A moving house disaster

Patrick Richardson just wanted a new life somewhere. So last month he packed up his home, said good-bye to the beach of Santa Monica and headed for the hills. He moved house - by putting his small wooden bungalow on to the back of a trailer and setting out on the moterway towards Santa Clarita, 40km north of Los Angeles.

But it was not very successful and he did not get far. With wheels wobbling on his trailer, he hit a bridge on the freeway, taking off a large part of the roof.

He made some roadside repairs, before struggling on for another 5km and finally coming to a stop on the hard shoulder in Hollywood where his house stayed for the next 11 days, becoming a familiar sight to commuters.

Not all the attention was welcome. Local journalist Josh Williams told the Los Angeles Times: "By Tuesday there was graffiti all over the house and then by Friday somebody put a For Sale sign on it."

Not everyone finds the story amusing - Richardson for one, although he has refused to speak to the press. Drivers on the freeway also became increasingly frustrated at the congestion caused by the bungalow. A week after coming to a halt it was causing long traffic jams stretching back to central Los Angeles.

Finally, the patience of the local road authority, Caltrans, ran out. Caltrans told Richardson that if he could not get his house back on the road the authority would move it for him, and charge him for the cost. Two days later the house was taken away by Caltrans.

Shortly before it was moved, Russ Leland, 65, who lives nearby, suggested a new location for the house. "The guy's going to be famous for this, so that house should go somewhere," Leland told the Los Angeles Times, pointing over to a nearby empty lot. "That'd be a perfect place for the house."

Lesson Plan

Tell students you are going to look at an article from the British press about Patrick Richardson from Santa Monica, California, who lived in a wooden bungalow and one day decided to move house (pre-teach italicised words). Look on the Google maps web-site (you will need to enable Javascript in your browser) for a map of this area. - 3 mins

Read out aloud the first paragraph to the class several times using mime/gestures (don't give out the text). Explain: trailer - 7 mins

Ask: Do you think he had a good or bad journey? (bad) What do you think happened? - 3 mins

Write the sentences below on the board. Explain vocabulary. Students guess the correct words in pairs. Then read out the rest of the article. Students listen to confirm answers. Give our copies of the text - students now read/underline the correct information. Feedback - 12 mins

1. The house hit a tree/bridge/road sign and lost part of its roof.
2. The house had to stop at a bus stop/on a railway track/on the hard shoulder.
3. The house stopped for two/five/11 days.
4. Some people put graffiti/adverts/rubbish all over the house.
5. Somebody put a For Sale sign/TV aerial/Christmas tree on the house.
6. The house caused a lot of pedestrian problems/car accidents/traffic jams.
7. The local road authority, Caltrans, took away/pulled down/sold the house.

Work together as a class. Students retell the key points of the story in their own words. - 5 mins

Point out the British word motorway and its US equivalent freeway. Write on the board these US English transport/travel words (without British equivalents in brackets): subway (underground), railroad (railway), parking lot (car park), intersection (junction), traffic circle (roundabout), sidewalk (pavement), gas (petrol), windshield (windscreen), elevator (lift), vacation (holiday). Students in groups with dictionaries write down as many of the British equivalents as possible. Feedback. - 10 mins

Students write in pairs an alternative version of the article for an American newspaper - this time with a happy ending. They start with the same first paragraph then use some of the US vocabulary. Students complete for homework. - 15 mins