This is a great movie, but a bit farfetched. If you like police stories, you will love it. I used the crime scene to practice the simple past tense.

Vous devez imaginer les scènes avant le crime. Vous écrirez les verbes à la forme affirmtive et à la forme négative pour CHAQUE phrase.

1) Ted’s wife, Sally, __________________________________ home (drive).

2) She ___________________________________________ the front door (unlock).

3) She ________________ ____________________________her jacket (take off).

4) She _________________________________________ her husband was in the house (notice).

5) They _________________________________________________ each other (hug).

6) They _________________________________________________ each other (kiss).

7) Ted __________________________________________ his wife in the head (shoot).

8) Gardeners ____________________________________________ a gunshot (hear).

9) Ted_______________________________________ the bullet cases on the floor. (pick up).

10) One of the gardeners ____________________________________ on the door (knock).

11) Ted ______________________________________ the door for the gardener (open).

12) Ted ________________________________________ the windows a few times (shoot).

13) Ted ___________________________________________________ his wife (drag).

14) He ____________________________________________________ his shirt (take off).

15) He _____________________________________________________ his shirt (burn).

16) He __________________________________________________________ his face (wash).

17) He ____________________________________________________ the police (call).

18) The gardener ______________________________________ Ted clean the house (help).

One of the best romantic comedies ever. The soundtrack is fantastic. I love this scene and girls think it is sooooo romantic… In this scene, the main characters spend the whole night talking to each other over the phone and they perform several activities while doing it. It is perfect for the students to practice of the simple past tense.

Make a list of the things you usually do while you are talking over the cell phone:
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________

Watch the movie segment. Pay attention to the activities the main characters performed while they were talking to each other over the phone. Write ( D ) if Drew was the one who performed the following tasks and ( C ) if it was Claire. Write ( B ) if both of them did it.

1 .( ) Open the gate

2. ( ) Make dinner

3. ( ) Change clothes

4. ( ) Go to the bathroom

5. ( ) Polish one’s nails

6. ( ) Do the laundry

7. ( ) Look at pictures

8. ( ) Listen to music

9. ( ) Dance

10.( ) Drink beer

11.( ) Turn off the lights

12.( ) Drive a car

13.( ) Put on some lipstick

14.( ) See the sunrise

This movie is really nice and the scene is perfect to contrast the uses of the simple present and simple past tenses.

I. Work in small groups. Make a list of activities you do every time you travel by plane. Think about what you do during the day until the plane takes off. Make sure you mention the steps you take at home and at the airport too.

Ex:

I make my bags.
I shave.

II. Watch the movie segment and check which of the activities you listed in Exercise I George Clooney’s character did that day.

III. Now write 5 sentences saying what he did in the segment that you did not list in exercise II.

Ex: He took off his shoes at the airport.

IV. Now write sentences saying 5 things from your list that he didn’t do before traveling.

Ex: He didn’t shave.

A – Talk to a partner.

1. Do you have a pet? Talk about it.

2. Do you prefer dogs or cats? Why?

3. Is it important to have pets? Why?

4. When are pets helpful in a person’s life? Explain it.

5. When are pets harmful to a person?

6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having pets?

I. Watch the movie segment and check the alternatives with the actions that you managed to see during the scene.
1. ( ) A Japanese monk put the collar around Hachi’s neck.

2. ( ) He put Hachi in a cage.

3. ( ) He took Hachi to a train station.

4. ( ) He fed Hachi.

5. ( ) A couple of guys picked Hachi up at the airport.

6. ( ) The baggage carrier accidentally dropped Hachi’s cage on the station platform.

7. ( ) Someone found the broken cage.

8. ( ) Parker found and carried Hachi home.

This is a classic. Perfect for the simple past tense practice.

A. You will see the trial of Mr. Dufresne, accused of murdering his wife and her lover. Read parts of the judge’s and Mr. Dufresne’s speeches and fill in the blanks with the past tense form of the verbs in parentheses.
J: Judge

D: Mr. Dufresne

J: Describe the confrontation you _______ (have) with your wife.

D: It _______ (be) very bitter. She _______ (say) she ___________ (be) glad I _____ (know) that she ________ (hate) all the sneaking around.

J: And she ______ (say) she ________ (want) a divorce in Reno. What _______ (happen) after you ________ (argue) with your wife?

D: She ____ (pack) her bag.

J: ______ you _______ (follow) her?

D: I _______ (go) to a few bars first. Later, I ______ (drive) to his house to confront them. They ________ (be – neg) home. I __________ (park) in the turnout… and _______ (wait).

J: When they _________ (arrive), you ________ (go) up to the house and _____ (murder) them.

D: I ________ (get) back to the car and ________ (drive) home to sleep it off. Along the way, I __________ (throw) my gun into the Royal River.

J: The police _______ (drag) that river for 3 days and a gun was not found.

This is a great scene. The students usually like it, especially because it is unconventional and unexpected.

Ask a partner if he / she did the following things before going to work or school this morning.

Ex: Did you drink wine?

No, I didn’t.

Talk to a partner and decide if Nick (Mel Gibson) performed the following activities before going to work by checking the items.

1. Drink wine

2. Smoke a cigarette

3. Have breakfast

4. Polish the nails

5. Put on some makeup

6. Shave

7. Wax the leg

8. Wear pantyhose

9. Wear socks

10. Dry the hair

11. Trip on the floor

12. Have an accident

13. Take a shower

14. Watch TV

This is a lovely scene from this wonderful film. I love the acting and the intelligent story. This scene is remarkable. I took advantage of the scene to practice asking tag questions. With this activity, the students can practice the grammar point based on contextualized evidence, which is great. I only used sentences in the past tense, though.

A. Talk to a partner

1. Have you ever participated in a pageant? Talk about it. What is your opinion about beauty pageants?

2. Is it OK for young children to participate in pageants?

3. What’s your opinion about pageants like Miss Brazil, Miss Universe, Model of the Year, etc?

B. Watch the segment, fill in the blanks with affirmative and negative forms of the given verbs, and complete the sentences with a tag question. Make sure the sentences are according to the information presented in the segment.

1 – Olive ……………………………. (be) wearing a suit, a hat and a tie, ……………… ?

2 – She ……….…………. (dedicate) her presentation to her grandfather, ………………..?

3 – Olive …………………. (be) intimidated by the audience, ……………?

4 – The audience …………… (be) shocked with Olive’s sexy dancing, ……………..?

5 – Many spectators …………….. (leave) the hall during her presentation, …………….?

6 – The dance ………………. (be) appropriate for the situation, ……………… ?

7 – Her family ……………………. (support) Olive by dancing with her, ……………….?

8 – The host …………………. (try) to remove her from the stage, …………………. ?

9 – Her father …………………… (dance) with her on the stage, ……………. ?

10 – The DJ …………….. (be) the only person to clap the presentation, ………………. ?

11 – Nobody …………………. (like) the presentation, ………….?

12 – They ………………………… (be) ashamed of Olive, ……….?

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)

I. Watch the movie segment, which shows two queens, White and Red. Place the adjectives below under the column that you think is more appropriate for each of the queens.

BEAUTIFUL – ARROGANT – TALL – OLD – YOUNG – THIN – FUNNY – POWERFUL – FRIENDLY – UGLY – AGGRESSIVE – CALM

The White Queen The Red Queen

1. The White Queen (The Red Queen) is more beautiful than The Red Queen (The White Queen).

1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
4. _____________________________________
5. _____________________________________
6. _____________________________________
7. _____________________________________
8. _____________________________________
9. _____________________________________
10. _____________________________________
11. _____________________________________

WORKSHEET

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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.

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 – ………………………………………………..

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.