Upside Down House

WORKSHEET

1. Suggested Use

Tourism focus, followed by B2-level vocabulary and grammar practice.

2. Suggested Activities 

A. Project-based learning 
Students work in small groups to design and deliver a tourism pitch for a new, unusual attraction in their town or country. They imagine an experience that could go viral - something fun, creative, or interactive, like the Upside Down House.

Each group prepares a two-minute oral pitch to the rest of the class, who act as  ‘tourism investors’, explaining the concept and what visitors can do, why people would share it online and how it would attract visitors without traditional advertising.

B. Mediation task: Processing text (+ note taking)
Students read or listen again to short soundbites from Jack, Tina, and Sophie in the video. They take notes on what each person says, focusing on their attitude and key ideas. They then summarise these views in their own words to make a short pitch to persuade other people to visit the attraction. 

C. Pronunciation task: Expressing surprise and excitement with intonation 
Elicit phrases from the script that speakers use to express opinions about the attraction, e.g. I thought it was great, great fun; It was really, really interesting; I came for a good day and thoroughly enjoyed it. Have students identify the stress and intonation in the phrases and practise / drill them. Have students write their own sentences to express the same emotions, and practise using the correct stress and intonation. 

3. Vocabulary 

Tourism and experiences 

• tourist attraction

• visitor

• photo opportunity

• day trip

• pose

• experience

• design

• families

• fun

• creative

• social media

• word of mouth

Adjectives 

• quirky

• surprising

• clever

• cool

• interesting

• Straightforward

Idiomatic expressions / phrasal verbs 

• turn heads

• come across

• set out

• rely on

• flip (the photo)

• hear about
  

4. Grammar

Conditional sentences - real / zero conditionals:
If visitors enjoy themselves, they’ll share photos online; If people enjoy the experience, they’ll tell their friends.

Present continuous (for ongoing trends):
A tourist attraction is turning heads; Visitors are posing in upside-down bedrooms.

---

TRANSCRIPT
Upside Down House

NARRATOR:
On Brighton Sea Front, a tourist attraction is turning heads — quite literally.  From the outside, the Upside Down House looks like a building flipped on its roof. Inside, it’s a perfect photo opportunity. Visitors pose in upside-down bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens. But the real trick happens after the pictures are taken.

SOUNDBITE – Jack Walter:
"So the Upside Down House is for inverted photos. So when you flip the photo it looks like you're on the ceiling, it's quite straightforward."

NARRATOR:
The quirky design is attracting families, tourists, and anyone looking for a fun photo.  The Upside Down House doesn’t rely on expensive advertising. If visitors enjoy themselves, they’ll share photos online. Many people hear about the attraction through word-of-mouth, or come across it while scrolling on social media. Inside, visitors twist and turn into creative poses. 

SOUNDBITE – Tina Tramontano:
"I thought it was great, great fun, I didn't expect to be doing aerobics and gymnastic displays in Brighton. I came for a good day and thoroughly enjoyed it."

NARRATOR:
The final photos are surprising and that’s exactly why people love it so much!

SOUNDBITE – Sophie Picton:
"It was really, really interesting, I think when you're actually doing the poses you're like oooh, and then when you actually take the picture and flip it round it's really interesting to see how it looks. But no, it's a really cool attraction to have a look at."

NARRATOR:
Attractions like this show how a clever idea can transform a day trip. If people enjoy the experience, they’ll tell their friends, and more visitors will set out to see it.