Doing a movie talk for the first time can be very daunting! It took me a couple of tries to find out what worked best for my teaching style and the kids. No class is ever the same, so even when I have a set structure that I like to follow, I am always ready to adjust and improvise depending on my kid’s needs. My biggest tip is that you try different techniques and activities until you find what works for you too!
1. BEFORE YOU START
Decide how many days you will want to spend doing the Movie Talk. Take into consideration: the length of the video you are showing, the amount of input you and the students’ proficiency level. For me, Movie Talks take from 3 to 7 days. It is important to note I never work on a Movie Talk for more than 30 min a day!
if it is a novice class, teach key vocabulary first. Then show the video, followed by the story.
If it is a higher level class, start with the story, and before you get to the end, ask the kids’ what they think is going to happen. Then show the video.
2. THE VIDEO
After watching the video, ask them if they like it, and why/ why not. Work on reinforcing and broadening their vocabulary and structures such as me gusta/no me gusta, aburrido/divertido, etc.
If the video is longer than 4-5 minutes, I suggest you split it. This works great for higher levels, where the amount of input is higher.
After watching the video, ask students to give you a short summary of the story. This can be a bit difficult with lower levels, so with them I usually wait until we have read the story.
Tips for choosing videos:
- The lower the level, the shorter the video.
- Choose videos that will spark debate and meaningful conversations.
- When possible, choose videos that relate to your kids and/or are set in different backgrounds. That way they can compare it to their own culture.
3. THE STORY
i believe this is where most teachers do it differently. I like to have students read the stories from the screen so they hear the words, read them and make connections with the pictures.
If it is a novice-low/ novice-mid class, I stick to the story on screen and check for comprehension (more on the right side).
In higher-level classes, I also have text on the slides, but I allow myself the freedom to expand on the story or even ask them to collaborate in creating the story. You could have them choose their name, guess their personality, their love interest… Almost like you would in a “story talk”!
Other activities that you could have your kids do while reading the story: taking notes, translating key words, sketching… Think of what works for your specific class and apply it to the movie talk.
Circling:
To check if your kids are following you, make sure you “circle” by asking lots of questions. Here is how:
Start with A or B / Yes or No/ type of questions.
Example: ¿Es alto o bajo? , ¿Tiene barba?
Then move on to open-ended questions (what, where, who…)
Example: ¿Qué ropa lleva? ¿Cómo tiene el pelo?
This will keep your kids engaged while using the target language.
As always, adjust the complexity of the questions to the level.
4. RETRIEVAL GAMES
After the story, it is time to play with what they have learned. In the resource, you will find different types of games: some are online games, and some are group games.
Ideas for retrieval activities:
Every day, make some time for retrieval activities in which students have to actively recall key vocabulary or chunks from the story. Here is a few games that achieve this:
- Order the sentence as a group: present students with a Flippity sentence and ask them to rearrange it as part of a group game.
- Description of pictures: use the screenshot slides to show students 2 to 3 pictures. Then ask them to write as many words as they remember. It is even better if they try to write sentences, even if they are super simple ones or the words are not exactly the same. They can do this in pairs at the beginning and then by themselves.
- Picture “who is who”: Present students with a sheet that has a few screenshots. In pairs, student A describe pictures while B tries to guess which one it is.
- Running dictation: Use the sentence strips provided in the TpT folder to have students dictate the sentences to a partner. You could make it fun by having students run across the classroom.
5. WORKSHEETS AND REINFORCEMENT WORK
After completing the story, you can check students’ comprehension with worksheets. I like to have them complete readings that are different to our movie talk story but share the same topic, vocabulary and structures. You can also work on grammar concepts within the concept of the story. Yes, I do grammar, but always in context!
THE END!
After you are done, you can always ask the kids for their opinion. See what worked or what may need improving. I would say it’s all about making it fun and keep encouraging them. They will improve so fast and without realizing it!
Questions or suggestions? Leave them down below or shoot me a message to escuelavirtualtpt@gmail.com! 🙂
Have a wonderful day!
Laura
