English materials for
​Secondary school in México

First Grade

Unit 4

Lesson plan

Lesson plan | Games & Lead-ins | Videos | Worksheets & Handouts | PowerPoint presentations
Exercises for students | ​Project Ideas | Pop Quizzes & Exams
Introduction (15 mins.)
T writes a few discussion points on the board:
  • When did the films appear?
  • Do you know who Charlie Chaplin is?
  • What is an intertitle or title card?
  • What is a script?
  • What should you include in a script?
T motivates Ss to share their ideas with their classmates.
T asks Ss to talk about their favorite silent film, scene or actor.
Development (20 mins.)
T shows a short silent film scene and asks Ss to identify:
  • Film genre (Comedy and romance).
  • Setting (Lion’s cage).
  • Character (The Tramp).
  • The intention of the actions (Funny, melodramatic, romantic, tragic, etc.).
Ss write the answers on their notebook.
T gives Ss some cutouts and asks them to match the film genres with their descriptions.
Consolidation (10 mins.)
T helps Ss brainstorm a list of three or more well-known movies of all time according to each genre and write them on the board. 
Closure (5 mins.)
T reads aloud to the class the achievements for this unit and encourages Ss to share their ideas about the meaning of each achievement. Ss say their expectations they have of the unit.
Homework: Bring information about silent films: the name of the film, release date, genre and photos. 
Introduction (5 mins.)
Ss look at a picture from the film “The Wizard of Oz (1939)” and use their imagination to answer the following questions:
  1. The character looks happy/scared.
  2. The actor plays a scarecrow/tin man.
  3. The setting is the forest/castle.
  4. The film is a comedy/fantasy.
Development (25 mins.)
First, T introduces the idea of a storyboard (it a series of drawings that show the plot of a story or script). Then, in pairs, Ss match a sequence of 9 action lines from the previous film with the drawings. Ss compare their sequence with another pair of Ss. T goes over the answers.
Now, in a jumble activity, Ss put some extracts from the script of the film into the correct order. T encourages Ss to use the storyboard as a tool to complete the activity.
Ss match the main elements of a script with their definitions.
Here are the definitions for each element:
  • Scene heading: It tells the reader where the scene takes place.
  • Action line: It sets the scene, describes the setting, and allows you to introduce your characters and set the stage for your story.
  • Character name: The name of the person in the play.
  • Parenthetical: It describes what a character is feeling or doing when he/she is talking.
  • Dialogue: A conversation between two or more characters or when a character talks out loud to himself/herself.
Consolidation (15 mins.)
Ss identify the elements of the script from the film “The Wizard of Oz” in the scene: Dorothy meets the cowardly lion.
Closure (5 mins.)
T write a few yes/no questions on the board about the key points from the lesson. These yes/no questions will show how well the class understood the topic. If there is confusion, T gives feedback on the key points.
Here are some questions:
  1. The main parts of a script are 4. YES/NO
  2. The action line tells the reader where the scene takes place.  YES / NO
  3. Before the dialogue, you need to write the character name. YES/NO
  4. Angrily, excited and boring are examples of parenthetical. YES/NO
Homework: Worksheet "Parts of a script"
Introduction (15 mins.)
T shows a short silent film scene and asks Ss to guess:
  • The location or setting.
  • If the location is indoors or outdoors.
  • Time of the day.
Ss write the answers on their notebook. Then, T asks Ss:
  1. Why is the setting important in the story?
  2. Would the story be the same if it happened in winter?
  3. Would the story be the same if it happened in the street?
T explains that the scene heading or slug line has three elements:
  • An interior (INT.) or exterior (EXT.) indicator.
  • Location or setting.
  • And Time of day.
T gives Ss examples of scene headings (e.g. INT. MARY’S HOUSE – MORNING)
Development (15 mins.)
First, Ss do a worksheet about silent film locations. Ss should label the images. Then, T labels a chart on the board with the following 3 headings: interior, exterior and both. Ss classify the locations according to these categories. Ss justify their answers and take notes.
Consolidation (10 mins.)
Ss write the scene heading for some silent film locations. Ss should use capital letters and a period after the INT. or EXT., a hyphen between the other elements of the scene heading.
Closure (5 mins.)
Exit tickets: Ss practice what they have learned. Ss should draw in a piece of paper a drawing of a well-known film location and write the scene heading (e.g. Jurassic park: EXT. JUNGLE - NIGHT). 
Introduction (15 mins.)
T shows Ss an extract (action lines) from two different films and asks them to:
  1. Identify the film genre and the characters.
  2. Make a short storyboard with 3 drawings.
Ss work in pairs and discuss the relevance of the action lines in the story.
T asks volunteers to come to the front of the class and share their work.
Here are the extracts:
  1. One night Harker finds the Count Dracula lying in a coffin but he can’t tell if he’s dead or alive, but he’s so scared by the mean look in Dracula’s eyes, he panics and goes back to his room.
  2. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have a son named Henry. They plan to marry Henry with Catherine, a daughter of Mr. Smith’s best friend who already passed away. Unfortunately, they don’t’ know that Henry has a relationship with Cindy, Catherine’s sister.
Development (10 mins.)
Ss do a gap-fill activity in order to complete the scene heading and action lines from four films.
Consolidation (20 mins.)
First, T shows Ss a short film scene. Then, In pairs, Ss write the action lines for that scene. When they finish the task, they will share their work with others. The best work wins a prize.
Ss have to use the simple present to write the action lines.  
Closure (5 mins.)
Ss give feedback on simple present tense and make contributions to improve their action lines.
​
Introduction (10 mins.)
T makes a list of people that might have a conversation and write them on the board. T helps Ss brainstorm what they might talk about.
Here some examples:
  • Friend – Friend: “Hello, What’s up?”
  • Boy – Beautiful girl: “You look beautiful today”
  • Young lady - Police officer: “Help me please!”
  • Dracula – Hunter: “You can’t kill me because I’m already dead.”
T writes Ss’ answers on the board. Ss take notes.
Development (10 mins.)
Ss do a gap-fill activity in order to complete the dialogues from a film scene.
Consolidation (25 mins.)
Ss watch a short film scene and write the dialogues in pairs. T guides them through the editing process and help them with grammar and vocabulary.
T asks volunteers to come to the front of the class and read aloud their dialogues.
Closure (5 mins.)
Ss give feedback on the writing activity and make contributions to improve that skill. ​
Introduction (15 mins.)
First, T shows Ss 5 images from a silent film scene and asks them to put in order in a class discussion. Then Ss watch the video from the same film scene and check their answers.
Development (15 mins.)
T encourages Ss to identify:
  • Film genre.
  • Characters.
  • Purpose of the actions.
T writes on the board a list of phrases and asks Ss to decide if they could be used or not in the scene.
Here some phrases:
  • We have a trouble.
  • The man doesn’t have enough money to pay.
  • I’m very hungry.
  • Pay me!
  • Here the bill!
  • What happened?
  • What did he say?
  • Could we have the bill, please?
  • I forgot my wallet.
  • Where is the waiter?
  • What are we going to do, now?
Consolidation (15 mins.)
In pairs, Ss create the dialogues for the film scene based on phrases from the previous activity. Ss may use more phrases. Ss check spelling, grammar, correct pronunciation, correct use of language, coherence of the dialogues, etc. T provides help as required, always promoting collaborative work.
Closure (5 mins.)
T asks a pair of Ss to read aloud their dialogues while the film scene is playing. ​Ss adjust their dialogues with the characters’ interventions as much as they can.
Ss choose a short silent film scene. Ss identify the film genre and characters.
Ss draw the main events on a storyboard and suggest dialogues for each character.
Suggest and write dialogues and/or interventions for each character. Ss check the structure of dialogues, grammar, spelling and punctuation conventions.
Ss include scene heading, action lines, characters names and all the dialogues they wrote.
T asks Ss to practice their dialogues by reading aloud as many teams as necessary. T emphasizes the importance of the volume and speed of Ss’ voices as well as their intonation while reading.
Ss exchange their script with the others in order to get feedback and peer evaluation.
Ss adjust their dialogues with the characters’ interventions as much as they can.
Ss perform their scenes with the whole class.