How Ray Kroc turned McDonald's into a global brand

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: How Ray Kroc turned McDonald's into a global brand

Warm-up

Have you ever eaten at McDonald's? (Yes, I have. I usually... / No, I haven't.)

Vocabulary Match

aggressive -   - business model
expansion -   - forceful
franchise -   - growth
potential -   - payment
entitled -   - possibility
royalty -   - deserving

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

Ray Kroc was a milkshake machine salesman in the 1950s when he discovered a small but popular restaurant in California run by two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald. The brothers were doing great business with their simple menu and speedy service. Kroc was very impressed and proposed the idea of turning their restaurant into a ________. The McDonald brothers agreed, and in 1955, Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Under Kroc's direction, the business grew rapidly across the United States. However, the relationship with the McDonald brothers became strained. They disagreed with Kroc's ________ ________ and changes to the restaurant. In 1961, Kroc bought out the brothers for $2.7 million. The brothers believed they were also ________ to a ________ fee, but a court ruled against them because it wasn't in their written agreement.

Today, McDonald's is an international company with thousands of locations. The story shows the importance of detailed contracts and the ________ growth of good ideas.

Quiz

  1. What did Kroc propose to the McDonald brothers?
  2. Why did the relationship between Kroc and the McDonald brothers become strained?

True or False

  1. Kroc bought out the brothers for $2.7 million.  T  |  F
  2. The court ruled in favor of the McDonald brothers regarding the royalty fee.  T  |  F

Conversation

A: Hey, Richard, have you seen the sales numbers lately?
B: Yeah, they're looking good. What's up?
A: I was thinking, we should expand to other states. Maybe even other countries.
B: I don't know, Ray. We've been doing well with our current locations.
A: Trust me, it's a great idea. We could turn McDonald's into a global brand.
B: Alright, let's give it a shot.

Discussion

  1. What's your favorite fast food restaurant? Why?
  2. Have you ever worked in the food industry? If not, would you like to?
  3. Do you think fast food is healthy? What healthy food do you eat?

True Story Answers

Ray Kroc was a milkshake machine salesman in the 1950s when he discovered a small but popular restaurant in California run by two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald. The brothers were doing great business with their simple menu and speedy service. Kroc was very impressed and proposed the idea of turning their restaurant into a franchise. The McDonald brothers agreed, and in 1955, Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Under Kroc's direction, the business grew rapidly across the United States. However, the relationship with the McDonald brothers became strained. They disagreed with Kroc's aggressive expansion and changes to the restaurant. In 1961, Kroc bought out the brothers for $2.7 million. The brothers believed they were also entitled to a royalty fee, but a court ruled against them because it wasn't in their written agreement.

Today, McDonald's is an international company with thousands of locations. The story shows the importance of detailed contracts and the potential growth of good ideas.

Vocabulary Answers

franchise → business model
aggressive → forceful
expansion → growth
royalty → payment
potential → possibility
entitled → deserving

Quiz Answers

  1. Kroc proposed the idea of turning the McDonald brothers' restaurant into a franchise.
  2. Because the McDonald brothers disagreed with Kroc's aggressive expansion and changes to the restaurant.

True or False Answers

  1. True
  2. False

Further Reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_McDonald%27s

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ESL Lessons: True Stories