GRADE 10A: Film club Recounting events; writing a review

About this unit

This unit is designed to guide your planning and teaching of English lessons. It provides a link between the standards for English and your lesson plans. The teaching and learning activities in this unit should help you to plan the content, pace and level of difficulty of lessons. You should adapt the ideas in the unit to meet the needs of your class. You can also supplement the ideas with appropriate activities from your schools textbooks and other resources. In this unit, students discuss their favourite films and write a film review.

UNIT 10A.2 10 hours

Resources
The main resources needed for this unit are: a page of current film listings from a local English-language newspaper; a jumbled text of a film review; an excerpt of 1015 minutes of a film adaptation of a known book; quotes from a 1015-minute extract from a film, possibly the same film as above; a film review of 1012 sentences with all punctuation removed; Three 5-minute extracts from a film they could be taken from different scenes of the same film, possibly the same film as used above.

Expectations
By the end of the unit, most students will: ask and respond to questions about interests and preferences; understand and respond to dialogues and film; report what people say or believe; actively participate in paired and group discussions as well as more formal discussions; discuss and evaluate topic, themes, plot development, setting, and characterisation in books and films; recount and compare events, situations, narratives in the past; make clear oral presentations to inform or persuade; skim and scan written and screen-based texts to extract information; compose narratives based on known or imagined stories, personal experiences or recounts of event; write for a range of functional purposes to report, organise and convey information accurately. Students who progress further will: recount, discuss and compare events using a wide range of past tenses accurately and appropriately. Students who make slower progress will: recount, discuss and compare events using past tenses with some hesitation and/or with minor errors. .

Key structures and functions

Talking about events in the past: They were coming towards him across the field. The younger man looked up. Instantly he recognised the face. It was the man hed seen leaving the house the day before. Setting the scene: The story starts when a fishing boat in the Mediterranean finds an unconscious man in the sea. They pick him up and discover he has been shot. Speech verbs for reported speech: He promised to take care of her. She wondered if shed ever see him again.

Vocabulary
Verbs of speaking: murmur, whisper, shout, scream, stutter, etc. Adverbs of manner: anxiously, suspiciously, hurriedly, etc. Describing character: arrogant, selfish, kind, generous, outgoing, reserved, etc.

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Standards for the unit

10 hours
4 hours Discussing films 9.3.1 4 hours Observation skills 2 hours The Oscars Understand a range of spoken texts containing complex utterances in a variety of face-toface and audio forms on general and abstract topics with sufficient grasp.

Unit 10A.2
CORE STANDARDS Grade 10A standards
10A.1.3 Continue to collect and classify speech verbs for reported speech e.g. promise, wonder.

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 9 standards

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 11A standards

10A.3.1. Understand and respond to narratives, anecdotes, stories, plays and films: understand gist; follow dialogue; discern speakers moods, relationships and intentions; express opinions and connect to personal experiences. 10A.4.2 Consolidate knowledge of the use of various ways of expressing emotion through emphasis and use of appropriate stress: with the verb do; with interjections; with exclamations; with s and such ; with repetition; with rhetorical questions; with exclamatory questions (i.e. polar questions with emphatic falling tone). 10A.4.4 Use different styles and registers appropriate to the situation: style (i.e. variations in formality); register (i.e. the differences in language use between people of the same occupation or sharing a field of interest). 10A.5.1 Consolidate the ability to make predictions, describe continuous or long term actions in the future and contrast with specific actions and future states, using the future continuous, the will future and appropriate time phrases. 11A.5.1 Consolidate the ability to talk about situations and events in the future, fixed, planned, spontaneous, predictable, probable or possible, using the full range of present and future tenses and time phrases as appropriate. Recount and compare events, situations, narratives and personal experiences in the past. 11A.4.1 Recognise and use features of word or sentence stress such as pitch (high or low), length (long or short), loudness (loud or soft) and quality (weak or strong).

9.5.7

Consolidate ability to talk with reasonable fluency about events in the past using past tenses.

10A.5.4

Recount and compare events, situations, narratives and personal experiences in the past, using the simple past, past continuous, past perfect and present perfect for the general past, as appropriate.

11A.5.3

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10 hours

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 9 standards

10A.5.5

CORE STANDARDS Grade 10A standards

Report what people say or believe: summarise monologues, conversations and group discussions; use direct quotations for emphasis or effect; use reported commands with verbs other than say, tell and ask, and active and passive voice; use reported statements and questions with verbs of speech and thought other than say, tell and ask; use the correct sequence of tenses, and appropriate changes in time phrases and demonstrative adjectives. 10A.5.6 Discuss and evaluate topic, themes, plot development, setting, and characterisation in books, plays or films.

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 11A standards

10A.5.10 Prepare and present to an audience an opinion or point of view to convince or persuade, in a series of complete utterances with appropriate use of: first and second person language; expressions to indicate degrees of certainty; connectives for reasons and consequences. 10A.5.14 Ask and respond to questions about interests, preferences, abilities and to polite, formal requests using appropriate expressions. 10A.8.4 10A.9.1 Use the full range of punctuation with approximately 80% accuracy. Independently compose texts of approximately 1015 to sentences in a coherent structure using: three connected and coherent paragraphs; varied sentence structure, and choice of words and phrases for precision and effect; connecting words and phrases to link sentences cohesively.

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10 hours
10A.8.5

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 9 standards

Independently review and edit own writing with the needs of an identified audience in mind. 10A.9.2

CORE STANDARDS Grade 10A standards

Drawing on experiences of reading, compose narratives based on known or imagined stories, personal experiences or recounts of events, showing ability to: construct a coherent story plan showing the main characters, the progression of events and the conclusion, as a basis for writing a full version; select and present themes and topics in ways that capture the readers interest; relate events coherently showing the passage and duration of time in a clear chronological sequence; include dialogue or reported speech as appropriate; select vocabulary precisely to portray characters and create moods and settings; use a variety of complex and simple sentence forms to create interest, emphasis, tension; draw the narrative to an effective conclusion; structure the text in paragraphs which break the narrative into coherent and connected parts. 11A.9.2

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 11A standards

Drawing on experiences of reading, compose narratives based on known or imagined stories, personal experiences, or recounts of events.

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Activities
Objectives
4 hours Discussing films Students are able to: ask and respond to questions about interests, preferences; understand and respond to dialogues and film; report what people say or believe; recount and compare events, situations, narratives and personal experiences in the past, discuss and evaluate topic, themes, plot development, setting, and characterisation in books, and films; draw on experiences of reading to compose narratives based on known or imagined stories, personal experiences or recounts of events.

Unit 10A.2
Possible teaching activities
Use a page of local film listings for the current week to check or teach vocabulary about the cinema and types of film (e.g. performance, thriller, action, director, rating). Ask the students which film they would choose to see. Encourage them to justify their choice, for example: Id choose Girl with a pearl earring because Ive read the book and I want to see how they interpret the character of Demonstrate the dialogue by engaging in conversation with one or two strong students first, asking lots of follow up questions and using their responses as a springboard to discuss other films, for example: A: I wouldnt see Notting Hill because I cant stand Hugh Grant. He always plays the same character! B: I know what you mean but I thought he was very good in About a boy. You should see it. A: What character does he play in About a boy? Put students into pairs and have them discuss their choices. Monitor and make note of common errors for later remedial work. Check with a few pairs in whole-class situation to find out students preferences. Students listen to two people discussing a film adaptation of a book. Students listen and complete comprehension tasks to identify the opinions of the speakers and the evidence they give to support their claims. Students summarise the speakers opinions using reported speech. Introduce and practise verbs for reporting opinions and beliefs, for example: she felt that she thought that Highlight and practise use of persuasive language. Students watch part of a film adaptation of a known book. In groups, they discuss and compare the film version with the book, stating their preferences and giving supporting reasons. They respond to comprehension questions to encourage discussion and evaluation of the themes, plot development, setting, and characterisation in the book and the film. Discuss language style and register as appropriate. Prepare an excerpt of 1015 minutes of a film adaptation of a known book, possibly a class reader (e.g. Pride and Prejudice). Style and register will depend on the film chosen and may not be relevant to the discussion. Prepare a listening text of two people talking about a recent film theyve seen and comparing the film version with the original story.

Notes
Activities in this unit can be taught as a block or integrated with later units, using film excerpts to correspond with current themes (e.g. sport or crime). Find film listings in a local newspaper or magazine.

School resources
This column is blank for schools to note their own resources (e.g. textbooks, worksheets).

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Objectives

Possible teaching activities

Elicit what goes into a film review. In groups, students discuss what goes into a film review, for example: the name of the film, the main characters the main events. Students read a jumbled film review. They check if all their ideas are in the text. They read and order the text. Students look at the text again and identify the main tenses used (probably present simple with some use of the present perfect, past simple and past perfect). Discuss reasons for this. Students identify and order: the writers opinion events in the film the name of the film Students write a film review of 200+ words. They use the headings above to plan and organise their writing. They edit their first draft paying attention to tenses and punctuation. Students exchange drafts and evaluate each others writing using agreed criteria which should include language (i.e. accuracy) and content (e.g. Is the content interesting? Does the writer justify his/her opinion?).

Notes
Prepare a jumbled text of a film review. It should include a synopsis of the plot (without giving away the ending!) and comments about the actors performance. Using the present simple in a review makes the action seem more exciting and real.

School resources

Evaluation criteria should be discussed and agreed at the start of the activity. Prepare some quotes from a film (possibly the same film as in the previous section). Different quotes can be given to each pair. This activity can be made into a team game with each pair scoring points for correct information and correct verb forms. Quotes can be chosen to encourage practice of key functions for Grade 10A (e.g. apologising, expressing regret)

4 hours Observation skills Students are able to: describe characters; collect and classify speech verbs for reported speech; recount, discuss and compare events, situations and narratives in the past, using the simple past, past continuous, past perfect and present perfect; ask questions about past events and situations; express emotion through emphasis and use of appropriate stress; [continued]

Students watch an extract from a film of about 1015 minutes. In pairs, students discuss their quote and the context. They attempt to explain who said it, when, where, why, what happened next, etc. In this way, students recount different parts of the film. Encourage them to use a range of reporting verbs. Highlight and revise different verb patterns as necessary, for example: verbs like say with that; explain, demand, confess, admit verbs like ask and tell with person and often the infinitive; urge, beg, warn verbs followed by the gerund; remember -ing, verbs which take prepositions followed by the gerund; accuse someone of -ing verbs followed by the gerund and the infinitive. stop, remember, forget Highlight and practise the difference in meaning between remember doing something and remember to do something (similarly the verbs forget and stop). Provide a gap-fill exercise to practise different verb forms.

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Objectives
continued] make predictions, using a range of future tenses and modals.

Possible teaching activities

Students skim a film review from which all the punctuation has been removed. Discuss the difficulties of reading a text without punctuation (or with poor punctuation). Students read the text again and mark the punctuation. Check in whole-class situation using an overhead projector. Show an excerpt from film without sound and have students discuss the characters emotions and predict the language used. Play the recording again to check students prediction and identify language. Highlight and practise use of emphasis and stress for expressing emotion (see standard 10A.4.2). Show an excerpt of a comedy with an accident about to happen. Pause the tape just before the accident and have students discuss in small groups what they think will happen. Revise future tenses and modals as necessary, for example: I think hes going to fall onto the car. He might drop the bucket and Divide the students into three groups. Give each group a 5-minute extract from a film. In their groups, students watch the film and prepare 10 observation questions to ask the other groups. For example: What was Martha doing when Joe entered the room? What colour was Mays bag? What did Joe say hed been doing? Why did ? Monitor this stage of the lesson carefully to ensure that students use correct tenses and that the questions are not too difficult. Show the film extracts one by one. After each extract groups distribute a copy of their observation questions to the other groups who work together to answer them (set a time limit for this activity). When all the extracts have been seen and the observation questions have been answered, check the answers and award points.

Notes
Prepare a film review of 1012 sentences. Remove all punctuation.

School resources

Prepare very short excerpts (about 30 seconds) from films that show a range of emotions.

Prepare short excerpts (12 minutes) from comedies that show accidents (e.g. a man falling off a ladder).

Prepare three 5-minute extracts from a film. The extracts could be taken from different scenes of the same film and shown over a period of time. This activity provides useful practice for students in asking questions.

2 hours The Oscars Students are able to: prepare and present to an audience an opinion or point of view to convince or persuade, in a series of complete utterances.

Tell students that they have been asked to nominate their favourite film for a special award. They work in small groups to prepare a presentation to the selection committee. Brainstorm the type of information students might include and elicit a structure for the presentation. Students should plan to speak for about five minutes and involve all members of the group. Develop evaluation criteria (see standard 5.10). Allow students time in class to rehearse their presentation. Groups take turns to make their presentations. If possible invite one or two other teachers to take on the role of selection committee members. They should provide constructive feedback to each group and nominate a winner, providing clear justification for their choice.

Students could choose their favourite film of the past year or their all-time favourite film.

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Assessment
Examples of assessment tasks and questions
Listening Speaking Reading Writing Students follow a film (about 5 minutes) and show comprehension by answering questions. In groups students discuss their favourite film, giving reasons for their preferences. Students read a film synopsis and show comprehension by answering questions. Students write a letter of approximately 200 words to a friend telling him/her about a film theyve seen recently.

Unit 10A.2
Notes
Listening carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Speaking carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Reading carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Writing carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade.

School resources

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