried oxygen on their backs.

On the 29th of May, 1953, they left early.

The last part was the hardest.

Would they reach the top?

Step by step, they climbed.

At half past eleven, there was no more mountain above them.

They stood on the top of the world, the highest place on Earth.

Tenzing left some sweets in the snow, a small gift for the mountain.

So who stepped on the top first?

At first, they only said: we did it together.

Later, Tenzing wrote the answer.

Hillary was first, and Tenzing was right after him.

And the 29th of May became his new birthday.

Let's review. He tried to climb Everest again and again.

They stood on the top of the world.

Tenzing quickly held the rope.

They carried oxygen on their backs.

He carried heavy bags for climbers.

And remember: Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

Tenzing Norgay's story teaches us: try again and again, and climb together.

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