Source: https://slev.

life/celta-pass-a-examples

Name: Steven Levithan

Lesson: TP8 – Writing
Lesson length: 45 minutes
Lesson date: 2020-12-18
Level: Pre-Intermediate
Number of learners: 6-15

Main Aims
• To develop and practice product writing skills by writing a short review of a movie they have
seen. Comentado [CT1]: Accurate wording
•

Subsidiary Aims
• To develop and practice functional language related to writing movie reviews.
• To practice reading for detailed understanding in the context of a movie review.

Personal Aims
• To use clear, concise instructions that provide adequate STT.
• To manage time effectively so Ss will have sufficient time to write a movie review.

Anticipated Problems & Solutions Comentado [CT2]: good

• Language problem: Ss might struggle to use the provided functional phrases in their own
writing.
◦ Solution: Demo by showing an example movie review that uses the phrases in context,
assist Ss who ask for help with their writing by making suggestions, and provide feedback
at the end about how to reformulate language and use the phrases.
• Time management problem: Ss might not have enough time to complete the writing task.
◦ Solution: Provide Ss with a model to follow. Encourage Ss to not worry about getting things
perfect.

Materials & References Comentado [CT3]: good

• Google Slides
<https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vD9dU_JanBffWs_M_6Z36nu67wSJRulp0m3B0
60XGXk/edit>
• Google Forms
◦ Movie review questions task: <https://forms.gle/s3WkXkcUe4scWRLB8>
• Google Docs
◦ Student worksheet:
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uAEWxFMvCGZx1lZxubJEpYokC1H45T1XORjw2s1
cPVY/edit>
• Zoom breakout rooms, whiteboard
• Movie related images from Google Images
 • Film reviews, British Council [website], <https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/film-
reviews>

Language Analysis Comentado [CT4]: complete

Language based on stars as rate it

Context The movie is based on a Eddie Redmayne stars as I rate it 5 stars (out of 5).
book. Hawking.
Meaning The movie uses the facts The actor (Eddie Redmayne) To judge the value of
and ideas from a book appears in the movie and something, usually using a
about the same subject. plays the character ranking system (e.g., 4 out
(Hawking). Implies that the of 5 stars).
CCQs: actor is famous or in a
• Was there a book before leading role. CCQs:
the movie? (Yes) • Do I have an opinion
• Is the movie similar to CCQs: about it? (Yes)
the book? (Yes) • Does Eddie Redmayne act • Do I think it’s very good?
in the movie? (Yes) (Yes)
• Which character does he
play? (Hawking)
Form Phrasal verb. Can be considered a phrasal Colocation of a present
verb (since “as” changes the simple verb and pronoun.
meaning from “includes” to
“portrays”) or a colocation subject + rate(-s) it + rating
of a present simple verb
and preposition.

name + stars as + character

Pronunciation /beɪst ɑn/ /stɑrz əz/ /reɪt ɪt/
Appropriacy Neutral Neutral to slightly informal Neutral

“Portrays” and “appears as”

are more objective (and
therefore more formal)
alternatives.
Notes Can be used in similar The meaning changes from
phrases like “based on real “portrays” to “includes” if
life” or “based on what I the preposition “as” is
heard”. omitted (e.g., “The movie
stars Eddie”).

“As” can be replaced with

“in” to describe where they
appear rather than who
 they portray (e.g., “Eddie
stars in the movie”).

Procedures
Lead In – 6 min – S-S / T-S

• Introduce Ss to the topic of the lesson.

◦ “Today we’ll talk about movies and write our own short movie reviews.” Comentado [CT5]: Good scripted wording
• Ask Ss what are some questions to answer in a movie review. Elicit 2-3 answers. Comentado [CT6]: good
◦ “What information do you learn from a movie review?”
• Show the following questions on a slide: Comentado [CT7]: let them discuss these in BoR. Ok good.
◦ What is the movie’s title?
◦ What genre is it?
◦ What is it about?
◦ Is it based on a book?
◦ Who stars in the movie?
◦ Did you like the movie?
• Elicit meaning of potentially new lexis for Ss (genre, based on, stars in) and make sure they
understand the questions. Comentado [CT8]: good
◦ For genre: “What do you call the type of movie?”. Provide examples: comedy, action,
drama.
◦ For based on: “How can you say that a movie comes from a book?” Mention that you can
also say “based on real life”. Comentado [CT9]: Well scripted wording
◦ For stars in: “If an actor is in a movie, how can you say that in natural language? For
example, Brad Pitt _____ Fight Club.”
• Ask Ss to talk in pairs:
◦ Instructions: “Take 3 minutes to talk in pairs. Choose a movie you’ve both seen and answer
these questions about the movie.” Comentado [CT10]: Well set
• Share questions in chat, then send Ss to breakout rooms.
• Nominate 2-3 students to share which movies they discussed.

Sample Analysis – 7-10 min – S-S / T-S

Layout:
• Share an example movie review with Ss, with attached questions.
• Ask Ss to work in pairs (using breakout rooms) to read the review and check whether the
writer answered all the questions.
◦ Instructions: “Work in pairs for 3 minutes to read the movie review and check if the writer
answered all the questions.” Comentado [CT11]: Ok.
◦ Give demo: “For example, for ‘What is the movie’s title?’, we see it in the movie review
here so we can check here.” (Highlight text and check box.) Comentado [CT12]: Well set
• In OCFB, nominate Ss to answer 2-3 of the questions and explain where they found the
information in the review.
 ◦ “[Name], did the writer say what genre it is? Which sentence do you see that in?”
• Show the review again on a whiteboard, and ask Ss how many paragraphs the writer used. (2)
• Elicit what information goes in each paragraph, and annotate the screen as they do: Comentado [CT13]: Well analyzed layout. How could you
◦ 1st paragraph: make this more student centered?

▪ Movie title.
▪ Genre.
▪ What it’s about.
▪ If it’s based on a book or real life.
▪ Who stars in it.
◦ 2nd paragraph:
▪ What the writer liked or disliked.
▪ Maybe a short summary.
▪ A rating.

Language: Comentado [CT14]: Effective language analysis- could

• Ask Ss to identify words and phrases used for parts of the review: have been more student centered.

◦ What is it about: “about”, “tells the story of”

◦ Is it from a book: “based on”
◦ Who are the actors in the movie: “stars as”, “plays”
◦ Did they like the movie: “love”, “rate it 5 stars”
• Ask Ss if the language is formal or informal. (Neutral to slightly formal)
• Ask Ss if the review is mostly positive or negative.
◦ “Exactly, it’s positive. If it was mostly negative they would not give it 5 stars.”

Writing – 15-20 min – S / T-S

• Share the student worksheet, which includes the example movie review with key lexis
highlighted.
• Instructions: “Take 1 minute to think of a movie or book you want to review. For example, Comentado [CT15]: Good idea to give them time to think
Harry Potter or The Matrix.” about movie.

◦ Ask 1-2 students what they picked.

• Instructions: “Individually, take 3 minutes to write answers to the questions in the document
for your movie.” Comentado [CT16]: Well scaffolded task
◦ Give demo on screen: Comentado [CT17]: Good demo
▪ Title: The Theory of Everything.
▪ Genre: Drama.
◦ Ask ICQs:
▪ Which questions will you write answers for? (Questions in the document)
▪ Are we working together or individually? (Individually)
▪ Are we writing the review yet? (No)
• Instructions: “Now let’s take 10 minutes to write a short review like the example. It should be 2
paragraphs and 35 to 55 words at most. Try to use some of the phrases we learned that are in
bold.” Comentado [CT18]: Good mentioning this,
◦ Ask ICQs: Comentado [CT19]: accurate
▪ How many words will you write? (35-55)
 ▪ How many paragraphs should there be? (2)
▪ How many minutes do you have to write? (10)
◦ “Try your best and don’t worry about being perfect. If you have any questions or need help
with language, please send me questions in the chat.”
• Give 10 minutes for Ss to write their reviews individually.
◦ Near the end, ask Ss to send their reviews in the chat when they’re ready.
◦ Aside: For student Angelica, who is using a phone to attend the class and might have more
technical challenges, tell her she can send me an email.
• As Ss send their reviews, upload them to a document for later review.

Feedback – 7-10 min – S-S

• Compliment Ss on excellent writing and ideas in their reviews.

• Instructions: “Now we’re going to check each other’s work in pairs, using a checklist.”
• Paste checklist in document, and go over it with Ss. Comentado [CT20]: good, but no handout for this one.
◦ Give a demo using the example review. Ask Ss to answer a couple questions from the Directly in the chat box.

checklist. E.g., “Does this review include the movie’s title?” (Yes) Comentado [CT21]: Good demo
• Share checklist in chat.
• Give 5 minutes in breakout rooms to check each other’s writing and give feedback.
◦ Ask ICQs:
▪ How will you share your reviews with each other? (In chat)
▪ What will you use to check each other’s reviews? (The checklist)
◦ “Great, see you in 5 minutes.”

Post – 5 min – T-S

• Compliment Ss on good writing and feedback.

• Use a document to go over a few examples of Ss’ writing.
◦ Elicit from Ss whether items from the checklist are missing, and how to fix it.
▪ Highlight 1 sentence at a time, where they made a mistake.
• E.g., “What is missing here?” or “Does this review include the title?”
• Ask: “How can it be fixed/added?”
◦ Highlight errors and good examples of language and grammar. Have Ss discuss
reformulated ways to write the same things more naturally.
◦ Provide corrections as appropriate.

Appendix A: Example Movie Review Comentado [CT22]: good

The Theory of Everything is a drama about scientist Stephen Hawking. It’s based on a book. It tells the
story of Hawking’s life. Eddie Redmayne stars as Hawking.

I love the acting. The movie is sometimes sad but the story is interesting. I rate it 5 stars.

(=47 words)
Appendix B: Checklist
1. Does it include the movie’s title?
2. Does it include a rating?
3. Does it say what the movie is about?
4. Does it have 2 paragraphs?
5. Is it between 35-55 words?

Appendix C: Answer Key

Movie review questions task: <https://forms.gle/s3WkXkcUe4scWRLB8>

What is the movie’s title?

What genre is it?
What is it about?
Is it based on a book?
Who stars in the movie?
Did they like the movie?

Appendix D: Screenshots
Slides:
<https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vD9dU_JanBffWs_M_6Z36nu67wSJRulp0m3B060XGXk/ed
it>
Movie review questions task: <https://forms.gle/s3WkXkcUe4scWRLB8>
Student worksheet:
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uAEWxFMvCGZx1lZxubJEpYokC1H45T1XORjw2s1cPVY/edit>