Sleuth: Imperative Forms

This is a great movie with excellent actors. The scene shows one character giving his partner instructions on how to break into his house in order to simulate a robbery. It is perfect for the students to pratice imperative forms, giving instructions. The correct matching is in the order presented in the exercise, so you should mix sentences up when you prepare your own exercise sheet.

A. Talk to a partner and match the verb and the complement. There are many possible combinations.

1 obey
2 go and get
3 place
4 extend
5 climb up
6 keep
7 keep
8 watch
9 keep
10 don’t look
11 smash


( ) the rules
( ) the ladder
( ) the ladder against the wall
( ) the ladder
( ) the ladder
( ) calm
( ) coming
( ) your step
( ) going
( ) down
( ) the window


B. Watch the movie segment and check the matching according to what you see.


C. Now imagine you have to give instructions to your partner. You have to tell him or her how to get your bedroom and get your favorite CD or DVD. Remember: your partner does not know your house and you have to be very clear about them. Give him your house keys and start giving the instructions. Use IMPERATIVE FORMS.


D. Switch roles.


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Leap of Faith: Modal for Advice - Should

This is Steve Martin's best movie, in my opinion. He plays the role of a hoax preacher who makes money out of people's beliefs. I used it to practice giving advice with should. The matching answers have the same color to facilitate your planning.

A. Watch the movie segment and match the people in the audience and their problems.

The audience:

1. The man in the brown jacket
2. The girl in the glitter jeans
3. The guy in the fishing cap.
4. The lady in the pink dress.
5. The man in the white shirt.
6. The man in the yellow shirt
7. The blue-haired lady
8. Emma Schlarp

The problems:

( ) Her mother is suffering deeply because she is pregnant.
( ) He has a back problem.
( ) He has a hearing problem.
( ) She lost her job.
( ) He has a problem with his neighbor
( ) He has a gambling problem.
( ) She has bone trouble.
( ) She has arthritis.

B. Write down a piece of advice for each of the people above.

1. The man in the brown jacket

..................................................................................................................

2. The girl in the glitter jeans

..................................................................................................................

3. The guy in the fishing cap.

...................................................................................................................

4. The lady in the pink dress.

...................................................................................................................

5. The man in the white shirt.

....................................................................................................................

6. The man in the yellow shirt

....................................................................................................................

7. The blue-haired lady

....................................................................................................................

8. Emma Schlarp

.....................................................................................................................

C. Is your advice the same as the hoax preacher in the segment? Talk to a partner and decide whose advice is closer to the movie preacher's.

D. Talk to a partner.

1. Is this hoax preacher committing a crime? Explain it.

2. What should happen to people who cheat on people exploiting their religious beliefs?

3. Is he helping or harming these people? Explain it.

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Little Miss Sunshine: Tag Questions

This is a lovely scene from this wonderful film. I love the acting and the intelligent story. This scene is remarkable. I took advantage of the scene to practice asking tag questions. With this activity, the students can practice the grammar point based on contextualized evidence, which is great. I only used sentences in the past tense, though.



A. Talk to a partner

1. Have you ever participated in a pageant? Talk about it. What is your opinion about beauty pageants?

2. Is it OK for young children to participate in pageants?

3. What's your opinion about pageants like Miss Brazil, Miss Universe, Model of the Year, etc?


B. Watch the segment, fill in the blanks with affirmative and negative forms of the given verbs, and complete the sentences with a tag question. Make sure the sentences are according to the information presented in the segment.


1 - Olive .................................. (be) wearing a suit, a hat and a tie, .................. ?

2 – She ……….…………. (dedicate) her presentation to her grandfather, ....................?

3 – Olive …………………. (be) intimidated by the audience, ...............?

4 – The audience …………… (be) shocked with Olive’s sexy dancing, .................?

5 – Many spectators …………….. (leave) the hall during her presentation, ................?

6 – The dance ………………. (be) appropriate for the situation, .................. ?

7 – Her family ……………………. (support) Olive by dancing with her, ...................?

8 – The host …………………. (try) to remove her from the stage, ...................... ?

9 – Her father …………………… (dance) with her on the stage, ................ ?

10 – The DJ …………….. (be) the only person to clap the presentation, ................... ?

11 – Nobody …………………. (like) the presentation, .............?

12 – They ………………………… (be) ashamed of Olive, ..........?




B. Now ask a partner the questions above. Mind intonation.



WORKSHEET

Answer Key:

1. was - wasn't she?
2. dedicated - didn't she?
3. wasn't - was she?
4. was - wasn't it?
5. left - didn't they?
6. wasn't - was it?
7. supported - didn't they?
8. tried - didn't he?
9. danced - didn't he?
10. was - wasn't he?
11. liked - did they?
12. weren't - were they?

How to prepare your own video activity.

- Select a scene and write sentences for the students to complete with the main verb form of the provided verbs (choose the tenses you wish to assess)

- Students fill in the blanks with affirmative or negative forms of the verbs, according to the information in the segment.

- The students write the correct tag questions for the sentences.

- The students read their sentences to a partner, asking the tag questions.

- Make sure students use rising and falling intonation patterns.

Swingers: 2nd Conditional

This is a fantastic scene. It is funny and pathetic. The development of the scene is unpredictable and students will certainly laugh a lot.
Before Viewing:
Imagine the following situation:

You meet a very interesting girl (guy) and talk to her (him) very briefly. You are very interested in each other. She (He) is attractive and looks very friendly. She (He) is in a hurry and has to leave, but she (he) gives you her (his) phone number. You don’t have the chance to give her (him) yours, though.

A. Now choose the best alternative about you. How would you react in the following situations?

1. What would you do if the situation you have just read were real?

a. call her (him) as soon as possible
b. wait a few days and then call her (him)
c. wait for another opportunity to meet her (him) at the same place again
d. none of the above: justify it

2. Imagine you called her (him) and the answering machine answered the call. What would you do?

a. hang up the phone
b.identify yourself and call again later
c.identify yourself, leave your phone number and wait for her (him) to call
d. none of the above: justify it

3. What would you do if the answering machine disconnected before you finished saying what you had planned to say?

a. call back and complete the message
b. wait for her (him) to call back
c. wait a little and call back again
d. none of the above: justify it

4. How many times would you call her (him) again if she didn’t return the call?

a. once
b. twice
c. as many as necessary
d. none

B. watch the video segment and check if the main character would do the same as you.

C. rewrite the four items above using the 2nd conditional about yourself.

EX:

1 – If the situation …………………….., I ………………………………………........

2. ………………………………………………………………………………………….........

3 …………………………………………………………………………………………..........

4……………………………………………………………………………………………........

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300: Passive Voice

This is a great movie. The visual effects and colors are unusually gripping. It is one of my favorite epic movies ever. The first scene is excellent for passive voice practice since the narrator uses the target struture to explain Leonidas's journey to become a Spartan king. I'm sure your students will enjoy the scene and use the passive voice in the simple past tense in a contextualized manner.

A. Talk to a partner about the following questions:

1. In a few cultures, couples are allowed to have only one child. Do you think it’s fair? Justify your answer.

2. If you could have only one child, would you still have the baby knowing he/she would be sick forever? Explain.

3. Is it possible to train someone to be a king or a hero? Justify your answer.

4. In ancient Greece, Spartans used to reject and kill all the handicapped children? The whole population consisted of healthy, strong people. What’s your opinion about it?

B. Before you view the segment, rewrite the following sentences using passive voice.

1. Spartans inspected the boy when he was born.

2. Spartans would have discarded him if he were too small or misshapen.

3. Spartans baptized him in the fire of combat.

4. They taught him not to retreat or surrender.

5. They taught him that death in the battlefield was the greatest glory.

6. Spartans took him from his mother and plunged him into a world of violence.

7. They called it the agoge.

8. Rod and lash punished the boy.

9. They taught the boy to show no pain or mercy

C. Watch the movie segment and check your answers.

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Answer Key

B.

1. The boy was inspected when he was born.

2. He would have been discarded if…

3. He was baptized in …

4. He was taught not to…

5. He was taught that…

6. he was taken from… and plunged into…

7. It was called the agoge.

8. The boy was punished by the rod and lash.

9. He was taught to …

Big Fish: Past Continuous x Simple Past

This is my favorite Tim Burton's movie. I love him as a director and most of his movies are full of resources for movie activities. Big Fish is full of them. This scene is perfect for the students to practice the past continuous and simple past tenses.



I. Watch the movie segment and write down 3 activities people were doing when time stopped.


Ex: A little boy was drinking soda.


1 ......................................................

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

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



II. Now write down 3 things that happened when time moved too fast to catch up while he was in the circus.

Ex:

The girl he fell in love with left without talking to him.

1 ...................................................................

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

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

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The Other Man: Past Perfect x Simple Past

This is an intriguing scene because it is about a men who finds out his wife has a lover because he decided to investigate her private messages, such as the ones in her cell phone and laptop. I like using it to practice the contrast between the simple past and past perfect tenses.

A. Talk to a partner:

1 - Do you think it is correct to check your husband's (wife's) messages? Justify it.
2 - Is it important to have privacy in a relationship? Explain it.
3 - Do you have documents in your computer that only you have access to? Why (not)?
4 - If you were suspicious about how faithful your partner is to you, would you fuss around his stuff? Why (not)?
5 - If you found out you were being cheated on, what would you do?


B. Watch the segment and check which activity took place first. Write 1 next to the activity that took place first and 2 next to the activity that took place later.


I . ( ) He listened to her voice mail.
( ) He turned on his wife's laptop.


II. ( ) He looked at some pictures of his family.
( ) He tried to open a folder called love.


III. ( ) He tried opening the love folder using some passwords with his family names.
( ) He opened a folder called London.


IV. ( ) He saw the picture of a black man trying to kiss his wife at a party.
( ) He read an email sent by Ralph.


V. ( ) He remembered being introduced to Ralph.
( ) He finished reading the email.




C. Now combine both sentences using the simple past and the past perfect tenses. Make sure you know what action took place first so you can choose the correct verb tense.



I. ..........................................................................................................................................

II. .......................................................................................................................................

III. .....................................................................................................................................

IV. ......................................................................................................................................

V. .......................................................................................................................................

WORKSHEET

Correct answers:
B.

I. 1, 2
II. 1,2
III. 1,2
IV. 1,2
V. 2,1


C. Possible answers:
I. He had listened to his wife's voice mail when he turned on her laptop.
II. He had looked at some pictures of his family when he tried opening a folder called Love.
III. He had tried opening that folder with passwords of his family names when he opened a folder called London.
IV. He had seen a picture of a black man trying to kiss his wife when he read an email sent by Ralph.
V. He remembered being introduced to Ralph, when he had finished reading the email.


How to prepare your own video activity.

- Select a scene with a sequence of events
- Write down two sentences that took place at different times
- Have students decide which action took place first
- The students combine both sentences, using the past perfect and simple past tenses