Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Super Heroes



Super Heroes, a lesson plan

Thanks go first of all to Claire Hart, whose idea I have adapted (http://businessenglishlessonplans.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/silent-movies/)

Aim of the lesson: to boost confidence in listening and learn new vocabulary while discussing the movie industry and big business.

Level: intermediate and above
Suitable for small groups or one-to-one

1) Warmer: students buzz about nostalgic movies, movies seen when they were children
2) Students read a text and use its context to complete a vocabulary matching exercise:

Link to the text, vocabulary exercise, and scrambled paragraph exercise is here.

3) Students watch the video report from the BBC titled "Superhero film...like no other" and say what they see - it can be single words or more complex impressions.


4) Students use the worksheet below and put sections of the video in order. They may need to watch several times. (This worksheet is included in the document link in step 2)


„THE AVENGERS”

Put the pieces in the right sequence after you watch the video again.

___ Alex Alonso of Marvel Entertainment says they created a universe and brought the characters together slowly after each one had been introduced and established in previous movies.

___ What makes this movie different is that it brings together several superheroes. They are heroes that have been introduced over the last few years. They include Thor and Iron Man. These previous movies have all served as teasers for the new picture.

__1_ One man says he is very happy about the new Avengers movie. He said he loves super heroes and grew up on the Avengers comic books.We are at war! This superhero movie is like no other.


___ It is not just a creative movie for fans all over the world. It's also a huge commercial enterprise. The film may produce more than USD 220 million, and it also may set a record for the opening weekend boxoffice superhero movie in the U.S.There is a multimillion merchandising phenomenon
connected to the movie. There are superhero fashions for dogs and all kinds of merchandise.


___ It is an intelligent mix. It is a story of superheroes with strong personalities. In Mark Ruffalo's opinion there is an analogy with the world we live in today. In America there are superegos, people fighting it out, thinking they have all the right answers.

5) You can finish here with a discussion of the movie industry, how it has evolved, whether or not movie-goers are exploited, the analogy with power in today's world, low-budget films, India, etc. etc. Or the homework can be to write an opinion about the issues.

6) You can go on and ask students to prepare and then narrate one section of the video report, again with no sound.

Finally, ask the students for feedback on how confident they felt in their ability to complete the tasks.
Send the link to the video report to students for re-watching at home with sound. Follow up in the next lesson and ask how they felt while listening to the video report.

Solutions:
Vocabulary exercise: in order, from first to last: 7, 1, 11, 8, 3, 10, 4, 2, 5, 9, 6
Sequence: 3, 2, 1, 5, 4