Who does what? – YouTube technique

Who does what? – YouTube technique
Submitted by leosel on 15 June, 2011 - 13:09
In this YouTube-based activity, students watch a scene from an animated film and observe the actions performed by characters. The activity is suitable for low level students (primary school) since the focus here is not on listening. The technique can be used to review present tenses and vocabulary for daily routine and adapted for other cartoons or films.

Preparation

Open the YouTube video Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk6zbY8i4_8&feature=related).
Procedure

Put students in pairs and hand out the worksheets. Ask students to tell their partner whether their mother or father does any of the activities in the box in the morning (can be changed to brother and sister if necessary). Circulate and monitor.
Ask students if they have seen other cartoons from the Wallace & Gromit series. If they haven’t, explain who Wallace and Gromit are. Use a picture if possible. Explain that Wallace is a crazy scientist and Gromit is his loyal dog.
Tell the students to watch the scene carefully and mark W (Wallace) or G (Gromit) next to the activities in the box.
After watching, ask students to check the answers with their partner before checking it with the whole class. Encourage students to practise the 3rd person singular while checking their answers e.g. ‘Wallace reads the newspaper’.
Answers

W: wakes up, gets up, gets dressed, reads the post, eats toast
G: drinks tea, makes some toast, checks the calendar, collects the post, makes breakfast, reads the newspaper

Extension
Language focus
You can draw students’ attention to the difference between wake up and get up by asking what happens first and how much time passes between the two. Also point out that toast in English is not countable. We make some toast or have a piece of toast for breakfast. Make a toast means raise a glass and drink to someone’s health, happiness, etc. Please note that the verbs in the activity are in the 3rd person singular. Students at this stage may have not mastered the third person singular ending; therefore the verbs are deliberately given with an –s at the end to aid the correct use during pair work.