May 24, 2009

Marley & Me: Zero Conditional

When I read the book, I thought a movie about Marley would be sensational. In fact, it is a great movie, but the ending is terrifying due to Marley's suffering and the family's loss. Those who have dogs should never see this movie, I guess. However, the scene I selected to practice the zero conditional is funny and entertaining. The couple have to leave Marley with a dog sitter while they take a brief week off. It is perfect to practice the zero conditional because they leave instructions and write about what to do when Marley performs certain actions.

A. Talk to a partner:




1- Do you have a pet? Tell your partner about it or about a friend’s pet you know.

2- What animals can be raised as pets?

3 – What are some unusual pets you know?

4 – What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a dog as a pet?


B. Marley’s owners are leaving him with a dog sitter. The first column is the condition the owners present and the second one is what they tell the sitter to do in those situations. Match both columns before you watch the segment.

Condition Clauses


1 - Marley jumps on you


2 - Marley looks starved


3 - Marley poops in the garden


4 - Marley tries to drink water from the toilet


5 - Marley wants to exercise


6 - A storm is arriving


7 - Marley is stressed



Result Clauses:

......... Feed him again.

......... Keep the toilet lid closed.

........ Give Marley sedatives.

........ Walk or run with him twice a day.

........ Knee him.

........ He chews the furniture.

........ Use the poop scooper and watch your step.


C. Watch the segment and check your answers.


D. Now rewrite the sentences using the zero conditional. Notice that we are talking about something which is generally true, not a specific event.


1 - ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2 - ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3 - …………………………………………………………………………………………………

4 - ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

5 - ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

6 - ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7 - ………………………………………………………………………………………………….


Teacher’s Key

Correct answers:

B.
2, 4, 6, 5, 1, 7, 3

D. Possible answers:

1. If Marley jumps on you, knee him.

2. If Marley looks starved, feed him again.

3. If (when) Marley poops in the garden, use the poop scooper and watch your step.

4. If Marley tries to drink water from the toilet, keep its lid closed.

5. If Marley wants to exercise, walk or run with him twice a day.

6. If a storm is arriving, give Marley sedatives.

7. If Marley is stressed, he chews the furniture.



WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - MARLEY & ME

11 comments:

Debora said...

Claudio, I'm having problems to print the worksheet.The page set up is too big for just one copy. Any sugestions? Do I have to install anything?

Debora Pinho

Claudio Azevedo said...

Hello Debora,
Please, try it again. I have replaced the document at scribd. I think it will work now. Let me know if you managed it. Otherwise, I'll email you the file. See you.

Nagaraj said...

I am unable to download the video segments. Please help me.

Claudio Azevedo said...

Check out the link below with the instructions to download the segment. That's the opnly way I know.

http://moviesegmentstoassessgrammargoals.blogspot.com/2008/11/downloading-movie-segments.htmldobsconi

Yzabella said...

Claudio,
Thank you so much.The activity was so useful and fun. Kids enjoy working.

Anonymous said...

What a great activity!!really good job, thanks for sharing it!

Anna said...

What a great activity!!thanks for sharing it! Your website is so useful.

Unknown said...

Thank you Claudio! Wonderful activity.

Alexandra said...

I loved your activity. Thanks

Claudio Azevedo said...

Thanks, Alexandra.

Ariadne said...

Great activity! Thanks