The White House - Elementary Article .pdf

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2021.
Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS
The funds that maintain the White House’s ‘museum quality’
Level: Elementary
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Warmer
a. Match these US presidents to the years they were president.
First Ladies
1. 1961–1963 a. Barack Obama
2. 1963–1969 b. Jimmy Carter
3. 1977–1981 c. George W Bush
4. 1989–1993 d. John F Kennedy
5. 2001–2009 e. George Bush Sr
6. 2009–2017 f. Lyndon B Johnson
b. Write the names of these former US First Ladies next to their husbands.

Jackie Michelle Laura Claudia (Lady Bird) Barbara
Key words
a. Match the key words to the definitions below and find them in the article.
donations membership fees preserve public access trust
1. work to protect something so that nobody can damage or destroy it
2. permission for any person to enter a place
3. an organization that manages buildings and houses
4. money that people give to help an organization
5. money that people pay regularly to be a part of a club or organization

Level: Elementary
active role curator grounds maintain renovations
6. make regular repairs to a building to keep it in good condition
7. someone who looks after the things in a museum
8. do something yourself and not just let other people do it
9. making something old look new again by repairing and improving it
10. the land around a big house
b. Use some of the key words above to complete these sentences.
1. The new at the golf club make it very expensive.
2. There’s a small cottage near the lake in the of the
big house.
3. It is expensive to big houses and keep them in the
best condition.
4. Many churches receive from rich people.
5. What are you doing here? There is no to this part of
the castle.
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Level: Elementary
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Jackie Kennedy first visited the White House
when she was a girl. It was boring. When she
became First Lady, she decided to change it.
She wanted a house that was good enough for
a president – but who would pay for that?
In 1961, Jackie Kennedy started the White
House Historical Association (WHHA) to protect
and preserve America’s most famous house
and give public access to it.
Three years later, President Lyndon B Johnson
started the Committee for the Preservation of
the White House. The committee is a group of
experts. They keep the public areas looking like
a museum.
The old First Lady Barbara Bush started the
White House Endowment Trust. It improves
the public rooms. The trust gets money
from the WHHA, which gets money from
private donations, membership fees and gift
shop sales.
The WHHA received about $7 million in
donations in 2020. “People give money to us
to help maintain the White House, not because
they like a president or political party,” said
Stewart McLaurin, president of the WHHA.
When there is an idea for changes to the first
floor and ground floor, the curator and the
Committee for the Preservation of the White
House must agree with the changes.
First Ladies usually play an active role.
1
2
3
4
5
6
McLaurin said, “Laura Bush did the Lincoln
Bedroom and the library. Michelle Obama
did the State Dining Room and the Old Family
Dining Room. We did the Red Room with
the Trumps.”
Between 2012 and 2015, the White House
Endowment Trust gave $590,000 to improve
the State Dining Room. Michelle Obama
and the preservation committee chose the
designers and colours.
The White House Endowment Trust only
helps with renovations inside the White House
building. McLaurin does not know who paid for
solar panels, which Jimmy Carter put in, or a
tennis court, which Barack Obama changed.
He wanted to use the tennis court for
basketball too.
In 2020, Melania Trump opened a new tennis
pavilion on the south grounds of the White
House. Private donations paid for it.
Jackie Kennedy was only thirty-one when
her husband became president of the United
States and she was First Lady for less than
three years. But she started the WHHA and it
still helps to maintain the White House today,
sixty years later.
© Guardian News and Media 2021
First published in The Guardian, 03/03/2021
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Donations, fees and sales: the
funds that maintain the White
House’s ‘museum quality’
David Smith
3 March, 2021

Level: Elementary
3
4
5
6
Comprehension check
Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the article?
T / F
T / F
T / F
T / F
1. Jackie Kennedy went to the White House for the first time in the 1960s.
2. She started a trust together with Barbara Bush.
3. The wife of each US president helps with redecoration projects in the White House.
4. The WHHA pays for changes to the grounds and gardens of the White House.
5. Michelle Obama decorated the bedrooms and the library.
6. Melania Trump built a new tennis area with a basketball court.
T / F
T / F
Using key language
Write these prepositions into the sentences below.
for from in inside of on with
1. Jackie Kennedy started the White House Historical Association. It gets money
private donations.
2. Stuart McLaurin is the president the WHHA.
3. The WHHA received about seven million US dollars 2020.
4. The White House Endowment Trust helps renovations the
White House.
5. Melania Trump opened a new tennis pavilion the south grounds.
6. Jackie Kennedy was First Lady less than three years.
Discussion
• Find the original article online and describe the photos. Which room do you like best and why?
• Which room in your home would you like to redecorate?
In your own words
Think of well-known official homes in your country.
The president / prime minister of my country lives in …
The royal family have a palace / castle / mansion called …
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Level: Elementary
Research one of these homes and talk about it.
It is called …
The address is …
… lives there.
He/She has lived there since … / They have lived there since … (date)
It was built in … (year) by …. (person / architect)
The public can / cannot visit it … (add more information)
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Level: Elementary – Teacher’s notes
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Article summary: How is the US presidential
residence, the White House, maintained and
renovated, and who pays for this work?
Time: 90 minutes
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing
Language focus: Vocabulary
Materials needed: One copy of the
worksheet per student
1. Warmer
Without looking online, students answer the questions
in small groups or pairs. You could turn this into a class
quiz, giving one point for each correct answer.
Key:
1. 1961–1963 d. John F Kennedy Jackie
2. 1963–1969 f. Lyndon B Johnson
Claudia
(Lady Bird)
3. 1977–1981 b. Jimmy Carter Rosalynn
4. 1989–1993 e. George Bush Sr Barbara
5. 2001–2009 c. George W Bush Laura
6. 2009–2017 a. Barack Obama Michelle
Extension: if you’d like to extend this short quiz, ask
students to fill in the names of the missing US presidents
and First Ladies for the years not mentioned, between
1969 and the current time. Give an additional point for
each correct answer they can come up with (again,
without researching the answers first).
2. Key words
a. Students match the key words with the definitions
and write them on the lines provided before finding
them in the article to read them in context.
Key:
1. preserve
2. public access
3. trust
4. donations
5. membership fees
6. maintain
7. curator
8. active role
9. renovations
10. grounds
b. Before reading the article carefully, students
use some of the key words to fill the gaps in the
sentences to ensure that they understand and
know how the words are used in other contexts.
Key:
1. membership fees
2. grounds
3. maintain
4. donations
5. public access
3. Comprehension check
Students decide whether the statements are true
or false according to the information in the article.
If possible, they should say why they think the false
statements are not true.
Key:
1. False. She first visited it when she was a girl.
2.
False. She started a trust to maintain the museum
quality of the White House but not together with
Barbara Bush. Later, Barbara Bush continued this
work and started an additional trust.
3. True.
4.
False. The WHHA only deals with renovations inside
and not to the grounds.
5.
False. Laura Bush decorated the Lincoln Bedroom
and library. Michelle Obama decorated the state
Dining Room and Old Family Dining Room.
6.
False. She built a new tennis pavilion. Obama
adapted a tennis court so that people could play
basketball there too.
Note: these six former US presidents are all
mentioned in the article.

Home Adults General English NEWS LESSONS
Level: Elementary – Teacher’s notes
4. Using key language
Students write the prepositions into the sentences about
the article. Then they find the information in the article to
check their answers.
Key:
1. from
2. of
3. in
4. with; inside
5. on
6. for
To extend this task, ask them to write personalized
sentences that include the prepositions. Ask them to
make the sentences relevant to their own lives if possible,
as this will make it easier for them to remember the new
language and use it correctly in the future.
5. Discussion
Students discuss the questions that are directly related to
the topic of the article.
To see the photos in the original article, type white house
historical association jackie kennedy boris johnson +
Guardian into a search engine.
6. In your own words
Briefly brainstorm what official residences there are
in your students’ country or countries. Working with a
partner, students choose one of these residences and
research it, writing and giving a short presentation about
it. Divide the residences up if necessary, so that they
don’t all present on the same one.
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The White House - Elementary Article .pdf

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