Let it flow! How to develop students' imagination? Silent movies.

DAY FIVE

SILENT MOVIES

Today is the last day of our Christmas film marathon. In just a few days I showed you 5 films that could be used as a warm up, filler or closer during the lesson. Some of them carried deeper emotions and could be developed into a whole lesson plan. No matter which option you have chosen, it was supposed to encourage you to use different films together with various video watching techniques. They, of course, can be developed, modified and changed depending on the age and level of the group. But what about today? What film will be presented as the last one? Sit comfortably and wait.

Who said that we have to watch films with dubbing? Who said that we have to watch films with any words? Silent films were popular at the beginning of the XX century and they made people laugh. While watching so many short films over this week, I discovered that I didn't show you one technique that could be really creative for students and could help to develop their imagination.

SCRIPT WRITING

TECHNIQUE: SCRIPT WRITING

AGE: - any

LEVEL: elementary +

AIM: to develop students creativity and imagination

          to improve writing skills

FILM ADDRESS: https://youtu.be/QXRH9cSk2TM

LESSON PLAN

STAGE ONE

Divide your students into groups of 3-4. Tell them that they are going to watch a silent film carefully. They have to remember what it is about and imagine what the characters are talking about. 

STAGE TWO

Ask students to retell the story in the groups. They have to try to put all the facts together. Group discussion.

STAGE THREE

The aim of the activity is to write the script to the film. The groups have to decide what they want to write about, who is going to be The Snowman, who The Reindeer and who The Narrator. Revise Past Tenses that they can use while writing briefly. It helps when they imagine that they are telling it to a blind person so every detail is crucial - the weather, the feelings, the background etc. Of course, you can use any other silent cartoon:)

STAGE FOUR

Each group gets the link to the film and can have one mobile phone to watch the cartoon again and again in order to complete the task. Give them about 20 min. Then you play the film and they read the script. Althout it seems to be time consuming, it's a great fun.

This activity can be used at various levels and it is the biggest advantage of it. What's more, the film doesn't have to be English:) Students at higher levels will use more sophisticated vocabulary than those at lower levels. But both can show their creativity. Hope you enjoyed the tips and ideas.

Merry Christmas to everyone!!!