The dad with the giant sunflower

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: The dad with the giant sunflower

Warm-up

Have you ever seen a really tall flower? (Yes, I have seen...)

Vocabulary Match

project •• global outbreak
pandemic •• local area
enormous •• planned task
genetics •• well
neighbourhood •• huge
successfully •• family traits

Vocabulary Answers

projectplanned task
pandemicglobal outbreak
enormoushuge
geneticsfamily traits
neighbourhoodlocal area
successfullywell

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

A father in England became well known in his ________ after growing a sunflower almost as tall as his house during the Covid-19 ________. Douglas Smith began the ________ when his four-year-old son asked him to grow a sunflower "as tall as the house." A few months later, the plant had reached more than 20 feet in height.

Because the sunflower was so tall, Douglas had to climb a ladder every morning to water it and check that it was still supported properly. The flower was grown from a special seed connected to a North American record-breaking sunflower. Douglas explained that regular care, warm weather, and good ________ all helped the ________ plant grow ________.

A father in England became well known in his neighbourhood after growing a sunflower almost as tall as his house during the Covid-19 pandemic. Douglas Smith began the project when his four-year-old son asked him to grow a sunflower "as tall as the house." A few months later, the plant had reached more than 20 feet in height.

Because the sunflower was so tall, Douglas had to climb a ladder every morning to water it and check that it was still supported properly. The flower was grown from a special seed connected to a North American record-breaking sunflower. Douglas explained that regular care, warm weather, and good genetics all helped the enormous plant grow successfully.

Quiz

  1. Who became well known in his neighbourhood?
  2. Why did Douglas start growing the sunflower?
  3. How tall did the sunflower grow?
  4. What did Douglas have to do every morning?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. A father in England.
  2. His four-year-old son asked him to grow a sunflower "as tall as the house."
  3. More than 20 feet.
  4. He had to climb a ladder to water it and check that it was supported properly.

True or False

  1. Douglas Smith grew a sunflower as tall as his house. T F
  2. The sunflower was grown from a regular seed. T F
  3. Douglas's son has good genetics which will help him grow enormously. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False ("almost as tall as")
  2. False ("from a special seed")
  3. False (The sunflower, not Douglas' son.)

Conversation

A:Hey Douglas, did you really grow that sunflower as tall as your house?
B:Almost! Look, it's towering over us now!
A:How do you even water something that tall?
B:With a ladder and a lot of patience.
A:Your son must be thrilled!
B:Yes, but now he wants me to raise a dinosaur!

Discussion

  1. Have you ever grown a plant or flower?
  2. What flowers are popular in your country?
  3. Would you like to have a big garden? Why or why not?
  4. King Charles is well known for talking to plants. Do you do that?
  5. What is something difficult you would like to grow?

Further Reading

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/dad-delighted-sunflower-grows-tall-141600871.html

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