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A walk on the ocean floor: dimension nouns: depth, width, height, length and weight

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches depth, width and height and the other dimension nouns through Sylvia Earle's 1979 walk on the sea floor off Oahu, Hawaii.

Grammar
Size adjectives or verbs and their nouns (deep → depth, long → length, weigh → weight), twelve feet deep, at a depth of, 1,250 feet down and two ways to ask about size.
Topic
How an armored JIM suit and a small submersible took a marine biologist into the twilight zone, with words like descend, pressure and tether.
Activities
An explainer to read, a first dive lesson and a reader's voice memo to hear, self-checking drills, a dive-shop chat and boxes about people or robots.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: how deep would you go?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: down to the sea floorVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 21,250 feet under (and walking)

    • Look at the photo: a walk on the sea floorPictureUnlock
    • Read Harper's explainer on The Why DeskArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Match the paragraphs and the headingsMatchUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Robot country

    • Listen to Harper and NedListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Reader's Rebuttal: Delores's voice memoListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: at a depth of 1,250 feet

    • Study the scheme: at a depth of 1,250 feetGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsTry it
    • Drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: how far down?

    • Choose the right replies: book a scuba classChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: people or robots?Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Fill in the table: ask about size in two waysFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which question fits the answer?QuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Harper's dive logDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Harper answers DeloresChoose the optionUnlock

33 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Ocean vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • tether
  • pressure
  • twilight zone
  • coral
  • reef
  • shallow
  • scuba diving
  • wetsuit
  • marine biologist

Grammar: dimension nouns and phrases: depth, width, height

English gives a size in two shapes: an adjective after a number (twelve feet deep) or a noun with of (a depth of twelve feet). A walk 1,250 feet under the sea is a story told in measurements, so learners pair each size adjective with its noun, place the sea floor at a depth of and ask about size both ways.

At a depth of 1,250 feet

To talk about size, use a number + feet, inches or miles + an adjective (twelve feet deep), or a noun (the depth of the pool, at a depth of 1,250 feet).

Deep → depth, wide → width, long → length

Each size adjective has a noun: deep → depth, wide → width, high or tall → height, long → length, thick → thickness. The number and the unit come before the adjective: 18 inches long, not long 18 inches or 18 inches length.

Adjective or verb → noun

Adjective / verbNounWith the adjective or verbWith the noun
deepdepthThe pool is twelve feet deep.The pool has a depth of twelve feet.
widewidthThe boat is ten feet wide.It's ten feet in width.
high / tallheightThe coral was about five feet tall.It was about five feet in height.
longlengthThe sharks were 18 inches long.They were 18 inches in length.
thickthicknessThe glass is three inches thick.It has a thickness of three inches.
weigh (a verb)weightThe tank weighs 35 pounds.Its weight is 35 pounds.

Number, unit, adjective

Put the number first, then feet, inches or miles, then the adjective: twelve feet deep, 18 inches long, ten feet wide (not: deep twelve feet, twelve feet depth). Before of, use the noun: at a depth of (not: at a deep of), the height of (not: the high of), a length of (not: a long of).

At a depth of, to a depth of, feet down

At a depth of gives a place: Earle walked at a depth of 1,250 feet. To a depth of follows verbs of going down: The submersible descended to a depth of 1,250 feet. 1,250 feet down means below the surface; 44 miles in length is a little more formal.

PhraseUse it forExample
at a depth of + numberwhere something isEarle walked at a depth of 1,250 feet.
to a depth of + numbergoing down: descend, go down, take someone downThe submersible descended to a depth of 1,250 feet.
number + feet downhow far below the surfaceEarle was 1,250 feet down.
number + feet deephow deep the water or a hole isThe pool is twelve feet deep.
number + in length / in width / in heightsize (a little more formal)Oahu is about 44 miles in length.
a + noun + of + numberafter have and witha coral with a height of about five feet

Deep or down? Tall or high?

Deep describes the water, a pool or a hole; down says how far below the surface a person or thing is: She was 1,250 feet down. People and trees are tall, mountains and ceilings high, and buildings can be either. Both adjectives share one noun: height.

Deep or down? Tall or high?

Deep usually describes the water, a pool or a hole: The pool is twelve feet deep. Down says how far below the surface someone or something is: Earle was 1,250 feet down. Don't add of depth (not: 1,250 feet of depth down). People and trees are tall; mountains, walls and ceilings are high; buildings can be both. Both have the noun height.

How deep…? or What's the depth of…?

Each size has two questions: How deep is the pool? and What's the depth of the pool? For weight, the question uses the verb: How much does the tank weigh? Keep weigh for the verb and weight for the noun: The tank weighs 35 pounds, not weights.

Asking about size

Question with How …?Question with the nounAnswer
How deep is the pool?What's the depth of the pool?It's twelve feet deep.
How wide is the boat?What's the width of the boat?It's ten feet wide.
How tall is the lighthouse?What's the height of the lighthouse?It's 90 feet tall.
How long is the shark?What's the length of the shark?It's 18 inches long.
How thick is the glass?What's the thickness of the glass?It's three inches thick.
How much does the tank weigh?What's the weight of the tank?It weighs 35 pounds.
How far down was she?At what depth did she walk?She was 1,250 feet down. She walked at a depth of 1,250 feet.

Weigh is the verb, weight is the noun

The tank weighs 35 pounds. How much does it weigh? What's the weight of the tank? (Not: How much does it weight? The tank weights 35 pounds.) You can also ask How heavy is it?

Common mistakes

Before of, the noun is the only choice: at a depth of, not at a deep of; the height of the lighthouse, not the high of; a length of 18 inches, not a long of. Down needs no of depth: 1,250 feet down, never 1,250 feet of depth down.

  • She walked at a deep of 1,250 feet.

    She walked at a depth of 1,250 feet.

    before of: the noun

  • The high of the lighthouse is 90 feet.

    The height of the lighthouse is 90 feet.

    high → height

  • She was 1,250 feet of depth down.

    She was 1,250 feet down.

    no of depth

  • The shark had a long of 18 inches.

    The shark had a length of 18 inches.

    long → length

From Harper's story

  • Earle walked on the sea floor at a depth of 1,250 feet.
  • The Empire State Building has a height of 1,250 feet to its highest occupied floor.
  • The sharks she saw were 18 inches long.
  • The ocean has an average depth of about 12,080 feet.
  • Oahu is about 44 miles in length and about 30 miles in width.
  • How much does Harper's tank weigh? About 35 pounds.

More lessons on this grammar: Word formation lessons and exercises

Try the depth, width and height exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

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What's in the lesson

  • 19 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say a size with the adjective or the noun: The pool is twelve feet deep. The pool has a depth of twelve feet.
  • place things under the sea: Earle walked at a depth of 1,250 feet. The submersible descended to a depth of 1,250 feet.
  • put the number and the unit before the adjective: 18 inches long, ten feet wide, not long 18 inches
  • ask about size in two ways: How deep is the pool? What's the depth of the pool? How much does the tank weigh?
  • argue whether people or robots should explore the deep sea: The ocean has an average depth of about 12,080 feet.

Lesson 29 opens Exploring the extremes, unit 8 of English B2.1 · How the World Works. Lesson 26 built verbs such as widen and lengthen from size words; now the adjectives themselves become nouns, well beyond the How long…? of A1.2. Lesson 30 moves on to the future continuous. A walk at the bottom of the sea is easiest to picture in feet and pounds, so nearly every fact in it is a dimension.

Students spin a wheel of questions about deep water and diving, then learn twelve words, from descend and resurface to twilight zone and marine biologist, with pictures and audio. They read Harper's explainer on Earle's walk in a JIM suit, then hear Harper's first dive lesson with Ned, who would rather send robots to the deep, and a voice memo from Delores, who wants the shallow reefs near shore helped first; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking exercises, among them a drag-and-drop with at and to a depth of. To finish, students book a scuba class in a chat and open boxes about people or robots.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, gaps with the ocean words and a memory game, then new sentences to choose from, nouns to turn back into adjectives, a table of size questions, a quiz on which question fits an answer, Harper's dive log with words to drag in and her newsletter reply to Delores.

Grammar:
dimension nouns · depth, width, height, length, thickness, weight · at a depth of, feet down, in length · questions about size
Topic:
Sylvia Earle · the JIM suit · Oahu, Hawaii · the deep sea · scuba diving · ocean exploration · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

  • Turn the Empire State Building upside down: it is 1,250 feet tall to its highest occupied floor, the same as Earle's depth. Students describe both with height and depth, then with tall and deep.
  • Measure the classroom first: students guess the length, width and height of the room, a desk and the door, check with a tape measure and report each size twice, with the adjective and with the noun.
  • Play the dive lesson twice: first for the numbers (twelve feet, 35 pounds, forty minutes), then for the argument. Students note why Ned would send robots and why Harper wants people to go down.
  • Collect the wrong replies from the chat, such as How much deep is it? and at a deep of 20 feet, and have pairs correct them before they open the speaking boxes.

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The whole course: English B2.1 · How the World Works

32 lessons for adults at B2 in American English, each answering one question about how the world works. The team of The Why Desk, a small online magazine in Pittsburgh, takes on one question a week, from the day a computer beat the world chess champion to eight people sealed inside Biosphere 2. Learners tell stories with narrative tenses, speculate about the past and the future, and report what experts claim. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 AI and the future of work

    narrative tenses, by and until, be bound to and be likely to, the future perfect

    1. Lesson 1Checkmate: the day a computer beat the championNarrative tenses: past simple, past continuous and past perfect
    2. Lesson 2The robot car that crossed the desertTime prepositions: by, until, within, throughout, in time and on time
    3. Lesson 3Can a chatbot fool you?Probability about the future: be bound to, be likely to, the chances are
    4. Lesson 4By 2035, what will AI have designed?The future perfect simple: will have + past participle

  2. Unit 2 Health breakthroughs

    the third conditional, the past perfect and past continuous passive, have something done, the passive with two objects

    1. Lesson 5The moldy melon that changed medicineThe third conditional: if + had done, would have done
    2. Lesson 61.8 million Polio PioneersThe past perfect passive and the past continuous passive
    3. Lesson 7One clinic, many doctorsHave / get something done
    4. Lesson 8A kidney from a twinThe passive with two objects

  3. Unit 3 Moving people

    the past perfect continuous, the passive infinitive and -ing form, it's worth and there's no point, the future in the past

    1. Lesson 9Six years to the golden spikeThe past perfect continuous vs the past perfect simple
    2. Lesson 10Riding a pod with no driverThe passive infinitive and the passive -ing form
    3. Lesson 11The town that painted bike lanes firstIt's worth, there's no point and it's no use + -ing
    4. Lesson 12The highways that were supposed to take 13 yearsThe future in the past

  4. Unit 4 Wildlife comebacks

    reporting verbs with a that clause, with an object and infinitive and with -ing, verbs of perception

    1. Lesson 13Did wolves really change Yellowstone's rivers?Reporting verbs + that clause
    2. Lesson 14Bringing a parrot back from the edgeReporting verbs + object + (not) to + base form
    3. Lesson 15The beavers that came by parachuteReporting verbs + -ing and verb + preposition + -ing
    4. Lesson 16Fifteen bison take the trainVerbs of perception + object + base form or -ing

  5. Unit 5 Pop culture goes global

    comment adverbs, wish and if only for the present and the past, have someone do and get someone to do

    1. Lesson 17The party that started hip hopComment adverbs: apparently, supposedly, undoubtedly
    2. Lesson 18Slide to the left!Wish and if only for wishes about now
    3. Lesson 19If only they'd kept SupermanWish and if only + past perfect for regrets
    4. Lesson 20The hit factory on West Grand BoulevardCausative have and get: have someone do, get someone to do

  6. Unit 6 Money and smart choices

    -ever words and no matter, should have and could have, prepositions for numbers and change, it's time and would rather

    1. Lesson 21The bank that never closed-ever words and no matter
    2. Lesson 22One marshmallow now or two later?Should have, shouldn't have and could have
    3. Lesson 23Benjamin Franklin's 200-year giftPrepositions for numbers and change
    4. Lesson 24Why buy a drill you'll use once?It's (high) time and would rather + past simple

  7. Unit 7 Language and communication

    must have, might have and can't have, verb prefixes and suffixes, past modals in continuous and passive forms, agreement with quantities

    1. Lesson 25How did one man write down a language?Past modals of deduction: must have, might have, can't have
    2. Lesson 26Why do Americans write “color”?Verb prefixes and suffixes: misspell, rewrite, simplify, shorten
    3. Lesson 27The joke that needed a smileyPast modals in continuous and passive forms
    4. Lesson 28Can preschoolers save a language?Subject-verb agreement with quantities and collective nouns

  8. Unit 8 Exploring the extremes

    dimension nouns, the future continuous and future perfect continuous, compound adjectives, only, even and just

    1. Lesson 29 · you're hereA walk on the ocean floorDimension nouns and phrases: depth, width, height
    2. Lesson 30Six months of night at the South PoleThe future continuous and the future perfect continuous
    3. Lesson 31Flying on pedal powerCompound adjectives with numbers and participles
    4. Lesson 32Two years under glassFocus adverbs: only, even, just and at all

Questions about this lesson

What are depth, width and height?
They're the nouns for deep, wide and high: they name a size instead of describing something. The pool is twelve feet deep uses the adjective; The pool has a depth of twelve feet uses the noun. The family also includes length (long), thickness (thick) and weight, from the verb weigh. The B2 lesson A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai teaches them with a walk 1,250 feet under the sea.
How do you use depth, width and height in a sentence?
Use the noun after a or the and before of: a depth of 1,250 feet, the width of the boat, at a depth of. With the adjective, the number and the unit come first: ten feet wide, 18 inches long. A third pattern sounds a little more formal: Oahu is about 44 miles in length. The scheme in A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai sets all three side by side.
What are some examples of depth, width and height?
Five from A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai: Earle walked on the sea floor at a depth of 1,250 feet. The Empire State Building has a height of 1,250 feet to its highest occupied floor. Oahu is about 30 miles in width. The ocean has an average depth of about 12,080 feet. The sharks she saw were 18 inches long. Each sentence picks the adjective or the noun, never a mix like 18 inches length.
What's the difference between deep and down?
Deep describes the water; down places the person. The pool is twelve feet deep gives the depth of the pool, while Earle was 1,250 feet down says how far below the surface she was. Don't add of depth: 1,250 feet of depth down is wrong. A tip in the scheme of A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai also sorts tall from high: people and trees are tall, mountains and ceilings high.
Is it “at a deep of” or “at a depth of”?
It's at a depth of: before of, English needs the noun, not the adjective. The same goes for the height of the lighthouse (not the high of) and a length of 18 inches (not a long of). Weight follows the verb and noun pattern: The tank weighs 35 pounds, and its weight is 35 pounds. The chat in A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai uses these slips as its wrong replies.
Who is Sylvia Earle?
Sylvia Earle is a marine biologist born in New Jersey in 1935. She grew up on Florida's Gulf coast, made her first scuba dive at sixteen and earned a Ph.D. at Duke University. In 1979 she walked on the sea floor off Oahu, Hawaii, and in 1990 she became the first woman to serve as chief scientist of NOAA. Harper's explainer in A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai tells the story of her walk.
How deep did Sylvia Earle walk, and what is a JIM suit?
On September 19, 1979, she walked at a depth of about 1,250 feet, or 381 meters. A small research submersible carried her down, strapped to its front; on the bottom she freed herself and explored for more than two hours, with no cable to the surface. A JIM suit is a hard, armored diving suit that keeps the air inside at normal surface pressure, so she needed no decompression stops. A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai explains both.
How do I teach depth, width and height to B2 students?
Start with things students can measure, such as a desk or the classroom door, and say each size twice: The desk is two feet wide. The desk has a width of two feet. Then add at a depth of and feet down for things out of reach. A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai moves from Harper's explainer and a dive lesson to the scheme and five drills.
What's a good game for practicing dimension nouns?
Try “Guess the size”: one student thinks of an object, such as a school bus or a whale, and the others ask How long is it?, How much does it weigh? or What's its height? until they can name it. For speaking, the boxes in A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai ask questions like What's the deepest water you've ever swum in? How deep was it?
What's good homework for depth, width and height?
Good homework switches between the adjective and the noun: The path has a width of four feet: it's four feet ___. Add a table of size questions and a short text with gaps. All ten homework tasks in A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai check themselves, and the last two are Harper's dive log and her newsletter reply to Delores, a reader from Florida.
How do you practice dimension nouns one-to-one?
Compare places the student knows: the deepest lake, the tallest building or the longest bridge near their home, with questions like What's the height of…? and How deep is…? The student answers, then asks the teacher back. The chat in A walk on the ocean floor on edio.ai needs no partner: the student messages a Florida dive shop about a first scuba class.
Are there interactive exercises for depth, width and height?
Yes. This page plays three parts of A walk on the ocean floor, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: Harper's first dive lesson with Ned, a gap-fill that turns size adjectives into nouns and a chat that books a scuba class. Everything else needs an account.
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