This lesson plan follows a human snake around a mystery city (could it be Lisbon?). The advert is for Sony PSP and was filmed using pixilation (a stop motion technique using people). The accompanying music is by Covox (http://www.myspace.com/covoxmusic)
- Language level: Elementary; Pre-intermediate (A2)
- Learner type: Young learners; Teens; Adults
- Time: 35 minutes
- Activity: Gap fill
- Topic: Advertising
- Language: Prepositions of movement
- Materials: Video; Worksheets
Prepositions of movement 
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Lesson plan outline
- Ask students what they had for breakfast.
- Tell students that they are going to see a clip in which a man’s breakfast speaks to him. Ask them to guess what it says.
- Tell students to watch carefully as you are going to test their powers of observation. Play the clip in full.
- Put students into pairs and give out a set of cut up sentences to each pair (included in the PDF download). Alternatively, give out pairs of scissors and ask students to cut up the sentences for themselves.
- Ask students to put the sentences into the correct order from memory.
- Play the clip again and let students check their answer / make changes.
- Do a feedback and drill pronunciation of the sentences. Answers:
* A man’s breakfast tells him to go.
* He stands up and leaves his flat.
* He goes past the postman.
* The postman drops his letters and joins him.
* They go through some bushes.
* They go over a swimming pool.
* They go past a bus stop and the people waiting join them.
* They go through an office and the people in the office join them.
* They go into one phone box and out of another.
* They go around a corner and through a narrow lane.
* They go around a robot made of cardboard boxes.
* The man gets back to his flat. He walks through the glass and goes inside.
* He sits down.
- Ask students to return the sentences to you if you intend to recylcle them.
- Give out copies of Worksheet 2 (included in the PDF download). This is a gap fill in which students are required to recall and write the prepositions which are now missing from the above sentences.
- Let students compare answers.
- Go over the answers again and drill the language again.
- Ask students if they can tell you where the advert was filmed (could it be Lisbon?)
Very useful. Thanks for the ideas.
Thank you Marián! :-)
The idea is great but i think drilling can be replaced with some productive follow-ups.
Hello Yunus
I think I agree with you. Perhaps a missed opportunity on my part. Any suggestions?
Jamie
A pair or group work such as giving one learner a picture of a scene from the clip and making him/her describe the picture to the other one or the rest of the group may be applied as a follow-up.
Thanks Yunus
A trainee of mine once made some really cool flash cards for this lesson plan. I’ll have to get round to scanning and uploading them soon.
How about a follow up that moves away from the clip – something that involves students planning a walk around their own town that requires the use of *all* of the prepositions of movement. Depends on where you live I suppose!
In Turkey, where I am living and teaching and where public schools are relatively more crowded, such an activity could turn into a nightmare. Instead, one student closes his/her eye and the rest of the classroom describes what is happening in another video and that student tries to act the scene according to classroom’s descriptions.
Yunus – I’m not sure Jamie specifically had you in mind whilst coming up with these lesson plans..
Jamie – I think your website is brilliant!! I’m an English language assistant in France this year (a requirement of my degree program – I guess you did something similar?) Many of these exercises are very, very creative! Do you spend a lot of time planning your lessons, or have you been doing it for long enough now that it has become easier/quicker?
Also, where do you find/ come up with the idea to look for these videos?
Regards,
James
Hello James
Thank you very much for your nice comment. The answer to your question is that I do spend quite a lot of time watching clips and thinking what to do with them (maybe too much time!?) A couple of places to look for clips:
* Viral video chart: http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/
* Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda+series/viralvideochart
Also, make sure that you subscribe to channels you like. And also make sure that you bookmark good clips that you find – you never know when you might go back to them.
Thanks again. I appreciate the support.
Jamie :-)
Wow. This is so refreshing teaching preposition. Wonderful video
Keep up the great work. :)
Thank you Ilse
Jamie :-)
This is a great resource. Looks like a really good lesson, will be teaching it tomorrow!
Thanks Johnny :-)
Congrats for your hard work!!! You’re really creative
Thank you Lu!
J :-)
Hi Jamie,
since I ‘discovered’ your website, whenever I’m short of ideas or short of time, I come back to it and pick some of your lessons which are always fun and useful. I think you’re doing a great job. Thank you ever so much. I’ll be back :)
Thank you Shelia
A pleasure to hear from you
Jamie :)