Falling Down: Past Perfect - By the Time...

This movie is about an ordinary man who reacts very aggressively to everyday stressing situations we all face in our routines. Because many things happen before the end of the scene. I prepared an activity in which the students will write down sentences in the past perfect tense after or before expression with BY THE TIME...





A. Talk to a partner:





1 - What kind of customer are you? Do you complain when the service is poor or do you prefer to remain quiet and forget it?





2 - Tell your partner about a situation in which you had to be firm to grant your rights as a consumer.





3 - What's your opinion about the service provided to the citizens in your country (town)?





4 - Is it worth complaining? Justify it.







B. Watch the movie segment and check the items of what had happened by the time he asked the hostages in the resaturant a question about the sandwich quality (the end of the scene).





( ) 1. The restaurant stopped serving breakfast.



( ) 2. Sheila called the manager to solve the situation.



( ) 3. The main character told everyone to sit down.



( ) 4. He accidentally shot the roof.



( ) 5. The manager decided to serve breakfast.



( ) 6. He changed his mind and ordered lunch.



( ) 7. One of the customers vomited her sandwhich.



( ) 8. He complained about the sandwich he ordered.



( ) 9. He apologized to the manager.



( ) 10. The police arrived.









C. Rewrite the sentences above with the correct verb tense. Complete the first sentence and rewrite the other ones, according to the segment.





By the time he ___________ the hostages a question about the quality of the sandwich,



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



10......................................................







Answer Key:



B. All the items should be checked, except #10.





C.

1. The restaurant had stopped...

2. Sheila had called...

3. He had told...

4. He had accidentally shot...

5. The manager had decided...

6. He had managed...

7. One of the customers had vomited...

8. He had complained...

9. He had apologized...

10. The police hadn't arrived...

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which several a/completed ctions take place by the time something happens.

- List the actions that took place before the final moment.

- Have students write sentences about the actions using the past perfect and by the time... the final action takes place.

WORKSHEET

The Hitcher: Modal Verb SHOULD - Advice

This movie is a classic that has changed many people's opinions about giving rides to strangers on roads. I took advantage of the opening scene to have student practice modal verbs for advice - SHOULD - OUGHT TO.




Before watching the segment:


A. Talk to a partner. Make a list of what drivers should and should not do when they travel by car alone during the night.


What drivers should (ought to) do:
1 - ........................................................
2 - ........................................................
3 - ........................................................
4 - ........................................................


What drivers shouldn't (oughtn't to) do:
1 - .........................................................
2 - ........................................................
3 - ........................................................
4 - ........................................................


B. Watch the segment now. Check which of the pieces of advice you came up with in exercise A the main character of the movie did not follow.


C. Talk to a partner. For your information, the driver will manage to escape. Come up with the conclusion of the scene knowing that the hitcher won't achieve his goal, which was to kill the driver. Be creative; use your imagination.


D. Share your stories with the whole class and choose the most creative one.


WORKSHEET




How to develop your own video activity.

- Select a scene in which the characters disobey the law or do things they will regret.
- Ask students to give pieces of advice for one to follow in such situations.
- Play the scene you had selected.
- Have students check which pieces of advice were not followed by the characters.

Love Actually: Reported x Direct Speech

This is a very romantic scene. For this segment, I decided to work on reported speech differently from the previous exercises. Here the students have to rewrite the indirect sentences in direct speech.

Talk to a partner:

1. Are you a romantic person? Do you like romantic lovers? Why?

2. What kind of things does a romantic person do? Make a list of at least five different things.

3. What was the most romantic scene someone has ever done for you? Describe it.


B. Read the sentences below. They are indirect speech. Rewrite them using direct speech, supposing the guy in the movie segment is talking directly to the girl he loves.





1. He told her to say it was Carols Singers.

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


2. He said he would be going out with one of those girls.

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


3. He said that she was perfect to him.

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

4. He said that his wasted heart would love her until she looked like that.

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

5. He wished her Merry Christmas.

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

C. Talk to a partner:


1. What is your opinion about this scene? Is it romantic or tacky?

2. Would you like your sweetheart to be more or less romantic? Why?

3. What do you consider important in a relationship? Rank the five most important things for a romance to work out.

4. Share your list with he rest of the class. Which one was the most voted?


Answer Key:
B.
1. Say it’s Carol Singers.
2. I will be going out with one of these girls.
3. You are perfect to me.
4. My wasted heart will love you until you look like this.
5. Merry Christmas!

WORKSHEET

Yes Man: Short Answers

This is a great scene because it shows how motivational seminars can be ridiculous. I chose this scene to practice a very simple grammar point - providing short answers. In this case, with the simple present and simple past tenses, can and there to be. Basic learners might not understand everything said in the segment, but I'm sure they will manage to answer all the proposed questions.

Watch the movie segment and ask a friend the following questions. Take turns asking the questions. Answer them with short answers:

1) Do all participants have a red bag?

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

2) Is Carl excited about the seminar?

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

3) Is Terrence the presenter?

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

4) Does the word YES control the external side of people, according to Terrence?

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

5) Did Terrence invite YES into the participants' lives?

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

6) Did Carl believe the YES story in the beginning of the scene?

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

7) Is there anyone new to the seminar?

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

8) Can people say the word NO in the seminar?

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

9) Can people say YES in the seminar?

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

10) Does Carl say NO to life?

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

11) Is Carl comfortable during the scene?

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

12) Does Carl have a girlfriend?

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

13) Did Carl lose the love of his life?

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

14) Did Carl accept the challenge?

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

15) Are the participants happy about Carl's final decision?

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

16) Do you believe in Terrence's ideas?

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

B. Write down 3 questions about the segment and ask them to a partner. Make sure you write yes/no questions.

1 ................................................... ?
2 ................................................... ?
3 ................................................... ?

Answer Key:





A.

1. Yes, they do.
2. No, he isn't.
3. Yes, he is.
4. Yes, it does.
5. Yes, he did.
6. No he didn't.
7. Yes, there is.
8. No, they can't.
9. Yes, they can.
10. Yes, he does.
11. No, he isn't.
12. No, he doesn't.
13. Yes, he did.
14. Yes, he did.
15. Yes, they are.
16. Answers will vary.



How to develop your own video segment.

- Choose an attractive scene in which several things can be observed.
- Prepare some yes/no questions about the segment.
- Have students take turns asking each other the questions.
- Ask students to write down 4 different yes/no questions about the segment.
- Students ask and answer each other questions.

WORKSHEET

Interview

I have given an interview that has been published on a peer's (Vanessa Prata's) very intereresting blog, about using movie segments in the classroom. You may check it out here. Thanks Vanessa. Your blog, English for All, is great for teachers. Congratulations.

The Happening: Modals for Speculation Might, Could.

Most reviewers criticized this movie, but I am a fan of Shayamalan, the director. All of his films have provided me with very interesting activities because the stories are very creative. I used this scene to practice modals for speculation - possibility.

A. Read the latest news in today's newspaper:

The Honeybees Disappearance:

Apparently, honeybees are disappearing all over the country. Tens of millions of them. Just disappearing. There are no bodies, no sign of them. They're just mysteriously gone.

B. Talk to a partner and come up with at least two different theories about why this might be happening. Be as creative as possible. Use modals for speculation (might, could, must ) to construct your theory.

C. Share your ideas with the whole class. Make sure you use modals for speculation while reporting your theory.

D. Each student votes for the following theories.

1. The most plausible one

2. The most farfetched one

3. The most creative one

E. Count all the votes and check what the class's opinion is.

F. Now watch the movie segment and check whether your ideas and the characters' theories matched.

G. What are the characters' theories? Write them using modals for speculation.

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

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

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

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

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

WORKSHEET

Answer Key

Ex: G

1. It might be a disease.

2. It could be a virus or infection.

3. It might be pollution.

4. It could be global warming

5. It might be an act of nature we will never fully understand.

Unbreakable: Present Perfect (with Just)

This movie is not one I would strongly recommend, but it has good moments. This scene is one of them. David's, Bruce Willis's character, touching passers-by make him see what they have just done minutes before that, which is perfect for the students to practice the present perfect tense, using - just - in their sentences. In this exercise they are to write down whole sentences, which makes it more challenging than the other ones I have published on this grammar goal. I hope you like it.

A. Talk to a partner: Decide what the best punishment for the following crimes is. You and your partner have to reach an agreement of what the sentence is, how much time in jail (if it is the case) should the outlaw spend, or how much the fine fine should cost:


1. Stealing jewelry from a store.

2. Showing racial prejudice in the public eye by calling someone names.

3. Hitting someone with a glass bottle.

4. Stealing candy from a child.

5. Kidnapping without killing the victim.

6. Kidnapping and killing the victim.

7. Taking advantage of a drunk person.

8. Breaking into a house and stealing goods.

9. Breaking into a house and murdering someone there.

10. Drinking and driving.



B. Class discussion: Compare your punishments. Who are the toughest and the most lenient students?






C. Watch the following segment. Bruce Willis's character has the power to see what some people have done minutes before just by touching them. Decide which of the crimes above the characters below have just commited. Write the number of the crime next to the character.






( ) The lady in red

( ) The man in yellow

( ) The man in green

( ) The man in orange




D. Now write sentences saying what these people have just done before arriving at the subway station. Make sure you use "just" in your sentences and the present perfect tense.






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



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



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



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



E. Talk to a partner about the following questions.

1. What do you think will happen next?

2. Would you like to have this super power? Is this gift really possible?

3. Are there people with this ability?

4. Rank the crimes the people in exercise C have committed - 1 as the most serious and 4 as the least serious one.




WORKSHEET

Answer key:

C.
1
3
7
9




D.
The woman in red has just stolen jewelry from a store.

The man in yellow has just broken a bottle on a passer-by.

The man in green has taken advantage of a drunk woman.

The man in orange has just broken into a house and murdered someone there.