Once Upon a Time in America: Used To

This activity was taken from an unforgettable classic. It is a wonderful movie with a brilliant story and saga. It's one of my all times favorite. I took advantage of the scene that shows New York in the beginning of the century to practice USED TO in a contextualized way.

Watch the video segment and observe how different New York used to be in the beginning of the century. Pay close attention to the following people and objects.

Cars Street vendors Streets Cameras Women

Clocks Police Officers Buildings Clothes Kids

Read the examples and write down your own sentences, using the given cues. Make sure you choose a suitable verb to complete the sentences.

Ex:

The kids/ on the streets. The kids used to play on the streets.
Cars/ uncomfortable. The cars used to be uncomfortable.
Street vendors/ bread. Street vendors used to sell bread.

1 – Streets/ crowded ______________________________________

2 – Cameras/ practical _____________________________________

3 – Women/ dark clothes ___________________________________

4 – Police officers/ elegant uniforms ____________________________

5 – Buildings / dirty _______________________________________

6 – Streets / smoky _______________________________________

After viewing:

Talk to a partner. Discuss the following questions:

1 - How do you compare the New York depicted in the segment and the city nowadays?

2 - Which one is better and why?

3 - Would you like to live in New York nowadays? Why?

4 - Would you like to have lived in New York in the beginning of the century? Why not?

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA

How to prepare your own video segment:

• Select a movie segment that takes place in the past.

• Costumes, childhood memories, last century towns, historical moments are perfect to assess this grammar goal .

• Ask students to observe specific features in the passage .

• Prepare an exercise with cues that will help students write sentences with the structures/verbs you want to assess.

• Students write sentences, using “used to” .

Agora: Used To

This is a very interesting movie about a woman scientist that was ahead of her time, developing scientific studies that were proven right centuries before the first astronomers came up with the theories we believe in nowadays. I used this scene to practice the use of USED TO and its negative form.

A. Watch the movie segment and complete and read the sentences below.

Then complete them with used to or didn't use to, according to the segment.

1. Ordinary people ___________ (think) the world was a gigantic chest.

2. They _________ (believe) that heaven was on top and the earth was on the ground.

3. They _____________ (claim) that the earth was round.

4. They __________ (question) why people on the bottom didn't fall off and the ones on the sides didn't slideoff.

5. They __________ (feel) intrigued why the the sun changed size from summer to winter.

6. The scientists in the movie _________ (believe) that the earth was the center of the universe.

7. They also _________ (imagine) that the sun traveled around the earth.

B. Work in pairs:

1. What are some of the things that we believe in nowadays that you believe might be proven wrong in the future?

2. what are your current viewpoints about these issues?

- Intelligent life in other planets

- living in mars

- comets or asteroids destroying our planet in the future

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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - AGORA

1. used to think 2. used to believe 3. didn't use to claim 4. used to question 5. used to feel 6. didn't use to believe 7. didn't use to imagine

Up: Used to

In my opinion, this is the best animated movie of all times. I laughed, but I cried a little too. This touching story has this beautiful scene that I used to practice the use of USED TO. It is great for the simple past tense too, but this will come up at a different post. Hope you enjoy it like my students did.

I. Watch the movie segment and check the activities the couple used to do during the years they lived together.

1 ( ) work around the house together

2 ( ) do home improvement

3 ( ) look for object shapes in clouds

4 ( ) swim on the beach

5 ( ) travel around the world

6 ( ) sell balloons

7 ( ) read books together

8 ( ) share the good and bad moments of life

9 ( ) save money for rainy days

10 ( ) go windsurfing

11 ( ) wear different kinds of ties

12 ( ) dance romantically

13 ( ) Be happy

14 ( ) Fight all the time

Answers: Incorrect items - 4, 5, 10, 14

II. Now write the items above using USED TO or DIDN'T USE TO.

Ex:

1. They used to work around the house together.

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - UP

Speed Racer: Would x Used to

It is often difficult for students to realize when to use "used to" or "would" in order to express past habits. This segment and activity will give students an opportunity to use this target grammar point in a contextualized manner.

Before watching the segment:

Play some relaxing music, dim all the lights, create a cozy atmosphere, and ask your students to take a fantasy trip into the past. Tell them to think about their childhood (or adolescence). Ask them to close their eyes and address them the following questions. Don't let them answer the questions now; all they have to do is travel in time.

What are your best childhood (teenage) memories?

What did your school look like?

What kind of student did you use to be?

.

Who used to be your best friend?

Where did you use to go on weekends?

What sports did you use to practice?

What were your favorite games?

What did you dislike about that period of your life?

Now divide the class into pairs, give each pair a copy of the questions you have just read, and let them share their ideas with their partners.

Now watch the video segment and fill in the blanks of the following sentences with "used to + verb" or "would + verb". If both are possible, use "would (not)". Pay attention whether you will write affirmative or negative statements, based on the information presented in the segment.
.

1) Speed ___________ (be) a restless child.

2) He _____________ (be) easily distracted during the classes.

3) He ____________ (concentrate) during the classes.

4) He _____________ (enjoy) being in the classroom.

5) He _____________ (count) the seconds for the break time.

6) He ____________ (think) about automobile racing all the time.

7) He _____________ (draw) racing cars.

8) His mother __________ (be) called by the school's director to talk about Speed's performance in class.

9) His mother ___________ (agree) with the director.

10) He _____________ (pretend) he was driving a car.

11) He _______________ (be) the first student to leave the classroom when the bell rang.

12) He __________ (leave) the school with his father.

13) His brother _______________ (coach) him how to drive a racing car.

14) He ____________ (drive) racing cars by himself when he was a kid.

.
Answer Key:

1. used to
2. used to
3. would
4. used to
5. would
6. used to
7. would
8. used to
9. wouldn't
10. would
11. used to
12. would
13. would
14. would

Remember:

Used to: Before both stative and action verbs
Would: Before action verbs
Exception: There + to be: Only would

How to prepare your own grammar activity:

.

- Select a scene in which childhood memories are evident.

- Prepare a few questions for students to remember their childhood's special moments.

- Students share their ideas with a partner.

- Prepare an exercise sheet with the activities presented in the segment.

- Write sentences with both action and stative verbs so that students can select "used" to or "would " to complete the blanks.

- Some of the sentences must be true, others false; this way you will work with listening comprehension too.

- Have students to the exercise.

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The Phantom of the Opera: "Used to"

I love the film, the musical, the play, the soundtrack, everything about the Phantom. I cried all the time watching it. Teens don't like it that much, but adults do. Because the scene takes place in Paris centuries ago, I used it to practice the use of "used to".


Watch the video segment and observe how different Paris used to be in 1870. Pay close attention to the following people and objects.


Means of Transportation / Passers-by / Streets / Theater

Actors / Dancers / Musicians / Clothes / Horses


Read the examples and write down your own sentences, using the given cues.

Ex:
People/ elegant carriages. People used to ride on elegant carriages.

Gentlemen/ fancy clothes. Gentlemen used to wear fancy clothes.


Theaters/ crowded. Theaters used to be crowded

1 – A lot of employees/ theater _______________________________________

2 – Musicians/ on the stage _________________________________________

3 – Dancers/ whiskey during the rehearsals_____________________________

4 – Horses/ in the theater __________________________________________

5 – Actors/ operatically ___________________________________________

6 – Singers / rich costumes _________________________________________

How to prepare your own video segment:

Grammar Goal: Used to


• Select a movie segment that takes place in the past

• Costumes, childhood memories, last century towns, historical moments are perfect to assess this grammar goal

• Ask students to observe specific features in the passage

• Prepare an exercise with cues that will help students write sentences with the structures/verbs you want to assess

• Students write sentences, using “used to”





WORKSHEET