X 2 - X-Men Reunited: Past Continuous x Simple Past

The X-Men series of movies is one of the best cartoon adaptations I know. The mutants have very appealing powers and the story is really clever. I enjoyed it a lot. I used the scenes in which one of the mutants use his power to stop the time to practice both the past continuous tense and the simple past tense in a contextualized, fun way. My students loved it. I hope you do too.




A. Watch the movie segment and write down what the people in the shopping mall were doing when the mutant paused the time. Write down at least five sentences describing them. Make sure you use the past continuous tense.




Ex: A lot of people were walking around the mall.


1. _____________________


2. _____________________


3. _____________________


4. _____________________


5. _____________________





B. Work with a partner and share the sentences you have written. Are there any different activities?





C. Now watch the second segment from the same movie. Now write down at least 5 things that happened while the president was speaking live to the American citizens. Make sure you use the simple past tense.


Ex: The president asked the reporters a question about the incident.


1. _____________________


2. _____________________


3. _____________________


4. _____________________


5. _____________________




D. Now check your sentences with a partner. Did you write the same sentences? Can you think of other activities?


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