Hotel Transylvania & Mr. Popper's Penguins: Modal for Ability/Permission CAN

Hotel Transylvania is an awesome movie. Funny, somewhat scary, and with lots of interesting lessons to teach. Mr. Popper's penguins is an effective family movie, but the penguins are fantastic!

I. Watch the movie segment from the movie Hotel Transylvania about Dracula and his daughter, Mavis, and complete the blanks with can/can't and the verbs in parentheses. 

1. Mavis __________ (crawl) up the walls.

2. Mavis ______________ (go) outside .

3. Dracula ______________ (play)  the guitar.

4. Mavis and Dracula __________ (fly).

5. Dracula and Mavis ________________ (be) humans and bats.

5. Mavis _____________ (read).

7. Dracula ___________ (sing)

II. Which item in I CAN is not used for permission, not ability?

III. Guess what the penguins can do. Check the items you think they can.

1. __ Speak English

2. __ Walk

3. __ Run

4. __ Fly

5 __ Walk in line

6 __ Dance

7 __ Cross streets

8 __ Jump

IV. Watch the segment from the movie Mr. Popper's Penguins and check your answers.

V. Write 3 sentences saying what penguins can do and can't do.

1______________________________

2______________________________

3______________________________

Answer key





I.

Mavis can crawl up the walls.

Mavis can't go outside .

Dracula can play the guitar.

Mavis and Dracula  can fly.

Dracula and Mavis can be humans and bats.

Mavis can't read.

Dracula can sing

II. # 2

III.

Penguins can't speak English, fly and jump.

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Hall Pass: Modal for Possibility - COULD

This is a funny movie with great scenes. I had a lot of fun watching it. I used this scene to talk about modals for possibility, especially COULD.







I. What are the possible consequences  of Mr. Will's buying his twenty-year-old  babysitter some beer? What does his conscience tell him about the possible consequences of buying alcohol for a minor? Check the actions you think he believes could happen to him.












































( ) 1. He goes into a lot of trouble.



( ) 2. He is arrested by the police.



( ) 3. His action attitude becomes a scandal.



( ) 4. He is fired.



( ) 5. His fiancée is  furious at him.



( ) 6. He falls in love with his babysitter.



( ) 7. His babysitter falls in love with him.







II. Now rewrite his fears using modals for possibility



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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - HALL PASS











Answer key:



I.



1,2,3,4,5



II.



1. He could go into a lot of trouble.



2. He could be arrested by the police.



3. His action could become a scandal.



4. He could be fired



5. His fiancée could be furious at him.



6. He could fall in love with the babysitter.



7. The babysitter could fall in love with him.

A Walk to Remember: Past Modals for Regrets - Should (Not) Have ...

This is a teens classic. In a survey I conducted with my advanced level teenagers, this movie was their favorite one, according to the majority of students in my class. So I decided to see it and I agree with them. It is a very good film, indeed. This scene is perfect to talk about regrets, using past modals.







I. Watch the movie segments and check the sentences that you believe were the characters'  wrong decisions.














































1. The teenagers trespassed a private property.



2. Landon dared a friend to jump from a trampoline to belong to the group.



3. He accepted the challenge



4. He didn't know how deep the dam was



5. They ran away and left their friend hurt and unattended.



6. Landon didn't stop his car when warned by the police and had an accident.



7. Nobody was taking care of the abandoned dam during that night.





II. Now rewrite the sentences above, expressing regrets.





EX:



1. The teenagers shouldn't have trespassed a private property.







II. Discuss these questions:





1. What were the major wrong decisions taken by the group? Explain it.



2. What should happen to those teenagers?



3. Whose fault was that? Landon's, the other teens', or the boy was the one responsible for his own jumping?



4. What would you do if you were in the boy's shoes? What if you were one of the other teens?



5. What should the police do? Arrest Landon, arrest everybody, or have them pay with community services? Explain your answer.



6. What should happen to the property owner?





Answer Key:

2. Landon shouldn't have dared his friend to jump from the trampoline.

3. He shouldn't have accepted the challenge.

4. He should have known how deep the dam was.

5. They shouldn't have run away and left the boy unattended.

6. Landon should have stopped his car when warned by the police.

7. Someone should have been taking care of the abandoned dam.



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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - A WALK TO REMEMBER

Footloose: Modal Verbs for Obligation, Prohibition, and Permission

This new version of the 80's Footloose does not have the impact or charm of the original version, but the opening scene is shocking and thought-provoking. It is also controversial, which makes it debatable.











I. Watch the movie segment and say what youngsters must, must not, can, or don't have to do, according to the new rules decided by the City Council of Bomont.











1. Minors _________ obey the curfew.



2. They ______________ dance lasciviously in public places.



3. Minors _______ be home by 10 pm on weeknights and 11 pm on weekends. Youngsters who are above 18 ________ obey the curfew.



4. Individuals ___________ organize public gatherings where minors engage in inappropriate activities, such as consumption of alcohol or unlawful drugs.



5. Minors __________ listen to vulgar or demeaning amplified music.



6.  Adults __________ advise their children of what is good for them if they wish, but they ____________ help them break the law.



7. Minors ____________ to be happy about the new decision, but they _________ respect and accept the decision.












































Discuss:



1. Do you agree with the prohibition?



2. What did the teens do wrongly, in your opinion?



3. Should the City Council decide what people can or can't do to have fun? Explain.



4. What are the possible consequences of such a drastic decision?



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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - FOOTLOOSE





Answer key:



1. Must

2. Must not

3. Must / don't have to

4. Must not

5. Must not

6. Can/ Can't

7. Don't have to / Must

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Modal Verbs for Advice - Should

This used to be one of my favorite childhood movies and the remake is absolutely fabulous. I used this scene to have students practice modals for advice in a contextualized manner.





I. Watch the movie segment and make a list of 4 inappropriate behaviors these children have. Observe both  Veruca and Augustus to come up with sentences.





VERUCA:



1 ............................................................



2. ...........................................................



3. ...........................................................



4. ...........................................................





AUGUSTUS:



1. ............................................................



2. ............................................................



3. ............................................................



4. ...........................................................





II. Rewrite your sentences above, using modals for advice.





III. Imagine you are supposed to give these children's parents advice. Pair up with a partner. One of you is Veruca's mother and the other one is Augustus' s mother. Role play a situation, giving each other advice for better behavior.

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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Silent Hill: Modals for Possibility - MIGHT COULD MUST

The first scene of the movie is intriguing. You have a lot to speculate about. Ask your students to use their imagination doing the exercises.

I. Watch the movie segment and write 3 sentences for the questions below.

Use MIGHT and COULD (slight possibility), MUST (great possibility) or CANT (impossibility).

1. What happened in Silent Hill?

a .............................................

b ............................................

c ............................................

2. What kind of city is Silent Hill?

a ...........................................



 b ..........................................

 c ..........................................

3. What will happen if they go to Silent Hill by themselves?

a ..........................................

 

b .........................................

c .........................................

4. How will the child's father react when he finds out his wife and child went to Silent Hill

without him?

a .........................................

b ........................................

c .........................................

II. Work with the class as a whole. First, read your sentences with MUST out loud and decide which is the most plausible explanation for each of the questions.

III. Now read your sentences with the other modals and decide which one is the most far fetched for each of the questions.

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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - SILENT HILL