The Brothers Bloom: Modal for Ability - Can

Not many people had the chance to see this under rated movie. I like it a lot and this scene is just perfect to talk about the use of modal verb CAN, for ability.





A. Ask a partner if he/she can do the following activities.


Model:


S1: Can you...?

S2: Yes, I can / No, I can't


1.Play a musical instrument?



2. Practice karate?


3.Turn somersaults?


4. Skate?


5. Play badminton?


6. Play table tennis?


7. Juggle with balls?


8. Juggle with chainsaws?


9. Jet ski?


10. Mix music at parties?


11. Make origami?


12. Speak Chinese?


B. Now watch the movie segment and write sentences about the main characters. Use the activities in the previous exercise and use can or can't. She sees people doing what she likes, so she buys books and learns how to do it. What can and can't she do now?



1. Ex. She can play the piano, the violin, the harmonica, the guitar and the banjo.
2.......................................................................
3.......................................................................
4.......................................................................







WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - THE BROTHERS BLOOM

City of Angels: Mixed Conditionals Sentences

This is a touching movie that makes you reflect upon your life. It is excellent. I used this moving scene to practice conditionals with mixed time frames. It is clear enough fo the students to realize the difference between present and past results in conditionals.





A. Watch the movie segment and read the sentences below. They describe what happened in the segment. Then fill in the blanks with the correct verb tense of the verb in parentheses. Pay attention to whether the consequences have a past or present result and if you will use affirmative or negative forms to make sense. These are hypothetical situations with different mixed time frames.

1.
The doctor operated on the patient.
She had to give the family the bad news.

If the doctor ____________ ( operate) on the patient, she ____________ (have) to give the family the bad news.


2.
The family didn't expect to lose him on the operating table.
They are suffering a lot now.

If the family __________ (expect) to lose him on the operating table, they __________ (be) suffering so much now.


3.
The doctor had to give the family the bad news.
She fell apart.

If the doctor __________ (have) to give the family such bad news, She _________ (fall) apart.


4.
She didn't massage the patient long enough.
She regrets it now.

If she _______________ (massage) the patient longer, she _________ (regret) it now.



5.
She couldn't see an angel comforting her.
She didn't have the chance to open up her heart to him.


If she _____________ (see) an angel comforting her, she __________ (had) the chance to open up her heart to him.





Answer Key:


1. hadn't operated / wouldn't have had


2. had expected / wouldn't be


3. hadn't had / wouldn't have fallen


4. had massaged / wouldn't regret


5. had seen / would have had

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - CITY OF ANGELS

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.

WORKSHEET


MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - GIRL, INTERRUPTED

My Life in Ruins: Get / Have Something Done (Passive Voice with Causative Verbs)

I really liked this comedy. Greece is simply fabulous and the views are fascinating. The story is very relaxing and funny too. I used many scenes for different activities. This is the first one of them. I used it to practice causative verbs GET and HAVE in passive constructions. It is an unconventional manner to practice such a barren, unattractive grammar point.

I. Before viewing the segment, talk to a partner about the following questions.


1. Have you ever stayed at a very bad hotel? Tell you partner about it and how you managed to stay there.



2. Do you complain when there is a problem in your hotel room? What do you do if they do not resolve the problem for you?


3. Do you prefer to stay at a bad hotel that is very well located in the city or at a sophisticated hotel that is not so well located? Explain it.


II. Watch the movie segment and check the problems that you could identify in the Greek hotel.

1. ( ) The elevator

2. ( ) The air conditioning system

3. ( ) The mini bar

4. ( ) The shower

5. ( ) The toilet

6. ( ) The fan

7. ( ) The bed

8. ( ) The TV

9. ( ) The telephone

10. ( ) The closet



III. Fill in the blanks with the passive form of the verbs in parentheses.


1. The elevator needs repairing. The hotel needs to _____________ (get / fix).

2. The shower doesn't work properly. The managers will ___________ (have/repair).

3. The toilet broke. Plumbers will ________________ (get/replace).

4. The TV stopped working. The hotel will __________(have/send) to the electrician.

5. The telephone is out of order. They will _______________ (get / reconnect) as soon as possible.



IV. Now write two sentences about the other problems you identified, using passive construction with get and have. Follow the patterns in exercise III.



V. Class discussion:

What would you do if you were in such a breathtaking place like Greece, but in that horrible hotel? Would you complain, demand to change rooms or hotels? Justify it.


Answer Key:

II.

1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10

III.

1. get it fixed
2. have it repaired
3. get it replaced
4. have it sent
5. get it reconnected


MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - MY LIFE IN RUINS

WORKSHEET


 A peer of mine said that he had used a slides presentation with links to my passive voice activities. I was sent the link and came across this really cool and thorough class on passive voice. I'm glad Simon Friend used my blog for his video activities. His slides are effective, fun and constructive. Thanks Simon Friend for these really cool slides. Thanks for linking my site to it.

Shall We Dance? & Save the Last Dance: Similes x Metaphors

Both movies are great. Shall We Dance? has Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez at their best and Save the Last Dance is absolutely amazing, with great songs. Both talk about kinds of music and these scenes are perfect to contrast similes and metaphors, about which many people, even teachers, have doubts.

A. Remember the difference between SIMILES and METAPHORS:


A simile - or to be like something - is to retain a difference which means one can never fully substitute for the other. On the other hand, a metaphor actually is a substitution - it is an equation in principle. Typically, if it needs further explanation, it's probably a simile; if it makes instant sense, it's most likely a metaphor. The simile is always poetic, while the metaphor always has the ring of truth. They are similar, but different in essence.

Simile - Basic Rule: If it uses the words "is like" or "is as", it is usually a simile; if it uses the word "is", without "as" or "like", it is usually a metaphor .

B. Before watching the first movie segment from the movie "Shall We Dance?", try matching the first part of the sentence with the simile or metaphor in the second column.

1. The rumba

2. The rumba

3. You have to hold her

4. Let her go

5. Put her back

6. Then finish

( ) like the skin of her thigh is your reason for living.

( ) like she's ruined your life.

( ) is the dance of love.

( ) like your heart's being ripped from your chest.

( ) is a vertical expression of a horizontal wish.

( ) like you're going to have your way with her, right there on the dance floor.

C. Now watch the segment and check your answers. Identify which items are similes and metaphors.

Answer key: 3, 6, 1 (or 2), 4, 2 (or 1), 5
Metaphors are: 1 and 2

D. Now repeat the process with the next segment from the movie Save the Last Dance. Make a guess matching the first part of the sentence with the simile or metaphor.

1. Hip Hop is

2. Be strong

3. Sit

4. Slouch a little bit

( ) like you're chilling

( ) like you're a nasty bitch

( ) like an attitude

( ) like a tree

E. Now watch the movie segment and check your answers. Identify which items are similes or metaphors

Answer Key: 3, 4, 1, 2 - All are similes.

F. Think about the most popular dance or music in your country and write 2 similes and 2 metaphors describing it.

Ex: SAMBA.

Samba is like a volcano in the heart. (Simile)

Samba is a ferocious animal in the shape of dance. (Metaphor)

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - SHALL WE DANCE

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - SAVE THE LAST DANCE

Ice Age: Possessive Adjectives

Ice Age is one of my favorite animated movies. This scene is great and I used it to practice the use of adjective pronouns, not for beginners, but basic learners. I hope you enjoy it!






A. Watch the movie segment about an eskimo family that is attacked by a group of sabre-tooth tigers. Then complete the blanks with adjective pronouns.


My - Your - His - Her - Its - Our - Their








1. The eskimo tribe lived in the woods. The sabre-tooth tigers invaded __________ territory.


2. The eskimos had some dogs. They barked to warn _________ owners about the dangerous tigers.


3. Kinu, the eskimo, used ___________ spear to fight the tiger and protect ________ family.


4. Jana, the eskimo mother, held __________ baby before Diego, the tiger, attacked it. She would never leave _______ child behind.


5. The tiger grabbed ____________ necklace, but it didn't grab ___________ baby.


6. ________________ husband could not help her because of the tigers. Kinu wanted to help _______________ wife and child, but she ran away with _________ baby.


7. The dogs defended ______________ owner from the tigers.


8. The tigers were unhappy with Diego because of __________ incompetence to get the baby.


9. Kinu found _________ wife's necklace. _______________ friends followed him to look for _________ wife and child.


10. Did you like the segment? What's __________ opinion about it?



11. I (liked/didn't like) it. In ___________ opinion, the segment is (great / terrible / fantastic / etc).



Answer Key:

1. their
2. their
3. his / his
4. her / her
5. her / her
6. her / his / their
7. their
8. his (its)
9. his / his / his
10. your
11. my



WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - ICE AGE

Battle for Terra: Compound Nouns with Some, Any, No, Every

As you know, I could spend days watching animated movies. This is a 3D movie with a great message for kids. I think adults understand the movie better than children, though. I used this segment to practice compound nouns with some, any, no, every in a contextualized way. Hope you like it.

A. Watch the movie segment and describe what you saw to a partner.






B. Now do the following exercise. Circle the correct alternative.



1. Humans exhausted every natural resource. There was anything / nothing / something left .


2. Colonies were established on the neighboring planets, Venus and Mars. Two centuries later, war was declared and something / anything / everything was destroyed.


3. There was something / nothing / anything the survivors could do. Travel to another galaxy and find another planet everywhere / somewhere / nowhere in another system.




4. The human asked Mala to do anything/ something / nothing for him. To repair his spaceship.




5. They eventually shook hands, a demonstration that anybody / somebody / everybody can be friends even if they don't have something / anything / nothing in common.




6. Mala is a Terrean. She is not human but there is something / nothing / anything about her that resembles a human being. She has two eyes and one mouth, for example.




7. According to the segment, there is life nowhere / somewhere / anywhere in other galaxies.




8. What's your opinion? Is there life somewhere / nowhere / anywhere in outer space?




WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - BATTLE FOR TERRA

Answer key:



1 Nothing
2 Everything
3 Something / somewhere
4 Something
5 Everybody / anything
6 Something
7 Somewhere
8. Anywhere

Ratatouille: Determiners A, An, Some

Ratatouille is a great animated movie. This scene is perfect for beginners. The language is very easy and the scene is funny. It is ideal to practice the use of determiners - a, an, some - and the students may write a recipe, if their level allows.

The final worksheet was developed by my reader, Alexandra Duarte from Portugal. She inserted this activity of mine into her own class plan and shared it with us. Thanks, Alexandra, for sharing and developing such great activities.

Alexandra Duarte has been an EFL teacher for about 20 years, most of them at MartinhoÁrias Secondary School in Soure / Portugal. For the last 3 years she has been involved in adult teaching.

http://www.clubeinglesoure.blogspot.com/

A. You can see these items during the movie segment. Match the vocabulary and the words. Add a/ an/ some before the nouns.

Ex: A tomato

1. Tomato

2. Carrots

3. Omelet

4. Eggs

5. Spaghetti

6. Wine

7. Onion

8. Egg

9. Cucumber

10. Soup

B. Now watch the movie segment and write the instructions to make the soup, using some of the words from the previous exercise. First, decide which verbs correspond to the pictures below:

1. Slice

2. Pour

3. Stir

4. Break

Recipe:

First, pick up ________________.

Then stir the _________ in a bowl.

Next, put __________ into a pan.

After that, pour ____________ into a glass.

Next, slice ________________.

Then break ________________.

Don't forget to slice ____________.

Put everything in the pan to make ___________.

Answer Key:

B.
1. a tomato
2. some eggs
3. some spaghetti
4. some wine
5. an onion
6. an egg
7. some cucumbers / a cucumber
8. some soup




WORKSHEET - 1

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - RATATOUILLE



The next worksheet was developed by my reader Alexandra Duarte, a reader from Portugal. She inserted this activity of mine into her own class plan and shared it with us. Thanks, Alexandra, for sharing and developing such great activities.



WORKSHEET - Alexandra Duarte.

Alexandra Duarte has been an EFL teacher for about 20 years, most of them at MartinhoÁrias Secondary School in Soure / Portugal. For the last 3 years she has been involved in adult teaching.

Avatar: (The) Other (s), Another

This is an overwhelming movie. The visual effects are spectacular and it has a great plot. I used this scene to have students practice a grammar point many course books neglect addressing, the use of (the) other (s) and another. It is a great scene and the students love it.

An Ikran is a predator who lives in mountainous territory on Pandora. Na'vi warriors, Pandora's humanoids, attempt to bond with an Ikran, a dangerous and required ritual of their people.

A Na'vi riding an Ikran

A. Watch the movie segment and complete the blanks with OTHER, THE OTHER, OTHERS, THE OTHERS, or ANOTHER.

1. Two Na'Vis walked on the edge of a cliff to reach the sanctuary of Ikrans. The first one was Jake Sully. ____________ one was Neyitiri.



2. In the sanctuary, there were many ikrans. Some of them were resting on the mountain. ________ were flying around, and _________ were hatching eggs.



3. Jake Sully tried to lasso the first ikran, but it flew away. Then he chose ________ ikran to lasso.



4. When he finally chose his ikran, _____ ikrans did not interfere with their fight. Some flew away, ________ just observed their fight.



5. While Jake Sully was trying to control his chosen ikran, Neyitiri supported him. __________ warrior did the same thing, but _______ Na'Vis just observed him.



6. Jake Sully finally managed to fly his ikran. Neyitiri flew ________ one.



7. There were four Na'Vis in the scene. Jake Sully, Neyeriti and two _______ warriors. Neyetiri and two of of the Na'Vis were happy about his success, but ________ one wasn't happy at all, because he was jealous of Jake's accomplishment.


WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - AVATAR

Answer key:

1. the other

2. others /(the) others

3. another

4. the other /others

5. another / the other

6 another

7. other / the other

Surrogates: Passive Voice with Future Tenses

The original idea of the movie plot is amazing. I liked the movie from the very beginning, which is intriguing and perfect for this activity I planned in order to teach passive voice with future tenses, the grammar point I'm teaching my Thomas Prime 8 students this week.





A. Watch the movie segment. The segment takes place in the year 2024 and talks about what will happen from today until 2024. The movie starts 14 years ago, 2010. Take a look at the timeline of the scientific developments that took place in the next 14 years and rewrite the sentences you saw in the segment in the passive voice.

B. Rewrite the sentences from the movie in the passive voice.


2011



1. In 2011, monkeys will operate mechanical arms with nothing but their thoughts.

In 2011, _______________________ with nothing but their thoughts.


2. Physically disabled people are going to operate fully synthetic bodies.

__________________________________.


2014



3. We are going to see this more and more.

__________________________________ more and more.


4. We will witness an event of evolutionary significance.


___________________________________.


2018



5. Over 98% of the world population will use a surrogate in all facets of their daily lives.


___________________________________ in all facets of their daily lives.


6. We are going to see crime rates record lows.


__________________________________.



2021



7. By 2024, a minority will have opposed surrogates.


By 2024, ____________________________.


8. Many people will have seen this as the invasion of the inhuman.


____________________________ as the invasion of the inhuman.


9. They will have established surrogacy-free zones in major cities around the country.


__________________________________ in major cities around the country.



2024



10. People had predicted that surrogates would solve all their problems.


People had predicted that ______________________.


11. They had believed that one day the future was going to bring nothing but happiness.


They had believed that one day _______________________.


B. Discuss the following questions in pairs.

1. What's your opinion about the segment. Do you think it will actually happen in the future?

2. Do you think that surrogates are a good idea? Explain it.

3. Would you like to have a surrogate for you and your family? Why (not)?

4. If you would, what would you use it for?

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having surrogates among us?

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - SURROGATES

Anwer key:

1. mechanical arms will be operated by monkeys

2. fully synthetic bodies are going to be operated by physically disabled people.

3. this is going to be seen

4. an event of evolutionary significance will be witnessed

5. a surrogate will be used by 98% of the world population

6. crime rates record lows are going to be seen

7. surrogates will have been opposed by a minority

8. this will have been seen

9. surrogacy-free zones will have been established

10. all their problems would be solved by surrogates

11. nothing but happiness was going to be brought by the future A peer of mine said that he had used a slides presentation with links to my passive voice activities. I was sent the link and came across this really cool and thorough class on passive voice. I'm glad Simon Friend used my blog for his video activities. His slides are effective, fun and constructive. Thanks Simon Friend for these really cool slides. Thanks for linking my site to it.

Monsters Vs Aliens: Superlatives

I love animated films, I have said this dozens of times. This one is not different. I love the characters and the story. Because there are 5 monsters being described in this scene, I used it to practice superlative form of adjectives.





A. Make a list of 6 different adjectives you consider to be interesting for a monster
Ex: Strong, ugly, etc


B. Listen to all of the students' list of adjectives and write them all on the board. In pairs, select 8 adjectives you consider to be the most interesting ones for a monster.


C. Watch the movie segment and match the characters and their characteristics:



1. Ginormica

2. B.O.B. (Bicarbonate Ostylezene Benzoate):

3. Dr. Cockroach

4. The Missing Link

5. Insectosaurus


( ) Due to her exposure with the meteorite's radiation, she is very strong and tall and has a resistance to energy attacks.

( ) He was an insect transformed by nuclear radiation into a monster with the ability to shoot silk out of his nose.

( ) A 20,000-year-old fish-ape animal, who was found frozen.

( ) A brilliant scientist who, in an experiment to have the abilities of a cockroach, became a giant cockroach's head and some personality characteristics of the cockroach, but gained the ability to climb up walls and great resistance to physical damage.

( ) An indestructible gelatinous mass created from a tomato. His greatest strength is his ability to eat any substance and to be indestructible.


Answers: 1,5,4,3,2

D. Now write sentences comparing all the monsters, using the adjectives you have selected in exercise B.


Ex:

Ginormica is the strongest monster.


WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - MONSTERS VS ALIENS