Time contrasts

Here's an activity I used to revise past, present and future forms with A2+ students. Although I found the movie rather disappointing (perhaps due to my high expectations), I decided (in fact it was my wife's idea) to work with "Cloud Atlas". I really liked the concept they try to develop in the film, and in the trailer the interaction among past, present and future is clearly shown. I hope you find it useful.

As a warm up: I showed them some pictures from the movie for them to spot the differences. 

Activity 1: Complete a short description using the correct verb form.

	He____________ (be) a doctor. He ____________ (be) dishonest. He ____________ (travel) by ship.
	Now he ____________(be) a  scientist. Nowadays he ____________ (be)  very correct.  Now he ____________(travel) by  car.
	In the future, he ____________  (help) people in a different way. In the future, we don’t know  how he ____________(be). In the future, he  ____________(walk).

Activity 2: Look at the following pictures and contrast this person's lives as you did in the previous exercise. Use your own ideas.

Activity 3: Watch the trailer and check if the sentences are true or false.

• The song sounds familiar to the woman                                        
• The young man plays music the old man dreamed of                 
• The man experienced a déjà vu                                                       
• In the future, the waitresses have the same face                        

Activity 4: Fill in the blanks.

Yesterday, my life __________ (be) headed in one direction. Today, it __________ (be) headed in another…Fear, belief, __________, phenomena that determine the course of our lives. These forces begin long before we __________ (be) born and continue __________ we perish.

Our lives __________ (be) not our own. We __________ (be) bound to others, __________ and __________ and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our __________.

I believe there __________ (be) another world waiting for us, a better world, and I __________ (be) waiting for you there.       

Closure: How has your life changed? Write a short description using the expressions below.

As a child, I used to….

Five years ago, I…

Nowadays I…

Next year, I’m going to…

In five years, I’ll…

In ten years, I might… 

What do you think about the activities?

Here's the worksheet.

Regards,
Claudio