Sunday, May 31

Outlander: Transitional Words or Phrases - Connectors




I don't usually enjoy science fiction movies, but I decided to try this one out. This is a great scene for students to practice the use of connectors, transitional words, and writing a paragraph as well. I integrated grammar, writing, listening and speaking in the lesson plan. The main goal for this activity is to enable students to write a paragraph, using the movie context and the transitional words you are teaching

A. Watch the movie segment, talk to a partner, and put the events of the story in the correct order.


( ) They killed the Moorwens, the beasts that lived on the island, with fire.

( ) As part of his pay, he received a place for his family to live.

( ) He left on a journey.

( ) They hunted down those Moorwens they missed.

( ) They removed and buried all the dead Moorwens.

(1) They took the island they wanted.

( ) This surviving Moorwen killed everyone.

( ) He knew one of the Moorwens had survived

B. The Outlander was a man in conflict because of his memories. Write a paragraph telling his story, using the given transitional words below. In the end, write a concluding sentence justifying why the Outlander is such a sad man.



First

Second

Then

Next

After that

Three weeks later

Subsequently
Afterward

Finally


C. Paragraph writing:



His people was no different from hers, hungry for lands. First, they took the island they wanted


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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




For your information:
Answer Key:


The correct sequence is:
2, 6, 3, 4, 5, 1, 7, 8.

The transitions words may vary.

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which a character or a narrtaor is telling a story.

- Write the sequence of the narration out of order.

- Students put the story in the correct order

- Students write a paragraph using the grammar point to connect their sentences in the paragraph.

- Ask them to come up with a topic sentence and/or a concluding sentence for their paragraph.





Worksheet

Sunday, May 24

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 has to leave Marley with a dog sitter while they take a brief week off. It is perfect to pactice 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

Saturday, May 16

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 in green. 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) Capitain 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, Capitain Shakespeare was dancing graceful / gracefully in his cabin.

5) Capitain 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

Sunday, May 10

Australia: Simple Past

Despite the fact this movie did not meet my expectations, the opening scene is good for basic learners studying the past simple tense for the first time. The characters speaks BROKEN ENGLISH, an aspect that is worth-mentioning to beginners.


For this blog, I wrote down the answers in blue to help you with the preparation.

A. Talk to a partner:

1- What do you know about Australia? Tell each other everything you know about it.
2- What is the Australian outback?
3- What do you know about the aboriginals?
4- How different do you think Australia is from your own country? Why?
5

B. Pay attention to Nullah narrating a few events that took place on that day. Because Nullah is an aboriginal who doesn't have much contact with white people, he doesn't speak English correctly. Watch the segment, underline the verbs that are incorrect in each of the sentences below and correct them.



This is Nullah

1 - My grandfather, King George, he take me to walkabouts.

2 - My grandfather teach me the most important lesson of all.


3 - That day, I see them, the white fellas, pushing bulls across the river.


4 - King George ________ angry at white fellas.


5 - The coppers come here to take me away.


6 - This story not begin that day.


7 - This story begin a little while ago in a land far, far away.

C. Talk to a different partner now. Decide what information about Australia presented in the movie segment was new to you and you didn't mention when you and your partner did exercise A.



D. Class discussion:

1. Summarize the story of the segment

2. Nullah is an aboriginal who does not have much contact with white people. How is that reflectd in the way he speaks?

WORKSHEET

Sunday, May 3

Twilight: Modal Verb for Ability - CAN

Although this movie is apparently attractive just to teenagers, this scene is fun and exciting for everybody. This scene is excellent for teens, though. They like the movie and it suits the grammar goal well. Students can practice the modal verb CAN for ability. They can also learn some new vocabulary about baseball, especially if they are in a country where the sport is not so popular, like here in Brazil.

Talk to a partner about these questions:

1- What do you know about vampires?
2- What can they do?
3- What's good and bad about being a vampire?

A. Vocabulary Collocation:


Match both columns .


1 - Pitch

2 - Hit

3 - Run

4 - Handle

5 - Jump

6 - smell



( ) the baseball precisely

( ) the baseball hard

( ) fast

( ) the bat with agility

( ) high

( ) different perfumes easily


- . The Cullens





- . The Nomads


Observe the movie segment below. There you will see The Cullens, the group of vampires playing baseball, and the Nomads, the group of vampires who arrive later. Then write down sentences saying what the Cullens and the Nomads can do that we, humans, can't. Use the matching exercise items and others.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Talk to a partner and decide:



What super powers would you like to have?

I can .........................., ................................., and ......................................

Answer Key - Matching may vary:

1. Pitch the ball precisely

2. Hit the ball hard

3. Run extremely fast

4. Handle the bat with agility

5. Jump high

6. smell different perfumes easily

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which the characters can perform different activities, like skills or sports.

- Ask students to write about what they see and what activities they can (not) perform.

WORKSHEET