Famous Places: The Great Wall of China

Famous Places
ESL lesson plans from ESL-Images.com
The Great Wall of China
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Famous Places

PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever been to China and seen the Great Wall? If not, would you like to go?
2. How many people do you think visit the Great Wall of China each year?
3. What do you think was the purpose in building the Great Wall?
4. Do you know when construction first began on the Great Wall?
5. What is a World Heritage Site? Have you ever been to a World Heritage Site?
Famous Places
The Great Wall of China is the largest military structure in the world and one of its great
wonders. It runs from east to west across northern and north-central China, winding through
hills and mountains for about 4,500 miles. The United Nations declared it a World Heritage Site
in 1987.
Parts of the Great Wall are over 2,000 years old. Rival rulers of small areas built earth and
stone walls to mark their boundaries and as protection from northern invaders. Messengers
also traveled along these walls to take messages from one ruler to another.
About 210 BC, Emperor Qin unified the country and ordered these individual sections to
be connected. This took several centuries to complete. Qin and succeeding emperors
used forced labor to build the wall higher, wider, and longer. Bricks and granite were
used to reinforce old sections and to build new ones. Lookout posts and battle forts were
constructed at intervals along the wall, and soldiers were stationed along it. The soldiers
would light huge bonfires on the wall to signal danger.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), a major renovation of the Great Wall began, which
took 200 years to complete. The wall became much more elaborate in design and modern
cannons were added at strategic positions.
The Great Wall lost its military importance in the modern era and many sections of the
wall are in ruins or have disappeared. However, there is still great interest in the wall and
previously undiscovered sections of it have been found in the last few years.
Today, the Great Wall is one of China’s most important tourist attractions. Each year,
hundreds of thousands of visitors tour a well-preserved section of the wall located about
50 miles from Beijing. Parts of the wall are being restored, but it is a difficult and expensive
process.
Famous Places

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the statement is true, write T beside
the sentence. If it is false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.
1. The Great Wall of China runs from north to south across eastern China. _______
2. The Great Wall is 4,500 years old. _______
3. Parts of the Great Wall were originally built for military purposes. _______
4. The Great Wall still serves an important military purpose. _______
5. The entire Wall has been well-preserved. _______
B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the
answers in complete sentences.
1. Where is the Great Wall of China located and how long is it? ____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How old is the Great Wall? _____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why was the Wall built? ________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What part did Emperor Qin play in the building of the Great Wall? ________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. How did the Great Wall change under the rule of Emperor Qin and his successors? _______
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
6. What changes occurred during the Ming Dynasty? ______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the importance of the Great Wall today? ________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Famous Places

VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Match the words on the left with correct meaning on the right.
_____ 1. military a) form into one

_____ 2. heritage b) place
_____ 3. rival c) large, heavy gun that fires big metal balls
_____ 4. invader d) space between two points
_____ 5. unify e) army
_____ 6. century f) someone who comes into a country and attacks
_____ 7. reinforce g) something coming from the past
_____ 8. interval h) make stronger
_____ 9. cannon i) competitor
_____ 10. site j) one hundred years
B. Choose the correct word from the left column above to complete the following sentences.
1. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are _____________________ soft drink companies.

2. We’re going to add some more wood pieces to _____________________ our old fence.
3. He has served as a captain in the _____________________ for the last ten years.
4. There was a lot of disagreement among the club members, but the president is trying
to _____________________ the different groups.
5. They could hear the sound of the loud _____________________ fire from a very far distance.
C. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning to the underlined words in the following
sentences.
1. The emperors used forced labor to build the wall.

a) a lot of money b) workers c) bricks
2. Soldiers were stationed along the wall.
a) placed b) trained c) shot
3. During the Ming Dynasty, a major renovation began.
a) restoration b) war c) tourist attraction
4. Today many sections of the Wall are in ruins.
a) run by the government b) in very bad condition c) fixed up
5. Tourists visit the well-preserved section of the Wall.
a) popular b) mountainous c) kept in good condition
Famous Places
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why has the Great Wall of China lost its military importance in today’s world?
2. Do you think that it is important to maintain World Heritage Sites? Why or why not?
3. What other historical structures have been built through forced labor?
4. The Great Wall was built as a protection against invaders. How do countries protect their
borders in modern society?
Notes:
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Famous Places

ESL lesson plans from ESL-Images.com

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

_____ 1. military a) form into one

1. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are _____________________ soft drink companies.

1. The emperors used forced labor to build the wall.

The Great Wall of China

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