Aug 25, 2014

Ender's Game: Adjectives that Describe Personality



Don't miss this movie. It is excellent sci-fi. I will prepare several activities with its scenes!

I. Work with a partner:

1. What are the qualities a good leader  must and must not have?

2. Can someone learn how to be a leader, or are they born one?

3. Do you consider yourself a good leader? Explain it.

4. Can you think of influential leaders? Give examples. 


II. Read the quotes below about leadership. Discuss with each other their meanings and whether you agree with them: 

"The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves."
- Ray Kroc

"An effective leader is defined by results not whether they make great speeches or is liked."

- Peter Drucker  "The process of influencing others to perform a task by providing purpose, direction and motivation."
- The Army

"Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.
- John Maxwell

"Leadership is someone who gives hope."
- Tom Peters  

"A true leader is someone who inspires others to become more of who they truly are.  They bring out the talent in people and have them put it to use over and over.  They inspire others to be more than they ever dreamed of."
- Anthony Robbins

"A leader is someone that people follow."
- Warren Buffett   

"Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very  heart of things, not the periphery."
- Warren Bennis

III. Match the adjectives that describe leadership and their meanings:

1. Responsible

2. Self-confident

3. Competitive

4. Bossy

5. independent

6. Ambitious

7. Sensible

8. Imaginative

9. Enthusiastic

10. Principled

11. Self-assured

12. Tough-minded



( ) People who like giving orders to other people

( ) people who always want to win

( ) People who trust their abilities or skills

( ) Worthy of trust

( ) People who have common sense and are practical

( ) has or shows great excitement and interest; 

( ) shows poise and confidence in your own worth;

( ) has high moral principles

( ) People you can trust or depend on

( ) People who want to be successful in life

( )  Faces facts and difficulties with strength and determination; realistic and resolute.

( ) People who are creative and good at thinking new ideas

IV. Watch the movie segment and discuss the questions.




1. What is a mind game, in this case?

2. What personality traits does Ender have?

3. What do you think about their leadership training?

4. What did Ender do that stood out the others?

5. Which adjectives in exercise III would you use to describe Ender?

6. Which adjectives would you use to describe the other leaders shown in the segment?

7. Are they all effective leaders? Explain it.



Answer key:

Competitive - people who always want to win

Reliable -People you can trust or depend on

Responsible - Worthy of trust

Insecure - People who do not trust their abilities/skills

Self-confident - People who trust their abilities or skills

Independent - People who like doing things on their own, without help

Bossy - People who like giving orders to other people

Sensible - People who have common sense and are practical

Imaginative - People who are creative and good at thinking new ideas

Ambitious - People who want to be successful in life

Enthusiastic - Has or shows great excitement and interest

Principled - Has high moral principles

Tough-minded - Faces facts and difficulties with strength and determination; realistic and resolute

Self-assured - Shows poise and confidence in your own worth

Aug 15, 2014

Closed Circuit: Past Perfect Continuous




This is a great thriller. Its gripping plot and piercing beginning are amazing. Don't miss it.

I. Watch the segment. What were people doing when the bomb exploded?
Check the correct items.


( ) 1. A mother and her pregnant daughter were walking and holding each other.

( ) 2. A man was using the cell phone.

( ) 3. A mother was feeding her baby.

( ) 4. A woman wearing a purple handkerchief on her head was shopping.

( ) 5. A truck was making manoeuvres near the rear entrance.


II. Now rewrite the sentences you checked in exercise I. Add how long they had been doing those things and make the necessary changes in the verb forms.

Ex: When the bomb exploded, a huge crowd had been walking around the market since the beginning of the morning.


WHEN THE BOMB EXPLODED

1. _____________________________________________ 
2. _____________________________________________ 
3. _____________________________________________ 
4. _____________________________________________ 
5. _____________________________________________


III. Talk to a partner.


1. Do you worry about terrorist threats where you live? How do you protect yourself?

2. If you consider the place where you live, what are the greatest fears of the population in terms of security/violence? What is the weight of terrorism in this situation.

3. Are you optimistic or pessimistic about terrorist threats? Do you think they will get worse or will they be less frequent in the future? Justify it.


Answer key:

I. All items are to be checked.

II. 

1. They had been walking and holding each other for .................................

2. A man had been using the cell phone for ................................

3. She had been feeding her baby for ................................

4. She had been shopping for.................................

5. It had been making manoeuvres for ...............................


WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - CLOSED CIRCUIT

Aug 5, 2014

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Wish x Hope



This is one of my  favorite movies. The story is fascinating. It has the magic of cinema telling an impossible and far fetched, but moving story of an amazing couple. I have seen it several times!


 The word “hope” is used to talk about POSSIBLE situations that we desire in the past, present or future. The important thing to note is that these situations are POSSIBLE

“Wish” is used to talk about situations that we desire, but which are the opposite of the current reality or which are IMPOSSIBLE

I. Here are a few things a mother told her daughter during her childhood and adolescence years. Now she regrets having said that. Rewrite the sentences, expressing regrets by using WISH.

1. I can't kiss you goodnight.

2. I can't take you to your first day of school.

3. I can't be there to teach you to play piano.

4. I can't tell you not to chase some boy.

5. I can't hold you when you have a broken heart.

6. I can't be your father.


II. Now imagine her father telling her what he would like her daughter to be/have in her future years. Rewrite them, using HOPE.

1. Make the best of it.

2. See things that startle you.

3. Feel things you never felt before.

4. Meet people with  different point of view.

5.  Live a life you can be proud of.

6. Have the strength to start all over again.


III. Now watch the movie segment and check your answers.

 
 IV.

Work with a partner. Come up with 3 sentences expressing regrets, using wish. Your sentences have to be true. They can be about your lives, your country, the world, whatever comes to your mind.

V. Come up with 3 sentences expressing desires you would like to come true, using hope.



Answer key:

I. 

I wish I could have kissed you goodnight.
I wish I could have taken you to your first day of school.
I wish I could have been there to teach you to play piano.
I wish I could have told you not to chase some boy.
I wish I could have held you when you had a broken heart.
I wish I could have been your father.

II.

I hope you make the best of it.
I hope you see things that startle you.
I hope you feel things that you never felt before.
I hope you meet people with a different point of view.
I hope you live a life you're proud of.
I hope you have the strength to start all over again

WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
'