Duplicity: Simple Past

I love this segment because I used it to teach grammar kinesthetically. I hope you like this daring activity.

A. Watch the movie segment. Then work in small groups. Think about the story that took place before the scene. Write a short paragraph (or sentences) in the past tense saying what happened before their fight in the airport.

B. Now write down the dialog that you imagine they had at the airport, the scene of the movie segment. Use the simple past tense.


C. Role-play (or read) your dialog to the class.


D. Have a narrator say what happened after the scene. Use the simple past tense.


E. Vote for the best performance.

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - DUPLICITY

This activity does not require a worksheet.

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……………………………………………………………………………………………........

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - SWINGERS

Stardust: Adverbs x Adjectives

This is a funny scene with Robert de Niro in great shape. The movie wasn't such a great blockbuster because it had been advertised as a new Harry Potter, which made people reject it. It is a good movie, though. It has nothing to do with Harry Potter. I used this scene to talk about stereotypes, activating the students' schemata, in order for them to practice when to use adjectives or adverbs in a sentence. The task is simple, but effective. The correct answers are on the worksheet. A. Talk to a partner about the following questions:

1 - Do you consider the first impression the most important one? Justify your answer.

2 - Do you think people have a correct idea of your personality just by looking at you, your physical appearance and clothes? Explain it.

3 - What are some personality traits a doctor must have? Name at least 5 adjectives.

4 - What about a teacher?

5 - Did you have a different opinion about your teacher's personality in the beginning of the term? Why (not)? What made you change your mind?


B. Write down six adjectives you would use to describe the captain of a ship. What are some important features he must have?

1 - ......................................
2 - .......................................
3 - ......................................
4 - .....................................
5 - ........................................
6 - ......................................

C. Watch the video segment and check which of the adjectives you chose in the previous exercise actually describe Captain Shakespeare?

D. Now choose the correct form of the words (adjectives or adverbs) in the sentences below.

1) Captain Shakespeare has a fearsome/ fearsomely reputation.
2) While putting on some makeup, the Captain moved his head gentle / gently.

3) The fighters handled their swords elegant / elegantly.
4) While everyone was fighting violent / violently on the deck of the ship, Captain Shakespeare was dancing graceful / gracefully in his cabin.

5) Captain Shakespeare's dancing was awkward / awkwardly.
6) He looked unhappy / unhappily after his friends saw him with those ridiculous clothes.


How to prepare your own video activity:
- Choose an attractive scene with action.

- Write down sentences about the film with adjectives or adverbs for the students to select the correct one.
- Make sure you use action and stative verbs about the segment. Doing so, the students will have the choice for both adjectives and adverbs.



WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - STARDUST

100 Feet - 1st Conditional

This segment is about a woman who killed her violent husband and is now in house arrest. The segment shows police officers telling her about how her ankle bracelet works and its misuse consequences. For this blog, I'm writing the matches in the correct order, but you should mix the second column up when you prepare the exercise sheet for your students.

Ask your students to do the matching exercise before they watch the segment:


Before viewing:


Disscuss the following questions with a partner:


1 - What are the advantages and disadvantages of house arrest?
2 - Do you agree with this procedure of the law? Why (not)?
3 - Is it an effective way to rehabilitate prisoners? Why (not)?

Match the condition and the consequence of the following actions.



Conditions:

1 - She passes the 100 perimeter space.
2 - The alarm continues for more than 3 minutes.
3 - She breaks the house arrest rules.
4 - She has any violation.
5 - She attempts to remove the electronic ankle bracelet or tamper with the base unit.
6 - They get a blackout or something.


Consequences:


( 1 ) The alarm activates.
( ) A signal is automatically sent and a car is seen immediately.
( ) She goes back to jail.
( ) It automatically adds 10 years to her sentence.
( ) An alarm automatically alerts the police.
( ) The base unit still works.


Now watch the segment and decide whether your guesses were correct.


Now rewrite the couple of sentences, using the 1st conditional:
Ex:
1 - If she passes the 100 feet perimeter, the alarm will activate.



MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - 100 FEET

WORKSHEET

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 3rd Conditional

This is a great movie with a lot of food for thought. This scene is narrated by Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) and it makes the understanding of the message easier. I suggest you have the students write the sentences before they view the segment because they can check their answers when they actually see it. The narrator says all the correct answers in the end of the segment. This is best for younsters and adults.

Before viewing:


A. Discuss the following questions with a partner:


1 - Do you believe in fate? Are things pre-determined to happen? Or is it all just coincidence? Explain.

2 - Do you think we have a specific day to die? Justify it.

3 - Have you ever seen/been in an accident? Describe what happened. How could the accident have been prevented from happening?

"Had any of these things happened differently, the end of Daisy’s afternoon would have been another one"
1. Daisy’s shoelace broke

2. The delivery truck moved moments earlier

3. The package wasn’t wrapped

4. The girl broke up with her boyfriend

5. The man forgot to set the alarm

6. The taxi driver stopped for a cup of coffee

7. The woman didn’t remember her coat

B. Write the sentences above with past unreal conditionals.



Ex. 1. If her shoelaces hadn’t broken,
2. If the delivery truck hadn't moved moments earlier,



Daisy and her friend would have crossed (cross) the street
and the taxi would have driven (drive) by.



C. Watch the segment and check your answers.



WORKSHEET


MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

Sex and the City - 3rd Conditional - Unreal Past Events

This is a great scene full of unfortunate happenings. The students will love the segment and have a great opportunity to practice the 3rd conditional, unreal past events, in a contextualized manner. Tell me if you like it by posting a comment, please.

Carrie and Big

Write True or False next to each of the statements below according to the information presented in the movie segment.

1) The little girl hid Carrie's cell phone. ( )
Carrie didn't receive any calls. ( )

2)Carrie didn't know where her phone was. ( )
Carrie didn’t receive Big’s messages and phone calls. ( )


3) Big wasn’t confident enough to walk into church all by himself. ( )
Big quit getting married. ( )


4) Big took too long to apologize. ( )
Carrie hit him with her wedding bouquet. ( )


5) Carrie’s friend didn’t let Big explain himself. ( )
Carrie went home in a state of shock. ( )

6) Carrie and Big didn't get married. ( )
They both had a horrible afternoon. ( )


Now fill in the blanks of the sentences saying how things would have been different if the characters had acted differently. Use the 3rd conditional.

Ex:
1) If the little girl hadn't hidden (hide) Carrie's cell phone, she would have received (receive) Big's calls.
2) If Carrie ____________(know) where her phone was, she ___________(receive) Big’s messages.

3) If Big ________________ (be) confident enough to walk into church all by himself, He ______________ (quit) getting married.

4) If Big ________________ (take) too long to apologize, Carrie ____________ (hit) him with the wedding bouquet.

5) If Carrie’s friend ______________ (let) Big explain himself, Carrie _______________ (go) home in a state of shock.
6) If Carrie and Big _______________ (get) married, they ___________________ (go) through a horrible afternoon.

Talk to a partner and discuss the following questions:

1) What would you have done if you were in Carrie’s shoes?

2) Who was right? Why?

3) How could the situation been prevented from happening?

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which the characters make wrong decisions with several undesired consequences.

- Prepare a set of sentences for students to write T or F, according to what they see in the segment.

- If all the sentences are true, it will be easier for the students to understand the context and write accurate sentences.

- The first sentence should be the cause and the second one the consequence.

- The students rewrite the sentences using the 3rd conditional.

- Remind the students that the sentences have to make perfect sense.

- Prepare some discussion questions about how they would react to the situations presented in the segment.

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - SEX AND THE CITY