Scenes from the film series "James Bond"

In honor of the newly released James Bond film Spectre, I thought I would do a lesson that introduced the series as a whole, along with some clips from particular films. I'll be honest, there are quite a few Bond films that I either haven't seen or don't fully remember. But many of the characters and character traits are now so ubiquitous that it likely doesn't matter - they will be recognizable anyway. Nevertheless, for those without even this or any knowledge of the Bond series and its legacies, a bit of introduction is necessary. Hopefully this lesson will help do the trick. 

Background lesson plan

Video clip 1: "Bond, James Bond" scene from Dr. No (1962)

Video clip 2: "Enjoy your flight" scene from Moonraker (1979)

Video clip 3: "Certain kind of woman" scene from Skyfall (2012)

Lesson plan 

Elements of a story

"Elements of a Story" is my guide to analyzing the basic and essential points of any narrative. Namely, I include nine points in the guide, including "setting," "characterization," and "plot." The guide works best with fiction, however, I have also incorporated some of its aspects when analyzing non-fiction, and even news and other media stories in class.

In the context of the lessons on this blog, Elements of a Story can be used to aid students in discussing the contents of films and film clips.

Instructions

Scene from the film "The Darjeeling Limited" (2007)

Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited is one of my favorite films. The story beautifuly weaves together themes of family, suffering, grief, and personal growth all against the backdrop of journey and travel. Like some of the director's other films, the characters take center stage while the often fantastical settings (mansions, boats, trains, etc.) are largely symbolic representations of society and the world around us/them. The train in this case offers one of the most tried-and-true metaphors of life as a journey, and yet it by no means comes off as worn or cliche. Rather, it radiates with a simplistic innocence and, thanks to the characters' development by the end of the film, they and the audience can view it in a new light and with newfound appreciation.

Video

Lesson plan

Compare and contrast essay

This short asignment is intended to give students an example of how to write a simple (two-paragraph) comparative essay. The theme of the assignment is "technology," and students are asked to compare/contrast one negative and positive point for one example of a piece of technology. This example highlights the airplane. This assignment is designed to suppliment activities for the film Blade Runner; however, it can also be used as a stand-alone lesson.


Assignment

Scene from the film "Roman Holiday" (1953)

"Scene on the Spanish Steps"

By annonymous request I am am posting a lesson for the 1953 American classic, Roman Holiday, starring Greggory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Interestingly, this film has maintained a very strong following in Japan, and it continues to be popular even among young people who would normally have only minimal interest in old films (i.e. my students, ahem).

Video

Lesson plan

Film summaries

Lvl: Beginner
Subjects: Introductions; Love; Romance; Dreams

Scene from the film "Blade Runner" (1982)

"She's a replicant" scene from the 1982 film Blade Runner

I absolutely love this film, based on the novel by sci-fi master Phillip K. Dick (author of Minority Report, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly and many more). As the reader may or may not have been able to tell from this blog, I have a penchant for the sci-fi genre. Many such films, however, are pretty bleak (this one included) and thus a bit difficult to discuss in class. But I think Blade Runner is a nice exception; it is dark, to be sure, but also can inspire thought-provoking discussion about human's relations with technology. Find links to the video and lesson plan below, and hope you enjoy!

Video

Lesson plan

Vocabulary Review 1

Vocabulary Review 1

This review lesson focuses on vocabulary. The lesson covers material from three films: Star Wars, Rushmore, and Back to the Future.

Lesson plan

Reported Speech Review Lesson

Reported Speech

Here are two review/grammar lessons for practicing reported speech. This is commonly a difficult part of speech for Japanese ESL students to master. The contents of the Lesson plan 1 also connect with some of the films previously covered in class.

Lesson plan 1 (Movies)
Lesson plan 2 (General)

Song from the musical "West Side Story" (1961)

"America"

The kids have been pressing me to do a musical in class, and I finally caved to their demands. My two stipulations, however, were that the musical had to touch on social issues and also have good music (as decided by me, an "objective" critic who seldom listens to songs from musicals). The compromise was West Side Story, which I think nicely fits the above two criteria. Links to the song, "America," and accompanying lesson plan are below.

Video

Lesson plan

Lvl: Advanced

Subjects: Discrimination; Racism; Minorities

Scenes from the Film "E.T." (1982)

Scene 1: "It was nothing like that!"

After a fairly long hiatus from posting over summer break, I am back with a fresh set of film lessons. This first one is from the fantastic 1982 Steven Spielberg film, E.T. The film beautifully captures the struggles and challenges of a young boy growing up, and emphasizes the importance of friendship and compassion. Rated, uh, I guess PG, for language, whatever that means.

Video

Lesson plan

Film summary

Scene 2: "Across the Moon"

Although there's hardly any dialogue, this is perhaps one of the most iconic scenes from the film, and thus, I felt, worth a view. Elliott and E.T. fly across the moon.

Video

Lvl: Intermediate

Subjects: Growing up; loneliness; family

Scene from "Casablanca (1942)"

"Here's lookin' at you kid"

This is perhaps the most famous scene from the 1942 Hollywood classic, Casablanca. On a purely objective level, it's probably a good idea to have some knowledge of this film, since it is still frequently referenced and makes appearances in pop culture today. Speaking more subjectively, I particularly like HB's line about the problems of three little people not amounting to "a hill of beans in this crazy world." Truer words were never spoken. 

Video

Lesson plan

Lvl: Advanced
Subjects: Leaving; love; romance; self-sacrifice

Scenes from "Ocean's Eleven"

"A Liar and a Thief"

This scene occurs just after Danny has gotten out of prison. He's come back to patch up things with his wife Tess after their long separation. The conversation between them, typical of the Ocean's series, is full of irony, sarcasm, and back-and-forth jokes between the two. There is also great call back to the "liar and thief" line later in the film (see the scene below).

Video


"Personal Effects"

This scene comes at the end of the film after the gang has successfully pulled off their heist. The reunion between Danny and Tess marks a happy ending for the film, and the presence of Benedict's goons at the end leaves the series open for a sequel. 

Video

Lesson plan for both scenes

Scenes from the movie Titanic

"First-class dinner" scene

Here's a scene from the movie Titanic (1997) in which Jack has been invited by Rose to attend dinner in the first class. Links to the video and accompanying lesson plan are below.

Video

Lesson plan 

Film summary
Sample Written Summary

Lvl: Beginner

Subjects: Class; discrimination; overcoming difficulties

Back to the Future (1985) "You're George McFly" Scene

This is a scene from the wonderful and popular (too popular?) 1985 film Back to the Future. Links to the video clip and accompanying lesson plan are below. Enjoy!

Video

Lesson plan

Lvl: Intermediate
Subjects: Bullying; time travel

More Rushmore scenes

I wanted to post a few more clips from the Rushmore, since it is such a terrific film.

The following scenes occur before and after (respectively) the "Dinner scene" in the previous post. 

Scene 1:

The first scene, "Yearbook montage," gives a little more insight into Max's character by introducing all of the various clubs that he participates in at Rushmore. Watch it here.

Scene 2:

The next scene takes place after Max and Mr. Blume have had an argument. Mr. Blume has also been kicked out of his house by his wife and is checking into a hotel. After this, he and Max begin a series of pranks meant to get revenge on the other. The pranks gradually escalate until the very hilarious ending. Watch it here.

Rushmore "Dinner Scene"

Here's a very funny scene from the wonderful 1998 Wes Anderson film, Rushmore. Links for the video clip and accompanying study guide are below. Enjoy!

Video

Lesson plan

Star Wars Episode 5, "My Ally is the Force" Scene

Here is the video clip for the "My Ally is the Force" Scene from Star Wars Episode 5. Please also find the lesson plan below.

Video

Lesson plan

Star Wars "I Am Your Father" Scene

Here is the video clip of the "I Am Your Father" scene from Star Wars Episode 5. Please see accompanying lesson plan as well.

Video

Lesson plan

by Justin Aukema