Apr 26, 2009

Jumper: 2nd Conditional

The dream of most human beings would probably be to have David's super power to teleport. Going from one place to the other without transportation means would be fantastic. I took advantage of the first scene of "Jumper" to have students practice the 2nd conditional in a contextualized manner. Besides, both the scene and the movie are sensational. Here is the lesson plan:

A. Watch the movie segment. Decide how different life would be if everyone had David’s power to teleport. Write at least 5 different things.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.



B. Talk to a partner and make a list of what both of you would (not) do if only you had David’s power to teleport. Remember that you have to be ethical and think about the possible consequences of your acts.


What we would do : 

What we wouldn’t do:

C. Work with a partner and write down a condition for the sentences below.

1. We would donate 1 million dollars to charity if...
2. We would teleport ourselves to the Sahara desert if...
3. We wouldn't call the police if...
4. We would hide our super power from the other people if...

How to prepare your own video activity:
- Select a movie scene in which the characters do things our studens would not normally do.
- Preview the scene with hypothetical questions about the segment.
- Have students come up with sentences using the 2nd conditional.



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Apr 19, 2009

The Mist: Modal Verbs - Possibility, Speculation - MIGHT, COULD, CAN'T

This is an excellent horror / thriller for those who enjoy this kind of movie, like I do. I would recommend the scene for adults or high teens because it is a tense, but not violent segment. Because none of the characters have an idea of what that mist is or what is in it, it is great for the students to practice modal verbs of speculation and possibility - might, could, can't. Although the movie has very frightening scenes, this one isn't and won't shock anyone. In fact, it is one of the best moments of this amazing movie, based on a Stephen King's story.


A. Watch the movie segment.

B. In column 1, write YES if you believe it is a possible explanation for the mystery, and NO if you believe it is an impossible explanation.

In column 2, check the items that the characters in the movie believe are possible explanations for what is in the mist.

WHAT IS (IN) THE MIST?

MY OPINION / THE CHARACTERS’ OPINIONS


( ) ( ) A military operation

( ) ( ) A pollution cloud

( ) ( ) A terrorist attack

( ) ( ) Some kind of chemical explosion

( ) ( ) Death

( ) ( ) Just their imagination

( ) ( ) An earthquake

( ) ( ) Aliens

( ) ( ) The end of days

( ) ( ) A poisonous gas cloud

( ) ( ) A nuclear explosion

( ) ( ) A war simulation

C. Now write sentences with might, could or can’t to express possibility or impossibility, speculating about what is in the mist.
Might
1 ………………………………………………………………………………..
2 ……………………………………………………………………………….

Could
1 ………………………………………………………………………………..

2 ………………………………………………………………………………..

Can’t
1.…………………………………………………………………………………..

2 ………………………………………………………………………………....

D. What would you do if you were the woman who needed to go into the mist in order to rescue her eight year-old daughter?

E. Talk to a partner and decide what is the most probable explanation to the situation. Justify your choice.

Answer Key:
The characters’ guesses:

A pollution cloud
Some kind of chemical explosion
Death
An earthquake
The end of days
A poisonous gas cloud

How to prepare your own video activity:
-Select a scene in which a mystery can't be explained
- Prepare alternatives for the mystery
- Ask the stsudents to write sentences with their guesses for the explanation of the mystery using the grammar point

Apr 12, 2009

I, Robot: Future - Will

This segment provides you with an excellent opportunity to have students practice "will" to talk about the future. Here you can integrate listening, speaking and grammar in a contextualized manner. Besides, the segment is so gripping, full of food for thought and conversation!





Before watching the segment:


Discuss the following questions with a partner:



1) Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future?



2) How different will your city be in the year 2035?



3) How would you describe your city in 2035?



4) What will be better and what will be worse then?



5) Do you think robots will be common in 2035?



6) What tasks will robots have?



7) Will life be better if humans share their space with robots?



8) Would you like to have a personal robot to help/protect you?




Read the sentences below. Check the ones that you think will be true in Chicago, 2035.





( ) All electronic appliances are modern.



( ) People live in very comfortable homes.



( ) Mail is delivered by robots.



( ) People and robots share the streets.



( ) Robots walk dogs for their owners.



( ) Litter collecting is done by robots.



( ) People wear the same kinds of clothes we do today.



( ) Robots rob people.



( ) Robots protect people.




Now watch the movie segments and write the sentences above using will/won't, according to what you see in the segment.


Ex:1 -Not all electronic appliances will be modern.


2 - People won't live in comfortable homes.


3 - Mail will be delivered by robots.


Talk to a partner:
1 - Do you think the film shows a possible reality of the future? Justify it.
2 - Would you like to live in a world like the one in the movie? Why (not)?
3 - What did you like best about the future presented in the segment?

How to develop your own video activity:




- Select a scene that takes place in the future.


- Have students work in pairs to predict what the future will be like in the future.


- Write some sentences with true and false information about the future, according to the movie segment.


- The students check the ones they believe will be true by then.


- The students write affirmative or negative statements with the target grammar point about the items you have developed for the warm-up exercise.


Apr 6, 2009

Definitely, Maybe: Restrictive Relative Clauses



This is the opening titles scene of this really nice romantic comedy. Ask your students to pay attention to what people are doing during the main character's (Will's) walk from his office to his daughter's school. Because there are several characters performing different activities, it is great for the students to practice the use of relative (restrictive) clauses.

Definitely Maybe: 3’28


I. Match the two activities the same character(s) is (are) performing.

(1) A man sells fruit for a living on the street.

(2) A man was wearing very big earphones.

(3) An elegant woman was walking her dog.

(4) Many children and parents were arguing.

(5) A girl was shouting madly at her mother.

(1) He was reading a magazine.

( ) He prevented Will from being run over by a truck.

( ) She was wearing a fur coat.

( ) They were talking about the sexual education class.

( ) She thought her mother had lied to her.
The sentences are in the order of the correct matching. Mind mixing up the sentences before you prepare the students' exercise sheets:

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene in which a lot of peole are performing different actions at the same time.

- Have students match 2 activities (or the character's physical characteristics or clothing, for example) the same character is performing.

- Have them write restrictive relative clauses combining both sentences.


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