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Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth – preposition + which and whom in formal English

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches preposition + which and whom through Earthrise, Bill Anders's 1968 color photo of Earth above the Moon, taken on Apollo 8.

Grammar
The preposition before which for things, times and places (the moment at which the crew saw Earth) and before whom for people, beside the everyday order (the men he flew with).
Topic
Apollo 8's orbits of the Moon and its famous photo, what it may have changed and why the “rise” isn't one, with words such as emerge, far side and iconic.
Activities
An explainer, a planetarium debate and a reader's voice memo, self-checking drills, a caption chat and a wheel of questions.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: one picture, one planet

    • PictureUnlock
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
    • Study the words: a planet in one pictureVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: Earth comes up over the Moon

    • Look at the picture: Earth above the Moon's horizonPictureUnlock
    • Read Leona'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 3Let's listen: can a photo change your mind?

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

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: the moment at which Earth rose

    • Study the scheme: the moment at which Earth roseGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the preposition in brackets and which or whomFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Fill in the table: one fact, two right waysFill in the tableTry it
    • Choose the correct answer: is it right?QuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Grover's planetarium showDrag and dropUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: pictures worth a debate

    • Choose the right replies: captions for Della's photosChatTry it
    • Spin the wheel and answer: one photo, many opinionsSpin the wheelUnlock

  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 preposition in brackets and which or whomFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: captions for a photo archiveChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Leona answers JayDrag and dropUnlock

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.

Space 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

  • spark
  • spacecraft
  • far side
  • delicate
  • perspective
  • iconic
  • roll of film
  • black-and-white
  • environmental movement

Grammar: preposition + which and whom

In formal English, the preposition of a relative clause can move to the front, before which or whom: the moment at which the crew saw Earth. A space flight brings a crew, a date, orbits and a horizon, so people, times and places all appear. Learners trace each preposition back to the plain fact and set the formal order beside the everyday one.

Preposition + which / whom

In formal English, the preposition goes before which (things, times, places) or whom (people). In everyday English, it can go at the end. Both are right.

Which for things, whom for people

After a preposition, which stands for things, times and places, and whom for people: the mission during which…, the astronauts with whom… With commas, the clause adds a fact: Lovell, to whom Anders turned, looked for color film. Never put that straight after a preposition, and say the preposition once.

Formal: the preposition first

For…SayExample
things, times, placespreposition + whichthe mission during which people first orbited the Moon
peoplepreposition + whomthe astronauts with whom Anders flew
extra information, with commas, preposition + which / whom ,Lovell, to whom Anders turned, looked for color film.

Which or whom? And say it once

Right after a preposition, use whom for people and which for things, times and places. Never that after a preposition: the astronauts with whom (not with that), the mission during which (not during that). Say the preposition only once: the astronauts with whom Anders flew (not with whom Anders flew with).

Where does the preposition come from?

The plain fact supplies it: Anders flew with two astronauts becomes the two astronauts with whom Anders flew, and at that moment becomes the moment at which. Find the preposition in the fact, then move it forward.

Where does the preposition come from?

The factThe relative clause
Anders flew with two astronauts.the two astronauts with whom Anders flew
Earth appeared above the horizon.the horizon above which Earth appeared
The crew saw Earth at that moment.the moment at which the crew saw Earth
Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit on December 24.the day on which Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit

Apollo 8, formally

  • Apollo 8 was the mission during which people first orbited the Moon.
  • December 24, 1968, was the day on which Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit.
  • The moment at which the crew saw Earth came on the fourth orbit.
  • Borman and Lovell were the astronauts with whom Anders shared the spacecraft.
  • The horizon above which Earth appeared was about 350 miles from the spacecraft.
  • Everyday English: Leona asked about the two men Anders flew with.

Formal or everyday: both are right

In conversation, the preposition usually goes to the end, and the pronoun is who, which, that or nothing: the crew Anders flew with, the photo Leona wrote about. A preposition at the end isn't a mistake; the front position is simply the formal choice.

Formal: preposition + which / whom

  • the crew with whom Anders flew
  • the film for which Lovell looked
  • the photo about which Leona wrote

Everyday: the preposition at the end

  • the crew (who / that) Anders flew with
  • the film (which / that) Lovell looked for
  • the photo (that) Leona wrote about

At which or when, in which or where

For times and places, everyday English often uses when and where alone: the moment when Earth came into view. Both are right, but pick one: at which or when, never at when; in which or where, never in where. During stays in front: the minutes during which…

Times and places: at which, in which

Keep during in front: the minutes during which the crew had no radio contact. For times and places, everyday English often uses when and where: the moment when Earth came into view, the dome where Grover works. Both are right, but never mix them with a preposition: the moment at which (not at when), the dome in which (not in where).

Common mistakes

The scheme's four slips are during that, with which for astronauts, at when and in where. Each one is fixed with which or whom: during which, with whom, at which, in which. The last two can also become plain when and where.

  • the mission during that people first orbited the Moon

    the mission during which people first orbited the Moon

    after a preposition: which, never that

  • the astronauts with which Anders flew

    the astronauts with whom Anders flew

    people: whom

  • the moment at when Earth came into view

    the moment at which Earth came into view

    at which, or just when, never at when

  • the dome in where Grover gives his shows

    the dome in which Grover gives his shows

    in which, or just where, never in where

More lessons on this grammar: Relative clauses lessons and exercises

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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:

  • put the preposition before which for things, times and places: Apollo 8 was the mission during which people first orbited the Moon.
  • use whom after a preposition for people: the astronauts with whom Anders flew, not with which
  • say the same fact in everyday English, with the preposition at the end: the two men Anders flew with
  • avoid during that, at when and in where: the moment at which or the moment when, never the moment at when
  • write formal captions for photos: the friend with whom he fished every summer for fifty years

Lesson 10 is the second lesson of Turning points, unit 3 of English B2.2 · Culture and Society. B1.2 lesson 23 left the preposition at the end (the street I live on); after lesson 9's reduced clauses, this lesson moves it to the front. Lesson 11 goes on to which for a whole clause. A flight with a crew, a date and a horizon gives each preposition a clear source.

Students open boxes of questions about photos, space and changing minds, then learn twelve words, from capture and emerge to far side and roll of film, with pictures and audio. Leona's explainer for The Why Desk, the course's magazine, looks at what the photo shows, with a true-or-false task, a quiz and headings. At a planetarium, she argues with Grover, an educator, about whether one photo can change minds, and Jay from Houston answers in a voice memo; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking drills, among them a table that writes one fact two right ways. In the speaking chapter, students pick captions for Della's photos in a chat and spin a wheel of debate questions.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, gaps with the space words and a memory game, then options in new sentences, preposition + which or whom gaps, a quiz on which sentence is correct, word order, captions for a photo archive and Leona's answer to Jay with words to drag in.

Grammar:
preposition + which · preposition + whom · formal relative clauses · the moment at which · prepositions at the end of relative clauses
Topic:
Earthrise · Apollo 8 · Bill Anders · the Moon · photography · turning points · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

  • Show Earthrise turned on its side first, with the Moon's horizon running up and down, as in the original frame. Ask what students see, then tell them the famous version was turned 95 degrees for publication.
  • Start each clause from a plain fact: Lovell looked for a roll of color film. Students circle for, then write the clause both ways: the film for which Lovell looked and the film Lovell looked for.
  • Play the planetarium dialogue twice: first to decide who thinks one photo can change minds, then to catch how Leona and Grover name Anders's crewmates: the two men he flew with and the astronauts with whom he flew.
  • Hold a class photo show: each student brings one photo and writes a formal caption with preposition + which or whom, such as The lake by which we camped every summer.

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The whole course: English B2.2 · Culture and Society

32 more lessons for adults at B2 in American English, with the same Why Desk team in Pittsburgh. Each lesson answers one question about how Americans learn, work, travel and remember, from the law behind the 40-hour week to the oral histories of StoryCorps. Learners link ideas in formal writing, report what is said and believed, and pack more into a sentence with participle and relative clauses. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Learning reimagined

    adjective suffixes and negative prefixes, mixed conditionals, provided that and on condition that

    1. Lesson 1College for farmers' kids?Adjective suffixes and negative prefixes
    2. Lesson 2One cousin, one video, millions of learnersMixed conditionals: a past cause, a result now
    3. Lesson 3A college that says yesConditional linkers: provided that, on condition that, assuming, otherwise
    4. Lesson 4School in the woodsMixed conditionals: a present state, a past result

  2. Unit 2 Work-life balance

    be required to and be entitled to, present and perfect participle clauses, participle clauses after conjunctions

    1. Lesson 5Who decided a week is 40 hours?Formal rules: be required to, be entitled to, be exempt from
    2. Lesson 6A paid year off: rest or research?Present participle clauses for time and reason
    3. Lesson 7Was the coffee break born in Wisconsin?Perfect participle clauses: having done and having been done
    4. Lesson 8Why is the first Monday of September a day off?Participle phrases after conjunctions

  3. Unit 3 Turning points

    reduced relative clauses, preposition + which and whom, which for a whole clause, noun + preposition

    1. Lesson 9The keyboard that opened the officeReduced relative clauses: -ing and the past participle
    2. Lesson 10 · you're hereEarthrise: the photo that changed how we see EarthPreposition + which and whom
    3. Lesson 11A city of white palaces for six monthsSentence relative clauses: which for a whole clause
    4. Lesson 12The count that took eight years?Noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to

  4. Unit 4 News and truth

    although, whereas and while, the impersonal passive, despite and however, is said to have

    1. Lesson 13A newspaper of their ownLinkers of contrast: although, even though, whereas and while
    2. Lesson 14Bat-people on the Moon?The impersonal passive: It is said that…
    3. Lesson 15Read like a fact-checkerLinkers of contrast: despite, in spite of, however and even so
    4. Lesson 16Did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree?Passive reporting verbs: is said to have done

  5. Unit 5 Travel that gives back

    so as to, in order to and so that, modifying comparatives, linkers of reason and result, verb + object + preposition + -ing

    1. Lesson 17Seven rules for the wild?Linkers of purpose: to, in order to, so as to, so that
    2. Lesson 18A lottery to see firefliesModifying comparatives and superlatives
    3. Lesson 19Sunrise with the turtlesLinkers of reason and result
    4. Lesson 20Volunteer on vacation?Verb + object + preposition + -ing

  6. Unit 6 Sport and society

    verb + noun collocations, what phrasal verb particles mean, a for-and-against essay, nouns from phrasal verbs

    1. Lesson 21The college team that changed disability sportVerb + noun collocations
    2. Lesson 22When women played pro baseballPhrasal verbs: what the particles mean
    3. Lesson 23Who needs a referee?The for and against essay: plan and linkers
    4. Lesson 24The comeback of Jim ThorpeNouns from phrasal verbs

  7. Unit 7 Buildings and heritage

    past participle clauses, quantifier + of which and of whom, report language, turn out and prove

    1. Lesson 25Homes built into the cliffsPast participle clauses with a passive meaning
    2. Lesson 26A house over a waterfallQuantifier + of which and of whom
    3. Lesson 27From factory to art museumReport language: headings, impersonal style, recommendations
    4. Lesson 28The towers the city tried to pull downTurn out and prove + to-infinitive or that clause

  8. Unit 8 Generations

    adverb + adjective collocations, three-part phrasal verbs, negative and echo questions, prepositional phrases

    1. Lesson 29Who decides where a generation ends?Adverb + adjective collocations
    2. Lesson 30Music students living in a retirement home?Three-part phrasal verbs
    3. Lesson 31Conversations kept for historyNegative questions and echo questions
    4. Lesson 32A day for grandparentsFixed prepositional phrases

Questions about this lesson

How do you use a preposition before which or whom?
Move the preposition from the end of the clause to the front, and use which for things, times and places, whom for people: the day on which Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit, the astronauts with whom Anders flew. The preposition comes from the plain fact (Anders flew with two astronauts), and you say it only once. The B2 lesson Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai teaches this formal style.
What does “in which” mean?
In which means “in that thing, place or time” in a formal relative clause: the dome in which Grover gives his shows is the dome where he gives them. For a place, where can often replace it, and in everyday English the preposition can go to the end: the box I keep old photos in. Never say in where. Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai practices in which, on which and at which.
What are some examples of preposition + which and whom?
Four from Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai: Apollo 8 was the mission during which people first orbited the Moon. December 24, 1968, was the day on which Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit. Borman and Lovell were the astronauts with whom Anders shared the spacecraft. The horizon above which Earth appeared was about 350 miles from the spacecraft. Only the one about people uses whom.
What's the difference between “the crew with whom he flew” and “the crew he flew with”?
Only the style. Both are correct English: the first, with the preposition before whom, sounds formal; the second, with the preposition at the end and no pronoun, is everyday English. Ending a sentence with a preposition is fine. In Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai, a table has students write the same fact both ways, and no drill marks either one wrong.
Is it “at which” or “at when”?
It's at which, or simply when: the moment at which Earth came into view or the moment when Earth came into view. Use the preposition with which, or when alone, so at when and in where are wrong, and so is that after a preposition: during which, not during that. A quiz in Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai checks each of these.
Who took the Earthrise photo, and when?
Astronaut Bill Anders took the famous color photo on Tuesday, December 24, 1968, at about 10:40 a.m. Houston time, on Apollo 8's fourth orbit of the Moon. As the spacecraft came out from behind the Moon, the crew saw Earth above the horizon; Lovell looked for a roll of color film, and Anders loaded it. The crew took three Earthrise pictures within minutes. Leona's explainer in Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai tells the story.
Why is the Earthrise photo so famous?
NASA calls it iconic and says it is thought to have sparked the environmental movement, though nobody has measured what it changed. It appeared on the cover of the Spring 1969 Whole Earth Catalog and on a 1969 U.S. stamp. It wasn't the first view of its kind: in 1966, NASA's uncrewed Lunar Orbiter took black-and-white pictures of Earth above the Moon. Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai weighs both sides.
How do I teach preposition + which and whom to B2 students?
Begin with a plain sentence that ends in a preposition, such as Anders flew with two astronauts, and build the clause from it. Show the everyday version first, then the formal one, and make clear that both are right. Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai goes from Leona's explainer and a planetarium debate to the scheme, a table that writes each fact both ways and four more drills.
What's a good game for practicing preposition + which?
Play a caption contest: show a photo, and teams write the most formal caption they can in one minute, such as The bench on which my grandparents met. The class votes, and a caption with that or where after a preposition is out. For speaking, the wheel in Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai asks about a person to whom you owe a lot.
What's good homework for preposition + which and whom?
Good homework gives the preposition and asks for the rest: gaps like The teacher ___ (to) I wrote a thank-you card wrote back!, a choice between in which, in where and in that, and sentences to put in order. All ten homework tasks in Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai check themselves, including captions for a photo archive.
How do you practice preposition + which one-to-one?
Swap family photos: the student describes one in formal style, the house in which my grandma grew up, and the teacher asks for the everyday version, the house my grandma grew up in. Then switch roles. The chat in Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth on edio.ai works without a partner: Della needs captions for her photo club show, and the right reply is the friend with whom he fished, not with which.
Are there interactive exercises for preposition + which and whom?
Yes. This page plays three parts of Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see Earth, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, without an account: Leona's planetarium debate with Grover, a table that gives every fact both word orders and a chat about captions for Della's photos. You need an account for everything else.
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