This is a love story. The premise of the plot - two twin planets with inverse gravities - is amazing. The setting is awesome and the scenes in which the characters are literally upside down are fascinating.

A. Watch the movie segment and rewrite the phrases below, using compound adjectives.

1. They are adapted to the  basic laws of double gravity that will never change.

2. An object weight can be offset by the other planet because of the concept that its matter is inverse.

3. One day Adam climbed the mountains so high and experienced an event that changed his life.

4. The view from the mountains had a look that was very ominous.

5. Eden was a pretty girl that had blond hair.

6. Eden had a fall that threatened her life.

7. The movie had many scenes whose visuals are attractive.


B. Discuss these questions:



1. What are the complications of a relationship like the one of the characters?

2. What are the advantages?

3. How do you compare those planets to the Earth?

4. What does the Earth and those twin planets have in common? Aside from the gravity laws, how different are they?

WORKSHEET


MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - UPSIDE DOWN

Answer key:


1. They are adapted to the never-changing laws of gravity

2. An object weight can be offset because of the inverse-matter concept.

3. Adam experienced a life-changing event.

4. It was an ominous-looking view.

5. She was a blond-haired girl.

6. Eden had a life-threatening fall.

7. The movie has many visually-attractive scenes.

» Read More...

This is one of the best romantic comedies of all times. The cultural conflict, good humor, and clever plot make it stand out the others. It is full of scenes you can use in your classroom.

A. Watch the movie segment and choose the best order for the given adjectives.

1. They are wearing (resistant / beige) stockings

2. The bridesmaids are polishing their nails with a (gorgeous /orange / nail) polisher.

3. They are putting on some (elegant / silver / high heels) shoes.

4. All the bridesmaid are wearing similar (blue / silk ) dresses.

5. The bride is wearing a (beautiful /white / wedding) dress.

6. The bridesmaids are (excited / young) gals.

Answer key:
Here the answers are in the correct order. Use the worksheet for mixed alternatives.




WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING

» Read More...

Avatar is a revolutionary movie with wonderful visual effects and a great story. I simply loved it and used the Na'Vis physical characteristics to practice the use of order of adjectives.


A. Watch the movie segment from the movie Avatar and put the adjectives below in the correct order. The scene shows the Na'Vis, the people who inhabit Pandora, and their relationship with nature. Take a look at the chart below to choose the correct order.

Types of adjectives:


Opinion: It explains what you think about somethig (other people may not agree with you). Examples: silly, beautiful, horrible, stupid)


Size: A size adjective tells how small or big something is. Examples: large, enormous, tiny, little.


Age: It tells you how young or old something or someone is. Examples: primitive, ancient, new, young, old.


Shape: It describes the shape of something. Examples: round, rectangular, flat, square.


Color: It describes colors. Examples: yellow, reddish, pale, pink, turquoise.


Origin: It describes where something comes from. Examples: lunar, French, eastern, Brazilian.


Material: It describes what something is made of. Examples: metal, cotton, paper, marble.


Purpose: It describes what something is used for. These adjective often end with ...ing. Examples: sleeping (bag), roasting (tin), frying (pan).

1. Na'Vis are a race of (extraterrestrial / intelligent/ tall) humanoids who inhabit the (dense / lush / jungle) moon of Pandora.


2. Na'Vis have a (blue / bright / smooth) skin, accentuated with (thin/darker/cyan) stripes.


3. Their bodies have feline-like characteristics, such as (long/elegant/sweeping) tails, (beautiful/pointed /blue) ears, and (golden/large/ hypnotic) eyes.


4. They have a (v-shaped/upper/ wide) back.


5. They have developed a (evolved/ nervous/ complex) system.


6. They make use of (primitive/ effective/ wooden/ killing) weapons, such as a bow and arrows.

WORSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - AVATAR



Answer key:


1. (intelligent/tall/extraterrestrial) / (dense/lush/jungle)

2. (smooth/bright/blue) / (thin/darker/cyan)

3. (elegant/long/sweeping) /(beautiful/pointed/blue) / (hypnotic/large/golden)

4. (wide/v-shaped/ upper)

5. (complex/evolved/nervous)

6. (effective/primitive/wooden/killing)

» Read More...

This is a marvelous movie that is full of cultural information and conflicts. I learned a lot about the fascinating Japanese culture, but the most important thing is the plot, which is gripping from the very first scene. I strongly recommend it. My students had a great time practicing this very hard-to-explore grammar point, which became attractive with the segment.







A. Watch the movie segment and rewrite the phrases below, using compound adjectives.






MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA







1. The geisha was a lady who has fair skin.

She was a fair-skinned lady.



2. She is a Japanese woman who has blue eyes.

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


3. She was a geisha that had been trained well.

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


4. The geisha had to flirt with a man who was on a bicycle that was moving fast.

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


5. It was difficult for the geisha to walk on those shoes that had very high heels.

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


6. The geisha has to learn how to dance with fans that had a beautiful design.

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



7. The geisha's training is based on ancient beliefs that are rooted deeply.

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


8. They have to wear kimonos that were tailored perfectly.

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


B. Now discuss these questions with a partner.


1. What are some of the tasks a geisha has to go through to become successful?

2. Who are geishas?

3. What's your opinion about this tradition?

4. This segment takes place in 1941. How different do you think this tradition is nowadays?



WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

Answer key:

2. a blue-eyed woman

3. a well-trained geisha
4. fast-moving bicycle

5. high-heeled shoes

6. beautifully-designed fans.

7. deeply-rooted beliefs

8. perfectly-tailored kimonos

» Read More...

This is another fantastic movie. I love the animation. The animals look like humans! I had to use this scene to practice choosing adjective or adverbs forms within a sentence.



I. First watch the movie segment. Then circle the correct form of the words in parentheses.


1. A lot of guests were walking (calm/calmly) in the garden before the party.

2. Speckles, one of the guinea pigs, can speak English (fluent/fluently)

3. The guinea pigs used very (modern/modernly) gadgets.

4. The man who Darwin, the guinea pig, was observing was wearing (expensive/expensively) clothes.

5. They can swim under the ocean (confident/confidently).

6. They communicate by giving each other (special/specially) information to synchronize their mission.

7. Darwin was a little (nervous/nervously) during the mission.

8. Juarez looked (extreme/extremely) sexy to Darwin's eyes.


II. Write down 2 sentences about the segment using the words below.


1. Intelligent ____________________________

2. Intelligently __________________________

3. Efficient _____________________________

4. Efficiently ____________________________

I.

1 calmly

2 fluently

3 modern

4 expensive

5 confidently

6 special

7 nervous

8 extremely

II. Answers will vary

WORKSHEET

» Read More...

This is a great animated movie, especially because it talks about being different and fighting against prejudice. The music is great, especially if you like disco music. The scene is full of visual input, so it is perfect for beginners.

A. Watch the movie segment and complethe the blanks with possessive adjectives
(My, Your, His, Her, Its, Our, or Their).



1. The scene is about a worm. _____________ name is Barry.


2. Barry has an album. __________ name is Greatest Disco Hits 77.


3. Barry's mother is at the door. ___________ mother is not happy.


4. She talks to Barry. __________ voice is very loud.


5. Barry can't stop dancing. _________ tail is dancing too.


6. He's wearing a suit and a tie. __________ colors are black and white.


7. The books and records are __________ dad's stuff.


8. He lives with his father and mom. Barry lives in __________ house.


9. Barry's mother has a funny face. _________ eyes are big and ________ hair is brown.


10. - Do you like disco music? What's _________ favorite kind of music?

- ___________ favorite kind of music is samba.

Answer key; 1. his, 2. its, 3. his, 4. her, 5. his, 6. their, 7. his, 8. their, 9. her - her, 10. your - my.


WORKSHEET

» Read More...

Ice Age is one of my favorite animated movies. This scene is great and I used it to practice the use of adjective pronouns, not for beginners, but basic learners. I hope you enjoy it!






A. Watch the movie segment about an eskimo family that is attacked by a group of sabre-tooth tigers. Then complete the blanks with adjective pronouns.


My - Your - His - Her - Its - Our - Their








1. The eskimo tribe lived in the woods. The sabre-tooth tigers invaded __________ territory.


2. The eskimos had some dogs. They barked to warn _________ owners about the dangerous tigers.


3. Kinu, the eskimo, used ___________ spear to fight the tiger and protect ________ family.


4. Jana, the eskimo mother, held __________ baby before Diego, the tiger, attacked it. She would never leave _______ child behind.


5. The tiger grabbed ____________ necklace, but it didn't grab ___________ baby.


6. ________________ husband could not help her because of the tigers. Kinu wanted to help _______________ wife and child, but she ran away with _________ baby.


7. The dogs defended ______________ owner from the tigers.


8. The tigers were unhappy with Diego because of __________ incompetence to get the baby.


9. Kinu found _________ wife's necklace. _______________ friends followed him to look for _________ wife and child.


10. Did you like the segment? What's __________ opinion about it?



11. I (liked/didn't like) it. In ___________ opinion, the segment is (great / terrible / fantastic / etc).




Answer Key:

1. their
2. their
3. his / his
4. her / her
5. her / her
6. her / his / their
7. their
8. his (its)
9. his / his / his
10. your
11. my



WORKSHEET

» Read More...

This remake of The Stepford Wives is not as good as the original movie, but it has great moments like the one I used to have students practice participial adjectives that are used as noun modifiers. My students had a blast watching it and this dry grammar point became attractive to them.



A. Rewrite each sentence containing an underlined object pronoun, using a participial adjective as a noun modifier.

1. The guests were invited to join the square dance. They started dancing in the ballroom.

Ex: The invited guests started dancing in the ballroom.


2. The ballroom was decorated. It had 4th of July thematic ornaments.

3. Some guests were extremely excited. They were dancing happily.

4. A man spun the blonde lady very enthusiastically. She couldn't stop turning around in circles.

5. The guests were intrigued. They couldn't stop looking at that odd scene.

6. The hostess, the players and the guests were surprised by her behavior. They stopped what they were doing to watch the scene.

7. The lady got hurt when she fell on the floor. She seemed to have a serious health problem.

B. Work in pairs:

1. Describe the scene.

2. What do you think happened to the beautiful blonde lady?

3. Why did that happen?

4. What would you do if you were one of the guests?

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - THE STEPFORD WIVES

Answer key:

1. The invited guests

2. The decorated ballroom

3. The excited guests

4. The spun lady

5. The intrigued guests

6. The surprised hostess, players and guests

7. The hurt lady

» Read More...

This is a funny scene with Robert de Niro in great shape. The movie wasn't such a great blockbuster because it had been advertised as a new Harry Potter, which made people reject it. It is a good movie, though. It has nothing to do with Harry Potter. I used this scene to talk about stereotypes, activating the students' schemata, in order for them to practice when to use adjectives or adverbs in a sentence. The task is simple, but effective. The correct answers are in green. A. Talk to a partner about the following questions:

1 - Do you consider the first impression the most important one? Justify your answer.

2 - Do you think people have a correct idea of your personality just by looking at you, your physical appearance and clothes? Explain it.

3 - What are some personality traits a doctor must have? Name at least 5 adjectives.

4 - What about a teacher?

5 - Did you have a different opinion about your teacher's personality in the beginning of the term? Why (not)? What made you change your mind?


B. Write down six adjectives you would use to describe the captain of a ship. What are some important features he must have?

1 - ......................................
2 - .......................................
3 - ......................................
4 - .....................................
5 - ........................................
6 - ......................................

C. Watch the video segment and check which of the adjectives you chose in the previous exercise actually describe Captain Shakespeare?

D. Now choose the correct form of the words (adjectives or adverbs) in the sentences below.

1) Capitain Shakespeare has a fearsome/ fearsomely reputation.
2) While putting on some makeup, the Captain moved his head gentle / gently.

3) The fighters handled their swords elegant / elegantly.
4) While everyone was fighting violent / violently on the deck of the ship, Capitain Shakespeare was dancing graceful / gracefully in his cabin.

5) Capitain Shakespeare's dancing was awkward / awkwardly.
6) He looked unhappy / unhappily after his friends saw him with those ridiculous clothes.


How to prepare your own video activity:
- Choose an attractive scene with action.

- Write down sentences about the film with adjectives or adverbs for the students to select the correct one.
- Make sure you use action and stative verbs about the segment. Doing so, the students will have the choice for both adjectives and adverbs.



WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - STARDUST

» Read More...

This is an activity to practice comparatives. This animated movie is fantastic. I love animation and this one is really speacial. The scene is great to compare the main characters, great rivals.

Before you watch the segment:

Take a look at Po and Tai Lung. Then write next to the characters the qualities that best describe them, according to your impressions from the pictures. Make sure you write different adjectives for each of the characters.

This is Po:
Ex:


FAT


FUNNY



This is Tai Lung

Ex:

STRONG

INTELLIGENT

FAT STRONG FRIENDLY HEAVY SMART

FUNNY INTELLIGENT TIRED FAST CONFIDENT

LAZY AGGRESSIVE DANGEROUS UGLY QUIET

After watching the segment:

Take a look at your list again and decide if you would like to change your original guesses by writing sentences comparing Po and Tai Lung.

Ex:

(Po / Funny) Po is funnier than Tai Lung.
(Tai Lung / Strong) Tai Lung is as strong as Po.
(Po) / Fat) Po is fatter than Tai Lung.
(Tai Lung / intelligent) Tai Lung is less intelligent than Po.

How to develop your own activity

- Select a scene in which you can compare two characters

- Choose adjectives that describe the characters

- Prepare a chart for students to fill in with adjectives that describe them

- Select the adjectives you want to assess

- The students write sentences using comparatives

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - KUNG FU PANDA

» Read More...

This delicious movie scene is perfect to have students practice order of adjectives. Play the segment once and ask students to complete the blanks with the correct order of adjectives in parentheses. For this blog, I prepared the sentences with the correct adjective order, but of course you should mix them all up in your teaching situation.


Watch the movie segment, pay attention to the objects the main characters wear and use during the musical segment. Then, read the sentences below and fill in the blanks with the correct order of the adjectives in parentheses.

.
- Meet Tanya (left), Donna (center) and Rosie (right)


1) Donna was wearing a/an ______________________ hat.
(unusual/enormous/ blue/ feathered/ musketeer)
2) Donna hid herself under a ___________________ blanket.
(beautiful/ red and white/ Greek/ linen)
3)Tanya used a/an _______________________ hair dryer as a microphone.
(small/ blue/ electric/ portable)
4) Rosie put on a/an ___________________ bra to cheer Donna up.
(ugly/ tiny/ oldfashioned/ cotton)
5)Donna was wearing ________________ overalls.
(comfortable/ loose/ blue/ denim)
6) The natives were dancing on ________________ streets of the island.
(tranquil/ narrow/ dusty)
7) The dancing ladies crossed a ____________________ bridge.
(narrow/ old/ wood/ harbor)
8) They all jumped into the ______________ seawater.
(peaceful/ warm/ Turkish blue/ Greek)
.
Follow-up activity:
Provide the students with the lyrics of the song - Dancing Queen - and sing along with them!
How to develop your own segment:
Assessing: Adjective Order
- Choose a scene in which a lot of objects and materials are shown.
- Prepare a series of items with adjectives that describe them.
- Have students watch the segment and fill in the blanks of the exercise with the correct order of the adjectives provide in the blanks.





WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - MAMMA MIA 








http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9ibTt0qTI0&feature=youtu.be

» Read More...

This is a scene to work with participial adjectives. The segment is just great, full of visual input. Your students will enjoy it a lot. I loved the film. If you have suggestions, post a comment, please.

Before you watch:
Talk to a partner about the questions below:

1) How different would your life be if you could live in a palace with lots of maids around to help you?

2) Would you like to live in a historical period in which you would have to wear very uncomfortable, fancy clothes and wigs?

3) What's you opinion of pre-arranged marriages? Can they work out? Why (not)?

Watch the segment and pay attention to the people and the palace. Then choose the correct form of the adjectives.

Ex:

1) Marie Antoinette is a charming/charmed (charm) princess.

2) Her fiancé was embarassing/embarassed by the awkward introduction to his future wife.

3) They rode on carriages through the fascinating/fascinated gardens of the palace.

4) Marie Antoinette was amazing/amazed with the reception provided by the French.

5) The little girls handed her some flowers in a moving/moved attitude.

6) The guests were interesting/interested in observing every move she made.

7) The palace's overwhelming/overwhelmed beauty is magnificent.

8) The chandelier is stunning/stunned.

9) The garden is a relaxing/relaxed view from the palace.

10) She is totally touching/touched by the wealth of the palace.

11) Her wedding is full of monitoring/monitored guests observing every single detail of the ceremony.

12) The straining/strained groom was sweating during the wedding.

How to prepare your own video segment:

- Select a scene in which a lot of objects and situations can be observed

- Prepare descriptive sentences of the scene, adding adjective derived from verbs, for the students to choose the correct form of the adjectives provided.

WORKSHEET

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr4LAMaLH1o&feature=youtu.be

» Read More...