Big Fish: Past Continuous x Simple Past

This is my favorite Tim Burton's movie. I love him as a director and most of his movies are full of resources for movie activities. Big Fish is full of them. This scene is perfect for the students to practice the past continuous and simple past tenses.



I. Watch the movie segment and write down 3 activities people were doing when time stopped.


Ex: A little boy was drinking soda.


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

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

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



II. Now write down 3 things that happened when time moved too fast to catch up while he was in the circus.

Ex:

The girl he fell in love with left without talking to him.

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

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

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

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The Other Man: Past Perfect x Simple Past

This is an intriguing scene because it is about a men who finds out his wife has a lover because he decided to investigate her private messages, such as the ones in her cell phone and laptop. I like using it to practice the contrast between the simple past and past perfect tenses.

A. Talk to a partner:

1 - Do you think it is correct to check your husband's (wife's) messages? Justify it.
2 - Is it important to have privacy in a relationship? Explain it.
3 - Do you have documents in your computer that only you have access to? Why (not)?
4 - If you were suspicious about how faithful your partner is to you, would you fuss around his stuff? Why (not)?
5 - If you found out you were being cheated on, what would you do?


B. Watch the segment and check which activity took place first. Write 1 next to the activity that took place first and 2 next to the activity that took place later.


I . ( ) He listened to her voice mail.
( ) He turned on his wife's laptop.


II. ( ) He looked at some pictures of his family.
( ) He tried to open a folder called love.


III. ( ) He tried opening the love folder using some passwords with his family names.
( ) He opened a folder called London.


IV. ( ) He saw the picture of a black man trying to kiss his wife at a party.
( ) He read an email sent by Ralph.


V. ( ) He remembered being introduced to Ralph.
( ) He finished reading the email.




C. Now combine both sentences using the simple past and the past perfect tenses. Make sure you know what action took place first so you can choose the correct verb tense.



I. ..........................................................................................................................................

II. .......................................................................................................................................

III. .....................................................................................................................................

IV. ......................................................................................................................................

V. .......................................................................................................................................

WORKSHEET

Correct answers:
B.

I. 1, 2
II. 1,2
III. 1,2
IV. 1,2
V. 2,1


C. Possible answers:
I. He had listened to his wife's voice mail when he turned on her laptop.
II. He had looked at some pictures of his family when he tried opening a folder called Love.
III. He had tried opening that folder with passwords of his family names when he opened a folder called London.
IV. He had seen a picture of a black man trying to kiss his wife when he read an email sent by Ralph.
V. He remembered being introduced to Ralph, when he had finished reading the email.


How to prepare your own video activity.

- Select a scene with a sequence of events
- Write down two sentences that took place at different times
- Have students decide which action took place first
- The students combine both sentences, using the past perfect and simple past tenses

NEW BLOG!

I have just started a new blog. It is called Movie Segments for Warm-ups and Follow-ups. There you will find movie segments to brainstorm, warm-up or follow-up several topics. There are lesson plans to practice vocabulary, conversation and listening comprehension based on movie segments. New activities are posted regularly. This blog is a test for I will see your reaction to the activities, and depending on the feedback I receive, I will go on with it. Check it out. I hope you like it.

Bedtime Stories: So x Such

This is one of the best scenes of this lovely movie. The translation scene is great and very funny. The acting is hilarious. The students will love it. I selected this scene to practice using so x such in a contextualized manner.

Watch the segment below. Then rewrite the sentences with both so... that... and such..... that....

Make all the necessary changes to make the sentences correct.




Skeeter








Kendall










1) The night was cold. The girl in the party needed a towel.
Ex: The night was so cold that the girl in the party needed a towel.
It was such a cold night that he girl needed a towel.


2) There was an unexpected accident with a bee. Skeeter screamed very loudly.

3) Kendall's presentation was corny. The audience was speechless.

4) Skeeter's tongue was swollen. He couldn't speak.

5) Skeeter's friend's translation was perfect. He was invited to go to the stage and help with the presentation.

6) Skeeter's presentation was moving. He won the competition.

Answer Key:

2. Such an unexpected accident / the accident was so unexpected.

3. such a corny presentation / the presentation was so corny

4. such a swollen tongue / tongue was so swollen

5. such a perfect translation / the translation was so perfect

6. such a moving presentation / presentation was so moving



WORKSHEET

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which the characters perform certain activities that you can atribute adjectives (great, awkward, funny, intelligent, weird)

- Write two sentences with information that can be interconnected, including the adjectives above)

- Have students combine both sentences with so + adj and such + adj + noun.

The Money Pit: Causative Verbs

This is a classic comedy that was forgotten by the media and public. This couple of newly weds buy this beautiful house, which is a lemon. Nothing works; it's falling apart. It is excellent for practicing causative verbs - make, let, get, have. Pre-teach some occupation vocabulary (carpenter, plumber, etc) and the students will be able to practice this grammar point in a contextualized manner.

Watch the movie segment and choose the best verb to complete the sentence, according to the segment. Then decide how to complete the blanks, using the given words.

1. The garage is dusty.
They will have / make / get / let ………………… (someone/clean) it.

2. The mattress isn’t firm enough .
Anna will have / make / get / let ………………… (Walter / replace) it.

3. Old wires burned the doorbell.
They will have / make / get / let ………………… (an electrician / fix) it.

4. The front door fell off the house.
They will have / make / get / let ………………… (a carpenter / repair) it.

5. The plaster ceiling came down in the bedroom .
Anna had / made / got / let ………………… (Walter/ fix) it.

6. The plumbing system is not perfect
they will have / make / get / let ………………… (a plumber / unblock) it.

7. She was extremely upset about the house.
Walter had / made / got / let ………………… (Anna/ try) to enjoy it.

8. She was attacked by a wild animal.
The animal had / made / got / let ………………… (Anna/ run) madly around the house.

9. The roof was leaking.
They will have / make / get / let ………………… (someone/ replace) the tiles.

10. They couldn’t make the rain stop.
They have / make / get / let ………………… (the rain/ fall) on their heads.

The correct verb choices are in red.

Correct patterns:

get + someone + to verb

make, have, let + someone + verb

help + someone + verb or to verb

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Monsters, Inc.: Present Continuous x Present Simple

This is a great movie and activity. This activity was published on Sabrina de Vita's blog, a very inspiring and resourceful site. Sabrina kindly sent me this activity to share with my readers and I'm proud to publish it here. The activity is great and so is the movie segment. This great activity will certainly foster your visiting her site. Sabrina is a consciencious educator and she also likes sharing, just like I do. All the activities and text below were developed by her. Here is what she says about herself on her blog.

I’m from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’m an English teacher. I have studied at the teacher training college Joaquin V Gonzalez-At the moment, I’m working in the primary and secondary school: Saint Exupery. With BE the Real Thing we specialised in teaching ESP (Legal and Medical English) and Business English. We also give online classes.

Thanks a lot, Sabrina. Can't wait for more!

I will share with you one lesson plan I have prepared to revise the use of Present Simple and Present Continuous. It is based on this scene from the movie Monsters Inc.

And here go the activities:

1) Complete the sentences with the appropriate tense ( Present Simple and Present Continuous)

a) Every day, Sulley _______________ (drive) to work. However, today they ____________ (walk)

b) Right now, Mike _______________ (talk) to Sulley’s mum on the phone.

c) Afterwards, they often ______________ (watch) tv, but today they __________ (also / star) on a tv commercial.

d) Sulley and Mike _____________ (not exercise) together. Sulley ______ (do) his routine and Mike __________ (guide) him.

e) Then, Sulley always ______________ (brush) his teeth.

f) Sulley usually ____________ (get up) at 6:00 but today he ____________ (still/ sleep) at 6:05.

2) Watch the film and put the sentences in the correct order.

3) Write 5 sentences about what the monsters Sulley and Mike encounter on their way to work are doing at the moment.

4) Did you like the scene? Why (not)?

Hope you like it and find it useful. If you have used it, please share your experience with us. If you have more ideas to work with this particular film or with movies in general, don’t hesitate to share your views.

Sabrina

Gran Torino: Modal Verb - Should (Advice)

A. Before viewing :


You and your partner will make a list of everything you know about China and its culture. Each piece of information scores 1 point. Your teacher will check which pair of students scored most points.

B. Write P (Polite) or I (Impolite) after the statements below. Make a guess! Which of the actions below are considered polite/impolite during a barbecue lunch according to the Hmong culture, an Asian ethnic group in the mountainous regions of southern China.

1- To eat cat meat (I)

2- To eat dog meat (I)

3 - To drink alcoholic beverages (P)

4 - To look at someone in the eyes (I)

5 - To touch the head of a person(I)

6 - To listen to the elderly (P)

7 - To eat very much (P)

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

D. Imagine your partner is going to a barbecue in a Hmong family house. Rewrite the items above using should (NOT).

Ex: 1 – YOU SHOULDN'T EAT CAT MEAT.

WORKSHEET

How to develop your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which the characters talk about social behavior.

- Write down a few of the recommendations given.

- The students decide whether they are appropiate or inappropriate behaviors.

- Students give advice using - should.