The postman who built a palace from stones

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: The postman who built a palace from stones

Warm-up

Have you ever collected anything interesting? (Yes, I have collected...)

Vocabulary Match

delivering •• castle
collected •• weird
incredible •• giving
decided •• chose
strange •• gathered
palace •• amazing

Vocabulary Answers

deliveringgiving
collectedgathered
incredibleamazing
decidedchose
strangeweird
palacecastle

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

Ferdinand Cheval was a French postman who created an amazing ________ by himself. In 1879, he found a ________ rock while ________ mail. The rock was so interesting that he took it home. Later, he ________ to build a palace using similar stones.

For the next 33 years, Cheval ________ thousands of stones during his daily work and used them to build his dream palace at night. He used simple tools and worked by the light of an oil lamp. He finished the palace in 1912. Today, many people visit the Palais Idéal to see his ________ creation.

Ferdinand Cheval was a French postman who created an amazing palace by himself. In 1879, he found a strange rock while delivering mail. The rock was so interesting that he took it home. Later, he decided to build a palace using similar stones.

For the next 33 years, Cheval collected thousands of stones during his daily work and used them to build his dream palace at night. He used simple tools and worked by the light of an oil lamp. He finished the palace in 1912. Today, many people visit the Palais Idéal to see his incredible creation.

Quiz

  1. What did Ferdinand Cheval find in 1879?
  2. How long did Cheval work on his palace?
  3. What tools did Cheval use to build his palace?
  4. What is the name of the palace Cheval built?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. A strange rock
  2. 33 years
  3. Simple tools
  4. Palais Idéal

True or False

  1. Ferdinand Cheval was a French baker. T F
  2. Cheval used electric lights to work at night. T F
  3. Many people visit the Palais Idéal today. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. False
  3. True

Conversation

A:Wow, Ferdinand, you really built this yourself?
B:Yep, every single stone!
A:How did you find time to do it?
B:I worked at night after delivering mail.
A:That's some dedication!
B:Thanks! It was my dream come true.

Discussion

  1. Would you like to visit the Palais Idéal?
  2. What other castles or palaces would you like to visit?
  3. Have you ever made something by yourself?
  4. Would you like to spend many years working on a big project?
  5. What interesting things have you seen on your way to school or work?

Further Reading

https://www.mentalfloss.com/culture/architecture/palace-built-postman-using-stones-his-route

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