I noticed yesterday that some of the students had already learned all the questions we had studied to find out about a movie or film. Good for you! The rest of you should check them in the last blog and try to memorize them.

In our class yesterday we practiced a short conversation related to the same topic. The conversation was:

A. Do you feel like seeing a movie?

B. Sure. What movie would you like to see?

A. How about The Clam Takes Over? It's playing at the Royal Theater. It's about a brave clam who takes over the Earth. Johnny Hook is in it.

B. It sounds good. What time is it playing?

A. Showtimes are at 5:00 and 7:00.

New words we studied:

Feel like: it is followed by another verb in the -ing form.

Take over: take control of something.

Showtime: the time when a film or movie is played.

Clam: we eat it in paella.


Later we listened to a recording about the adventures of Pinocchio and Gepetto. We also studied a few new words:

wood: the material many tables are made of.

wooden puppet: a puppet made of wood. 

grow: plants and people grow, they become taller.


HOMEWORK

1. make 2 sentences with the words feel like.

2. Make 2 sentences with the word grow.

3. Write the opening paragraph of a fairy tale. Example: opening paragraph for Pinocchio.

Once upon a time there was an old carpenter who lived alone. He did not have any children and wished he had a son, so he made a wooden puppet and dreamed the puppet would sometime become a real boy.

In our last lesson we read about the movie Matilda. We also listened to a recording that seemed a bit difficult for most of the students.

Some new words that we studied are:

bright  (very intelligent)

taught (the past of the verb teach)

grownup ( adult)

worse  (comparative of bad)

far worse ( much, much worse)

What's wrong with...? (What's the matter with, why don't you like...?)


Students had to answer some questions about the listening.


HOMEWORK

1. Remember you need to do the homework you hadn't done last week. Think of a movie you liked and answer the questions:

What kind of movie is it?

Who is in it? or Who starred in it?

Where does it take place?

What is it about? or What happens in it?

How does it end?

What did critics say about it?

2. Write a sentence with each one of the words and expressions above:

Examples:

Matilda taught herself to write when she was 3 years old.

The film is far worse than the movie.

What's wrong with your maths teacher? It's difficult to understand him.

Welcome back!

 And Happy 2015

In our first lesson this term we were learning how to talk about films or movies.

These are the questions we used and must learn:

What kind of movie is it?

Who is in it? or Who starred in it?

Where does it take place?

What is it about? or What happens in it?

How does it end?

What did critics say about it?

We studied the passive voice of verbs.

Why do we use passive voice? When we are more interested in the action itself than in the subject.

How is a passive verb formed?

To be in the right tense + past participle (3rd column) of the verb we want.

Ex: The wall is (Present verb to be) painted (past participle verb to paint) black.

It is not important who painted the wall, only that it is painted.

HOMEWORK

Write passive sentences in  Simple Present:

Active                                           Passive

1. the documents / print 
2. the window / open 
3. the shoes / buy 
4. the car / wash 
5. the litter / throw away 
6. the letter / send 
7. the book / read / not 
8. the songs / sing / not 
9. the food / eat / not 
10. the shop / close / not 

Learn the questions about movies.

Check in the Internet for the movie There is Something About Mary and answer the questions above.

Hello again!

Let' see. Vera, I hope you' ll be there next Wednesday. Please, wear something that makes you look like a hunter prince. It would be nice if you found a hat and maybe you can borrow a bow and arrows. Boots are a good idea too.

Dwarfs might wear something colorful if possible. I'll help with the hats. And make sure you know your lines. That's the most important thing. It wouldn't look good if you had to read during the performance.

The Old woman should bring a basket for the apples. And I can't think of anything else, but you're welcome to add any ideas if you have them.

See you Wednesday.

Hi students!

Next week we'll need to spend the whole lesson time rehearsing and preparing the play: Do please reread it and practice it!

It is not difficult. Only Snow White herself may have more difficulties.

Remember the play by scenes:

Scene in the forest:  
1.Characters: Snow White and the Hunter (Sandra and Miriam).

2. Characters: the 4 dwarfs and Snow White (Nico, Victor, Jorge, Miriam and Sandra).

Scene in the Dwarfs' house, in the kitchen.
1. Characters: the 4 dwarfs and Snow White (Nico, Victor, Jorge, Miriam and Sandra).

2. Characters: The Old Woman and Snow White ( Rachel and Sandra).

Scene in the cave: 
1. Characters:The Prince & Snow White (Vera and Sandra).

2. The four dwarfs: (Nico, Victor, Jorge and Miriam).

If you want to ldo some more homework, do the homework from last week.

I certainly hope that tomorrow you will know most of your lines. It is necessary. Otherwise you won't have time to rehearse your acting: I mean, you intonation, your attitude, the faces you make.

No excuses! You need to study the lines and memorize them.

Last week we talked about books and films.  The first question you had to answer was:

Have you seen .... ( Star Wars, Matilda, etc.)?

That is the Present Perfect and we use it to talk about experience.

The short answer we use when somebody asks a question in the Present Perfect is:

Yes, I have.

or

No, I haven't.

Because have is the auxiliary.


Important words and expressions we use when talking about films or books:

science fiction
horror
romantic comedy
fantasy
adventure
comedy
thriller
character
main character
What's it about?
It's about...

HOMEWORK

Read this synopsis of a film:

This is a sci-fi thriller starring Keanu Reeves. His character, Neo, is a computer hacker who discovers that life on earth is a façade created by intelligent machines that use humans to generate energy.
  
What film is it?

write your own synopsis.

Hi!

Only 3 students did their homework last week and it was a little sloppy. So, for next week, I expect the rest of you to do it. Remember! You have to compare 2 countries. You have to choose some of its characteristics and compare them. For example: size, population, surface ( is it flat or mountainous?) capital cities: which one is larger, more modern, with taller buildings, weather: which country is warmer or colder, age: which country is older as an independent nation, or any other aspect you may think of.

You are in ESO, it's time you start writing in a proper, rational way.

Last Wednesday we started a new unit: it's about films and books.

I explained how to make a new verb tense: the Present Perfect. This form of the verb is made up of 2 words. First: the Present of Have:

I have
You have                   +  Past Participle of the verb we need to use: 3rd column
He/She/It has         Ex: had, seen, heard, watched, read, 
We have
You have
They have

The question you had to answer was:

Have you seen any of these films?

We use this form of the verb when we want to talk about something that started in the past but it is not finished yet. When we talk about experiences we have had.

We could also ask:

  Have you listened to this song?

We talked about different kinds of films: horror films, adventure films, romantic films, comedy films, mystery films, science fiction films.

What are your favorite kinds of films?

The only homework you have this film is: learn your part for the play. 

NICO: I hope to see you next week. You'll be one of the dwarfs. Your lines are easy so I'm sure you'll have time to learn them.