Grease: Dangling Modifiers

This a classic with an unforgettable song. It is important that teens learn about the classics, and they usually like experimenting with new material.







Decide if the sentences below are correct. If they are not, make the necessary changes to correct them. There may be more than one possible correction.

Danny with the guys and Sandy with the girls.

1 - After sitting around Danny, the boys asked him to tell them about the girl he met.

2 . While telling her friends about her summer loving, the girls listened to her curiously.

3. After telling the guys about the girl, they asked him several questions.

4. When dancing on the stairs, the girls were dancing in the school patio.

5. Whereas Sandy was romantic, Danny was naughty.

6. While dating, they made a true love vow.





II. Talk to each other.

1. How different do you think dating was in the 60's and nowadays?

2. How different are the guys' and girls' views about dating and romance in the 60's?

3. How different is it nowadays?

4. Do guys and girls still talk about their relationships to their friends? Who does it more often - guys or girls?

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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - GREASE


SING THE SONG TOGETHER:

TELL ME MORE:

Summer loving had me a blast
Summer loving happened so fast
I met a girl crazy for me
´Met a boy cute as can be
Summer days drifting away to oh oh the summer nights

Tell me more, Tell me more
Did you get very far
Tell me more, Tell me more
Like does he have a car

She swam by me, she got a cramp
He ran by me, got my suit damp
I saved her life, she nearly drown
He showed off splashing around
Summer sun, something´s begun but oh oh the summer nights

Tell me more Tell me more
Was it love at first sight
Tell me more, tell me more
Did she put up a fight

Took her bowling in the arcade
We went strolling, drank lemonade
We made out under the rock
We stayed out till ten o´clock
Summer flying don´t mean a thing but oh oh the summer nights

Tell me more, tell me more
But you don´t gotta brag
Tell me more, tell me more
Cause he sounds like a drag

He got friendly, holding my hand
She got friendly, down in the sand
She was sweet, just turned eighteen
Well she was good, you know I mean
Summer heat, boys and girls meet but oh oh the summer nights

Tell me more, tell me more
how much dough did he spend
Tell me more, tell me more
Could she get me a friend

It turned colder, that´s where it ends
So I told her we´d still be friends
Then we made our true love vow
Wonder what she´s doing now
Summer dreams ripped at the seams but oh those summer nights

Tell me more, tell me more





Answer key:

1 - After sitting around Danny, the boys asked him to tell them about the girl he met (correct).


2 - (incorrect)

While Sandy was telling...


3 - (incorrect)


While Danny was telling ....

4 - (incorrect)


While the guys were dancing ...

5 - (correct)


6 - (correct)

The Devil Wears Prada: Dangling Modifiers

This is the opening scene of this funny movie with excellent characters. I left the answers to the exercises on the blog post just to help you out, but of course you'll have to delete this information when you prepare the students' exercise sheets. This is the opening scene of the movie, with a great song. I prepared a lesson plan to practice dangling modifiers with visual input to contextualize the topic.





These ladies are the main characters:




















Andrea and Miranda

A. Discuss the following questions with a partner:


1. How should people behave in a job interview?
2. What should they wear?
3. What is the perfect boss like?
4. How would you deal with an extremely impolite boss if the job was very good pay and extremely important for your career? Justify your answer.


Watch the movie segment and decide whether the following sentences have dangling modifiers. Write (C) if the statement is correct and (W) if it is wrong.

1 - After getting dressed, Andrea kissed her boyfriend goodbye. (C)


2 - Going to her job interview, the waitress handed Andrea a bagel for breakfast. (W)


3 - While eating a sandwich, she took the subway to work. (C)


4 - Surprised by the message the taxi driver sent, a lot of things had to be done in a hurry. (W)


5 - After asking if someone had eaten an onion bagel, Andrea checked whether her breath was fine. (W)


6 - Before reaching her office, nobody but her assistant talked to Miranda. (W)


7 - While going to her office, the employees avoided walking or staying where Miranda was. (W)


8 - Sitting in the waiting room, Miranda called Andrea for the interview. (W)



Now revise the dangling modifiers and write a possible correction.



Possible answer key:


Ex:
1 - Correct
2 - Going to her job interview, Andrea bought a bagel for breakfast.
3 - Correct
4 – Surprised by the message the taxi driver sent, Emily had to do a lot of things in a hurry.
5 – After being asked if someone had eaten an onion bagel, Andrea checked…
6 – Before reaching her office, Miranda didn’t talk with anyone but her assistant.
7 – While going to her office, Miranda made her employees avoid walking…
8 – Sitting in the waiting room, Andrea was called for the interview.


How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene with a lot of actions
- Prepare sentences about the sentences with dangling modifiers
- Some of the sentences should be correct
- Students watch the segment and decide how to correct the wrong sentences






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