Falling Down: Past Perfect - By the Time...

This movie is about an ordinary man who reacts very aggressively to everyday stressing situations we all face in our routines. Because many things happen before the end of the scene. I prepared an activity in which the students will write down sentences in the past perfect tense after or before expression with BY THE TIME...





A. Talk to a partner:





1 - What kind of customer are you? Do you complain when the service is poor or do you prefer to remain quiet and forget it?





2 - Tell your partner about a situation in which you had to be firm to grant your rights as a consumer.





3 - What's your opinion about the service provided to the citizens in your country (town)?





4 - Is it worth complaining? Justify it.







B. Watch the movie segment and check the items of what had happened by the time he asked the hostages in the resaturant a question about the sandwich quality (the end of the scene).





( ) 1. The restaurant stopped serving breakfast.



( ) 2. Sheila called the manager to solve the situation.



( ) 3. The main character told everyone to sit down.



( ) 4. He accidentally shot the roof.



( ) 5. The manager decided to serve breakfast.



( ) 6. He changed his mind and ordered lunch.



( ) 7. One of the customers vomited her sandwhich.



( ) 8. He complained about the sandwich he ordered.



( ) 9. He apologized to the manager.



( ) 10. The police arrived.









C. Rewrite the sentences above with the correct verb tense. Complete the first sentence and rewrite the other ones, according to the segment.





By the time he ___________ the hostages a question about the quality of the sandwich,



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



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



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



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



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



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



7........................................................



8........................................................



9........................................................



10......................................................







Answer Key:



B. All the items should be checked, except #10.





C.

1. The restaurant had stopped...

2. Sheila had called...

3. He had told...

4. He had accidentally shot...

5. The manager had decided...

6. He had managed...

7. One of the customers had vomited...

8. He had complained...

9. He had apologized...

10. The police hadn't arrived...

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which several a/completed ctions take place by the time something happens.

- List the actions that took place before the final moment.

- Have students write sentences about the actions using the past perfect and by the time... the final action takes place.

WORKSHEET

The Hitcher: Modal Verb SHOULD - Advice

This movie is a classic that has changed many people's opinions about giving rides to strangers on roads. I took advantage of the opening scene to have student practice modal verbs for advice - SHOULD - OUGHT TO.




Before watching the segment:


A. Talk to a partner. Make a list of what drivers should and should not do when they travel by car alone during the night.


What drivers should (ought to) do:
1 - ........................................................
2 - ........................................................
3 - ........................................................
4 - ........................................................


What drivers shouldn't (oughtn't to) do:
1 - .........................................................
2 - ........................................................
3 - ........................................................
4 - ........................................................


B. Watch the segment now. Check which of the pieces of advice you came up with in exercise A the main character of the movie did not follow.


C. Talk to a partner. For your information, the driver will manage to escape. Come up with the conclusion of the scene knowing that the hitcher won't achieve his goal, which was to kill the driver. Be creative; use your imagination.


D. Share your stories with the whole class and choose the most creative one.


WORKSHEET




How to develop your own video activity.

- Select a scene in which the characters disobey the law or do things they will regret.
- Ask students to give pieces of advice for one to follow in such situations.
- Play the scene you had selected.
- Have students check which pieces of advice were not followed by the characters.

Love Actually: Reported x Direct Speech

This is a very romantic scene. For this segment, I decided to work on reported speech differently from the previous exercises. Here the students have to rewrite the indirect sentences in direct speech.

Talk to a partner:

1. Are you a romantic person? Do you like romantic lovers? Why?

2. What kind of things does a romantic person do? Make a list of at least five different things.

3. What was the most romantic scene someone has ever done for you? Describe it.


B. Read the sentences below. They are indirect speech. Rewrite them using direct speech, supposing the guy in the movie segment is talking directly to the girl he loves.





1. He told her to say it was Carols Singers.

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


2. He said he would be going out with one of those girls.

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


3. He said that she was perfect to him.

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

4. He said that his wasted heart would love her until she looked like that.

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

5. He wished her Merry Christmas.

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

C. Talk to a partner:


1. What is your opinion about this scene? Is it romantic or tacky?

2. Would you like your sweetheart to be more or less romantic? Why?

3. What do you consider important in a relationship? Rank the five most important things for a romance to work out.

4. Share your list with he rest of the class. Which one was the most voted?


Answer Key:
B.
1. Say it’s Carol Singers.
2. I will be going out with one of these girls.
3. You are perfect to me.
4. My wasted heart will love you until you look like this.
5. Merry Christmas!

WORKSHEET

Yes Man: Short Answers

This is a great scene because it shows how motivational seminars can be ridiculous. I chose this scene to practice a very simple grammar point - providing short answers. In this case, with the simple present and simple past tenses, can and there to be. Basic learners might not understand everything said in the segment, but I'm sure they will manage to answer all the proposed questions.

Watch the movie segment and ask a friend the following questions. Take turns asking the questions. Answer them with short answers:

1) Do all participants have a red bag?

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

2) Is Carl excited about the seminar?

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

3) Is Terrence the presenter?

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

4) Does the word YES control the external side of people, according to Terrence?

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

5) Did Terrence invite YES into the participants' lives?

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

6) Did Carl believe the YES story in the beginning of the scene?

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

7) Is there anyone new to the seminar?

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

8) Can people say the word NO in the seminar?

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

9) Can people say YES in the seminar?

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

10) Does Carl say NO to life?

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

11) Is Carl comfortable during the scene?

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

12) Does Carl have a girlfriend?

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

13) Did Carl lose the love of his life?

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

14) Did Carl accept the challenge?

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

15) Are the participants happy about Carl's final decision?

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

16) Do you believe in Terrence's ideas?

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

B. Write down 3 questions about the segment and ask them to a partner. Make sure you write yes/no questions.

1 ................................................... ?
2 ................................................... ?
3 ................................................... ?

Answer Key:





A.

1. Yes, they do.
2. No, he isn't.
3. Yes, he is.
4. Yes, it does.
5. Yes, he did.
6. No he didn't.
7. Yes, there is.
8. No, they can't.
9. Yes, they can.
10. Yes, he does.
11. No, he isn't.
12. No, he doesn't.
13. Yes, he did.
14. Yes, he did.
15. Yes, they are.
16. Answers will vary.



How to develop your own video segment.

- Choose an attractive scene in which several things can be observed.
- Prepare some yes/no questions about the segment.
- Have students take turns asking each other the questions.
- Ask students to write down 4 different yes/no questions about the segment.
- Students ask and answer each other questions.

WORKSHEET

Interview

I have given an interview that has been published on a peer's (Vanessa Prata's) very intereresting blog, about using movie segments in the classroom. You may check it out here. Thanks Vanessa. Your blog, English for All, is great for teachers. Congratulations.