Art & Culture
The Secrets Inside Van Goghs Starry Night
3 Jul 2026
NEW
Select
a Level
Warm-up → Read & Listen → Check Understanding → Language → Use It
WARM UP
Think Ahead:
Which detail do you think appears in this story?
a) A giant space monster
b) A bright planet called Venus
c) A modern driving car
Ask:
(1) Do you like looking at the stars at night?
(2) What is your favourite colour to paint with?
VOCABULARY
Famous
(adjective)
Colour
(noun)
Crescent
(noun)
Swirl
(noun)
Remember
(verb)
Flame
(noun)
Known by many people.
Example: He is a famous artist.
Red, blue, green, or yellow.
Example: The sky has a bright blue colour.
A curved shape like the new moon.
Example: The moon looks like a yellow crescent.
A twisting or spinning shape.
Example: There are many blue swirls in the sky.
To think of something from the past.
Example: I remember my old school.
A hot, bright stream of burning gas from a fire.
Example: The tree looks like a dark flame.
Vincent van Gogh was a famous artist. He painted a beautiful picture called The Starry Night. He painted it in France long ago. The painting has many bright colours. It shows a night sky with eleven bright stars. The moon is big and yellow, like a crescent. There is a very bright star near a tree. This star is actually the planet Venus. Van Gogh loved to use thick paint. You can see the lines and swirls in the sky. The sky looks like it is moving. Below the sky, there is a small town with a church. Van Gogh did not see this town from his window. He remembered it from his old home. There is also a dark cypress tree. It looks like a green flame going up to the stars. People love this beautiful painting today.
Listen
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you like the painting The Starry Night?
2. What colours do you see when you look at the night sky?
3. Why do you think Van Gogh used thick paint?
4. If you painted a picture of your bedroom window, what would we see?
5. Do you like drawing pictures from your memory?
6. Why do people still love beautiful art today?
FILL IN THE GAPS
Section 1: Fill in the Gaps
Word Bank: colours, crescent, swirls, remembered
Vincent van Gogh was a famous artist. He painted a beautiful picture called The Starry Night. He painted it in France long ago. The painting has many bright _______(1). It shows a night sky with eleven bright stars. The moon is big and yellow, like a _______(2). There is a very bright star near a tree. This star is actually the planet Venus. Van Gogh loved to use thick paint. You can see the lines and _______(3) in the sky. The sky looks like it is moving. Below the sky, there is a small town with a church. Van Gogh did not see this town from his window. He _______(4) it from his old home. There is also a dark cypress tree. It looks like a green flame going up to the stars. People love this beautiful painting today.
Section 2: Main Idea
What is the main idea of this story?
a) A story about how to fly to the planet Venus.
b) An article about a famous painting called The Starry Night and its details.
c) A lesson on how to build a small church in France.
UNDERSTANDING
Section 3: True or False
1. Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night in the United Kingdom. T/F
2. The big yellow moon in the painting is shaped like a crescent. T/F
3. The village in the painting was exactly what Van Gogh saw from his window. T/F
Section 4: Put Events in Order
Put these details in order as they appear in the text from first to last:
a) The text talks about a dark cypress tree that looks like a green flame.
b) The text introduces Vincent van Gogh and his painting The Starry Night.
c) The text explains that the bright star is actually the planet Venus.
LANGUAGE
Section 5: Vocab Match
1. Famous
2. Crescent
3. Swirl
4. Flame
a) A twisting or spinning shape
b) A hot, bright stream of burning gas from a fire
c) Known by many people
d) A curved shape like the new moon
USE IT
Section 6: Discussion Builder
1. Van Gogh used many bright _______ to show the beautiful night sky.
a) cats
b) colours
c) cars
2. I can always _______ my favourite art lesson from last year.
a) remember
b) run
c) cry
Section 7: Sentence Unscramble
Unscramble the sentences by ordering parts A-E:
1. A) a famous B) Vincent van Gogh C) artist D) was E) long ago
2. A) looking at B) I love C) stars D) the bright E) at night
ANSWER KEY
Warm Up
Answer: b
Section 1:
colours
crescent
swirls
remembered
Section 2
Answer: b
Section 3:
False
True
False
Section 4:
Answers: b, c, a
Section 5:
c
d
a
b
Section 6:
b
a
Section 7:
B, D, A, C, E (Vincent van Gogh was a famous artist long ago.)
B, A, D, C, E (I love looking at the bright stars at night.)
Section 8:
Student answers will vary.