Summer in the USA: down the Mississippi
The great river, paddle steamers, Tom Sawyer and summer camps: I discover summer in the USA and I tell the story of a holiday (real or imaginary).
Last summer: was, were, went
To talk about the past, English uses the past simple. Tap the cards to recognise the most common forms.
My words → tap a card: it turns over and I hear the word
Culture → the Mississippi, Mark Twain and summer in the USA
The Mississippi starts at Lake Itasca, in Minnesota, and flows more than 3,700 kilometres to the Gulf of Mexico. In the 19th century, big paddle steamboats carried passengers and goods on the river.
Mark Twain (1835-1910) grew up near the river, in Missouri, and worked as a steamboat pilot. His pen name comes from a call of the boatmen: “mark twain” meant the water was two fathoms deep, deep enough for the boat. In 1876, he published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Every summer, millions of young Americans go to summer camp: canoeing, campfires, songs. On the 4th of July, Independence Day remembers the Declaration of Independence of 1776: parades, picnics and fireworks.
Did you know? → tap a card
I listen → my summer in the USA
Listen. Write down where the person went, the weather and two activities. Find was, were and went.
I watch
Video: “Mark Twain: Father of American Literature · Fast Facts” · channel HISTORY · watch on YouTube. The video only loads when you tap (youtube-nocookie player).
- Write down two dates you hear.
- Find the name of a book.
- Write a sentence in the past simple about Mark Twain (He was… / He wrote…).
The lessons in this learning journey (6)
- Dates : the 4th of July, 1776, months and ordinals.
- The Mississippi: a map, a river, a journey (there is / there are again).
- Mark Twain and Tom Sawyer: reading.
- Grammar: was / were, went, saw, played.
- Summer camp: a holiday postcard.
- Final task: I tell the story of a holiday (real or imaginary) in five sentences.
- “Last summer, … went to…”
- “He saw… / She saw…”
- “They played…”
- “It was…”
- “The best moment was…”
For the teacher → goals and official curriculum
- Theme 3 “Countries and landscapes” (the Mississippi River) and theme 2 “Everyday life” (holidays in the USA).
- Say dates (ordinals, months, years) and tell the story of a past holiday simply.
- Grammar: recognise and use was / were and some common past forms (went, saw, played, visited).
- Discover Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer and the 4th of July.
Texts and materials: Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876, adapted extracts); a map of the Mississippi; a drawing by Lesueur (1828); a HISTORY video.
Themes 2 and 3. Source: French national English curriculum for lower secondary school, decree of 5 May 2025, BO no. 22 of 29 May 2025 (in force in 6e since September 2025).
Fill in and choose
Match each verb with its past simple
Tap an item in the first column, then its partner in the second.
Was or were?
Tap a word, then the right box.
Worksheet to fill in (paper or ENT)
The same learning journey, to print or to put on the ENT. For a PDF, choose “Save as PDF” in the print window.