Fracture: Simple Past

This is a great movie, but a bit farfetched. If you like police stories, you will love it. I used the crime scene to practice the simple past tense.






Witness – Imagine you are the witness to a crime. Fill in the
blanks of the following exercise with past tense of the verbs in
parentheses. Use affirmative or negative sentences, depending
on the information presented in the movie segment.

1) Ted’s wife, Sally, _______________ home (drive).

2) She _________________ the front door (unlock).

3) She ________________ her jacket (take off).

4) She _______________ her husband was in the house (notice).

5) They _______________ each other (hug).

6) They _______________ each other (kiss).

7) Ted _______________ his wife in the head (shoot).

8) Gardeners _______________ a gunshot (hear).

9) Ted__________________ the bullet cases on the floor. (pick up).

10) One of the gardeners _______________ on the door (knock).

11) Ted _________________ the door for the gardener (open).

12) Ted ________________ the windows a few times (shoot).

13) Ted _______________ his wife (drag).

14) He _________________ his shirt (take off).

15) He ___________________ his shirt (burn).

16) He __________________ his face (wash).

17) He _________________ the police (call).

18) The gardener _________________ Ted clean the house (help).

Now pretend you are a witness. Report all the steps you have seen to an officer, your partner.
Make sure you use the following expressions:

First / Second / Then / After that / Later /Next

How to prepare your own video activity:

Grammar Goal: Simple Past

• Choose a segment in which a crime takes place.
• Prepare an exercise sheet with the steps the outlaw took to commit the crime.
• Leave blanks for students to complete with the simple past of the verbs in parentheses
• Ask students to report the crime they saw to a police officer.
• You may show the scene twice, if necessary.




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Premonition: Past Modals – Speculation/ Impossibility Speculation – Might/Could + Have + Past Participle

I just love this movie, which was not such a great blockbuster. The story is clever and I was intrigued by the plot throughout the movie. Although a bit shocking, the scene is perfect to speculate about what happened to the characters. So I used it to practice the use of past modals for speculation.

Watch the video segment and guess what might have happened
to the characters. Check the options you believe are possible
explanations for the characters’ current situation.

( ) Jen took too many tranquilizers in the previous night.

( ) Her daughter had a domestic accident.

( ) Jen hurt her daughter.

( ) Jen’s daughter hurt herself.

( ) Jen’s husband, Jim, didn’t die.

( ) Jim died in a car accident.

( ) Jen hit her head on the floor and can’t remember anything.

( ) One of the children was attacked by a mad dog.

Now rewrite these sentences using past modal verbs to express
probability/ possibility/ impossibility.

Ex:

1 - Jen might have taken too many tranquilizers in the previous night.

2 - Her daughter might have had a domestic accident.

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How to prepare your own video activity:

Grammar Goal: Past Modals – Speculation/ Impossibility

• Select a segment in which the viewer cannot predict what happened before the scene actually takes place.
• Prepare an exercise with several possible (or impossible) explanations for the puzzle.
• Ask students to rewrite the same sentences, using the grammar point – Might/ Could/ Can’t/ Must + have + past participle.

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The Island: Can (be allowed to), Can’t (not allowed to), have to (obligation), don’t/doesn’t have to (not necessary).

This is a great movie with an interesting idea about cloning. Because this scene shows what the clones are allowed (or not) to do, I sused it to practice modals.




Watch the movie segment and decide what the characters are (not)
allowed to do and what they have/don’t have to do. Fill in the blanks
with can /can’t /have (has) to or don’t (doesn’t) have to.

1) Those people _____________ walk around the building.

2) They _________________ leave the building.

3) They __________________ wear identification bracelets.

4) They _______________ wear bright colored suits.

5) They _______________ work out together.

6) They __________________ swim in the pool.

7) They ___________________ wear swimsuits.

8) Monitors _________________ wear black clothes.

9) They _______________ sunbathe in tanning booths.

10) They __________________ wait in lines to have breakfast in the cafeteria.

11) They ___________________ to write their names before entering the cafeteria.

12) Lincoln Six Echo _______________ eat bacon.

13) Lincoln Six Echo ________________ pay for his food.

14) Jordan Two Delta __________________ stay too close to Lincoln Six Echo.

15) They _________________ have classes at the same time.

16) The students _________________ read books out loud together.

Now write sentences saying what you can (not)/ have to / don’t have to in your English class.

Ex:
I don’t have to speak all the time.

I can help my friends

I can’t speak Portuguese in class.

How to prepare your own video activity:

Grammar Goal: Can/ Can’t (permission/prohibition), have to (obligation/ don’t/doesn’t have to (not necessary).

• Select a segment in which the characters are supposed to perform several tasks.
• Ask students to observe what the characters have to do.
• Prepare a worksheet for students to fill in the blanks with the correct modal verb.
• Check whether the sentences make sense.




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The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep: "Passive Voice"

This movie is for children and it somehow "explains" the Loch Ness monster's story. It's not a masterpiece, but it is good entertainment.



Watch the movie segment and complete the sentences with the
simple past tense of the verbs in parentheses. Write affirmative
or negative verb forms according to the information in the movie.

EX :

The kids caught (catch) two employees kissing each other in the kitchen.

1) The dog __________________ (chase) the water horse around the house.

2) The dog __________________ (hurt) the water horse.

3) The water horse accidentally _______________ (hit) an expensive vase.

4) The man _______________ (drop) a statue.

5) The carpet ___________________ (scare) the water horse.

6) The animals _________________ (break) several valuable items.

7) The dog ________________ (spill) soup on the guests.

8) The water horse __________________ (grab) a fish with its mouth.

9) The boys ____________________ (find) the water horse in the garden.

Now rewrite the sentences above in the passive voice.

EX:
Two employees were caught kissing each other in the kitchen.


How to prepare your own video activity:

Grammar Goal: Passive Voice

• Select a segment in which a lot of action takes place.
• Prepare an exercise with sentences in the active voice for the students to fill in the blanks with the correct verb form.
• Ask the students to rewrite the same sentences in the passive voice.






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The Holiday: "Determiners" (A/An/Some/Any)

This movie is a must for those who like romantic comedies!!

Check the items that you can see in the movie segment:

( ) Spaghetti ( ) Pop corn ( ) sandwiches
( ) TV ( ) Ties ( ) Hat
( ) Bed ( ) Pillows ( ) Scarf
( ) glasses ( ) Pencil ( ) Notebook
( ) Suitcase ( ) Dog ( ) Cat
( ) Bananas ( ) Kiss ( ) Department store

Now complete the sentence using a, an, some, any, and the vocabulary above:

Ex:

I can see some spaghetti, some pop corn, a TV, …

I can’t see any sandwiches, …

How to prepare your own video activity:

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• Select a scene in which one can see several count/non-count nouns

• Prepare a list with nouns for students to check as they appear in the movie segment

• Ask students to write sentences with the grammar point

WORKSHEET

Charlie's Angels: "Superlatives"

The TV series used to be one of my favorites when I was a teen, but the movie was disappointing. However, it was a huge blockbuster. Comparing the Angels is fun - and the scene is great!



Watch the video segment and choose the adjectives from the list below that best
describe the following characters and write them under the characters' pictures.

Adventurous Funny Short Beautiful

Aggressive Chubby Brilliant Ugly

Crazy Elegant Tall Intelligent

Clumsy Strong Ridiculous Hot

Natalie

Dylan

Alex

Now write sentences using the superlative form of the adjectives:
Ex:

(Adventurous) – Alex is the most adventurous of all.
(Funny) – Dylan is the funniest of all.

How to prepare your own video activity:

Grammar Goal: Assessing Superlatives

- Select a scene in which you can compare several people
- Choose adjectives that describe the characters
- Prepare a chart for students to fill in with adjectives that describe the main characters
- Select the adjectives you want to assess
- The students write sentences using superlatives





WORKSHEET

The Village: Modal Verbs (Possibility: Might/ Must)

I loved this movie although many people didn't. I like the way the director wraps up the movie, explaining how legends come up. I used the scene to practice modals for speculation.




Watch the video segment and come up with 2 possible directions for the story. Write 2 sentences using might/must + verb to say what might happen to the characters in the movie.



Ex:

Part 1: a) He might see a stranger in the village.
b) He might get hurt.

Part 2: a) _____________________________________
b) __________________________________________

Part 3: a) _____________________________________
b) __________________________________________

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which several unexpected events will take place
- Pause the segment on several thrilling spots
- Tell the students to use their imagination to predict what might happen next
- Have them write at least 2 different versions for the continuation of the scene
- Repeat the process a few times
- Check whether the students are good guessers.

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