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viernes, 5 de septiembre de 2014

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

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