Mary and Max: There to be

I love this Australian animated movie. Here the student plays bingo with what they will see in the movie in order to practice of the verb THERE + TO BE. This class was really fun!

A. You are going to see a movie segment that shows Lamington Drive in Waverly, Australia. Look at the phrases below and complete the bingo chart with 9 of the given phrases that you think you will see in the scene.

a pair of boots on the wires / a football on the roof / a fast trolley / a sprinkler in the garden / a pair of roller skates on the grass / trash cans on the street / kids playing rugby/ different mailboxes / a brown bicycle / a barbecue grill / different statues / beautiful flowers/ an underwear on a line / very tall buildings / a bird cage/ an I-pod/ hot dog stands

BINGO

B. Watch the movie segment now and check your bingo chart. The winner is the student who bingoes or who guesses the most correct items.





C. Now rewite the phrases in your chart, using there is (not) or there are (not)

Ex: There is a pair of roller skates on the grass

2. ............................................................

3. ............................................................

4. ...........................................................

5. ...........................................................

6. ..........................................................

7. ...........................................................

8. ...........................................................

9. ...........................................................

MOVIE SEGMENT - MARY AND MAX

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Answer key - Possible items:

a pair of boots on the wires / a football on the roof / a sprinkler in the garden / a pair of rollerskates on the grass / trash cans on the street / mailboxes / a barbecue grill / different statues / an underwear on a line

Girl, Interrupted: Short Answers and Questions with There + to be

Angelina Jolie's amazing acting makes this movie stand out others. This scene is perfect topractice the verb there to be in a contextualized way. My students enjoyed it a lot!




A. Talk to a partner. Check the items that you think there is in a psychiatric institution.


( ) Several floors
( ) an art room
( ) a living room
( ) a gym
( ) phones
( ) a nurse's station
( ) a swimming pool
( ) classrooms
( ) a TV room
( ) bedrooms
( ) a post office


B. Now watch the segment about Susanna's (Winona Rider) first day at the institution. Check the items that you can find there.

C. Now ask questions using the items in exercise A. Make sure you use Is there... and Are there... in your questions. Your partner should answer with Yes, there is or No, there aren't.

Ex:
S1: Are there several floors there?
S2: Yes there are.


S2: Is there an art room there?
S1: Yes, there is.

D. Think about an ideal hospital. In your opinion, what is there and what isn't there in an excellent hospital? Use there is (not) or there are (not) to describe it.

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Undertaking Betty: There to be

Watch the video segment and fill in the blanks with there is/ there are/ there isn’t/ there aren’t:

1) ___________ two beds in the couple’s bedroom.

2) ___________ a dresser in their bedroom.

3) ___________ two mirrors over the dresser.

4) ___________ a green telephone in the old lady room.

5) ___________ a TV in her room

6) ___________ a home theater in the house.

7) ___________ two floors.

8) ___________ white cabinets on the kitchen wall.

9) ___________ a swimming pool.

10) ___________ only one table in the kitchen.

11) ___________ an intercom system in the house.

12) ___________ flowers on the window.


Now write sentences using there + to be (affirmative or negative) and cues below:


1) A beautiful garden - There isn’t a beautiful garden in the house.
2) Cats - ______________________________________________
3) Garage - ____________________________________________
4) Stairs - _____________________________________________
5) Cars in front of the house - _______________________________
6) Dogs - _____________________________________________


Discussion these questions. Talk to a partner:

1- Would you like to live in a house like the one in the movie segment? Why/Why not?

2 - Describe your house, using the verb there + to be.

3 - Where would your ideal house be?

4 - What would it look like?

How to prepare your own video activity:

Grammar Goal: There + To Be

• Select a segment in which the scene takes place in an environment (a house, a restaurant, an office, an airport) that can be described, using there is or there are

• Prepare an exercise for the students to fill in the blanks with the grammar goal

• The sentences in the exercise must contain true and false statements

• You may show the segment twice if there are many details to observe

• Students compare their answers after the first viewing

• Students do the written exercise

• Students write sentences about the segment, using the grammar goal.






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