Sunday, August 25, 2024

Past Continuous Story: Video and Worksheet

(TESOL Materials--Past Continuous)

Slideshow: slides, pub
Worksheet: docs, pub

Notes: The video is from Side by Side, and comes from the Youtube channel LANGUAGE PLANET TOLUCA, which I've linked to before.  
At 6:55, it's a rather long video--much longer than I would normally like for a model text.  But the video is so well done and entertaining that I find my students don't mind when I play the whole thing.  (I've also given this video to colleagues, and they've successfully used it in their lessons.)
For the lead-in, I display slide 1, which shows a picture of a power cut.  I try to elicit from students what the English word is, and provide it if needed (the word comes up on the animation).  Students then talk to a partner about what they were doing the last time there was a power-cut.
Because the video is so long, there is no gist task.  Instead, we jump right into specific information questions with the worksheet.
The second page of the worksheet contains a noticing task, but this can also be skipped if you don't want to replay the video.
In the clarification stage, Slides 4-7 then contain sentences from the video.  The meaning of these can be checked with concept checking questions.
The last slide of the slideshow contains a link to the Kahoot game, which I've mentioned in the previous post.




https://youtu.be/jkOXNxoMClA?si=IO6w87e9FFP3UAv0 

What were people doing when the lights went out? 

 

 

 

 

 

Why did the lights go out? 

 

What was the man doing at 2:30 yesterday? 

 

What was the man doing at 4:00 yesterday? 

 

What were the tenants doing when the burglars broke into the building yesterday afternoon?

*This is Side by Side TV News, morning edition.  With Bob Rogers and Jackie Williams.  María Hernandez with the weather, and Chip Stevens on sports.*

Bob: Good Morning everybody, along with Jackie Williams, I’m Bob Rogers. Well, as you all know by now, there was a blackout in Centerville last night.  The lights went out all over town.

Jackie: Side by Side TV News reporter Scott Mason is standing by downtown to find out what people _______________  last night when the lights went out. Scott, are you there?

------------
Scott: Jackie, it seems like everybody in town is talking about the blackout last night.  Everyone has a story to tell. What _______________ last night when the lights went out?

Man1: I _______________  the dishes and my wife _______________  the baby a bath.

Woman1: I _______________  my clothes at the laundromat, and suddenly, everything got dark.

Woman2: My husband and I _______________  TV, and our children were doing their homework.

Scott: And what _______________  last night when the lights went out? Excuse me! 

Teenager: Yeah?

Scott: What _______________  last night when the lights went out?

Teenager: Did the lights go out last night?

Scott: Yes. The lights went out all over town.

Teenager: Huh. How about that? I didn’t even know. I_______________  to music all night.
Scott: You _______________  to music?! But there was no electricity!
Teenager: Batteries.
Transcript

*This is Side by Side TV News, morning edition.  With Bob Rogers and Jackie Williams.  María Hernandez with the weather, and Chip Stevens on sports.*

Bob: Good Morning everybody, along with Jackie Williams, I’m Bob Rogers. Well, as you all know by now, there was a blackout in Centerville last night.  The lights went out all over town.

Jackie: Side by Side TV News reporter Scott Mason is standing by downtown to find out what people were doing last night when the lights went out. Scott, are you there?

------------
Scott: Jackie, it seems like everybody in town is talking about the blackout last night.  Everyone has a story to tell. What were you doing last night when the lights went out?

Man1: I was washing the dishes and my wife was giving the baby a bath.

Woman1: I was washing my clothes at the laundromat, and suddenly, everything got dark.

Woman2: My husband and I were watching TV, and our children were doing their homework.

Scott: And what were you doing last night when the lights went out? Excuse me! 

Teenager: Yeah?

Scott: What were you doing last night when the lights went out?

Teenager: Did the lights go out last night?

Scott: Yes. The lights went out all over town.

Teenager: Huh. How about that? I didn’t even know. I was listening to music all night.

Scott: You were listening to music?! But there was no electricity!

Teenager: Batteries.

Scott: So you see, Bob and Jackie, everybody is talking about what they were doing last night when the lights went out. But why did the lights go out? To find the answer, Side by Side TV News reporter Gloria Rodriguez is standing by at the main office of the power company. Gloria?

-------------
Gloria: I’m here at the main office of the Centerville power company with Fred Watts, the company’s director of Public Information. Mr. Watts, what happened last night?

Fred: Well, Gloria, as you know, the lights went out all over town.

Gloria: Yes, we know that, Mr. Watts. Can you tell us why?

Fred: Well, we aren’t sure yet. We know it was raining very hard when the blackout occurred, but we aren’t certain that’s the reason for the problem. We’re working on it.

Gloria: Mr. Watts, is it true that you were all having a big party here last night, and nobody was watching the controls?

Fred: Absolutely not! We were working here and doing our jobs as usual.

Gloria: Well, thank you for talking with us, Mr. Watts. So Bob and Jackie, that’s what we know right now. It was raining very hard last night, and perhaps that’s the reason the lights went out all over town. This is Gloria Rodriguez, reporting live from the power company for Side by Side TV News.

--------------
Jackie: Thank you, Gloria. What a night! What were you doing last night when the lights went out?

Bob: I was washing the dishes.

Jackie: How about your wife? What was Doris doing last night when the lights went out?

Bob: She was taking a bath.

Jackie: I was still working in the building.  Did you hear what happened to the Station Manager and his wife?

Bob. No. What were Mr. and Mrs. Green doing last night when the lights went out?

Jackie: They were riding in the elevator.

Bob: Oh, that’s terrible!

Jackie: Coming up, a robbery on River Street. We’ll be back, in a moment.

----Commercial Break--

Woman: I saw you yesterday. But you didn’t see me.

Man: Really? When?

Woman: At about 2:30. You were getting out of a taxi on Main Street.

Man: That wasn’t me. Yesterday at 2:30 I was cooking dinner.

Woman: Hmmm...I guess I made a mistake.

*Stay tuned for: “Our Neighbors, Our Lives”.  Coming up, after the Morning News*

----------------
Doctor: Hi. This is Ernesto Retina. Owner of “I SEE YOU”: your one-stop place for eye examinations and eyeglasses.  Does this scene look familiar?

Man1: I saw you yesterday, but you didn’t see me.

Man2: Really? When?

Man1: At about 4:00. You were jogging through the park.

Man2: That wasn’t me. Yesterday at 4:00 I was playing tennis.

Man1: Hmmm...I guess I made a mistake.

Doctor: Don’t let this happen to you. Come to “I SEE YOU” for an eye examination, today!  This is Ernesto Retina saying: I’ll see you at “I SEE YOU”.

--------------
Bob: There was a robbery at 151 River Street yesterday afternoon. Side by Side TV News reporter Maxine Baxter talked with the tenants of the building and filed this report.

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Maxine: Yesterday wasn’t a very good day for the people who live at 151 River Street.  Burglars broke into every apartment in the building, while all the tenants were out. What were you folks doing yesterday afternoon?

Man1: I was washing my clothes at the laundromat.

Woman1: I was visiting a friend in the hospital.

Woman2: We were having a picnic at the beach.

Man2: I was playing tennis in the park.

Maxine: And how about you? What were you doing?

Man3: My roommate and I were attending a football game. 

Woman3: I was out of town. I was visiting my grandchildren in Ohio.

Maxine: And how do you all feel about what happened?

Woman2: I’m really upset!

Man2: It’s terrible.

Woman1: I can’t believe it.

Maxine: Yesterday certainly was an unfortunate day for the people at 151 River Street. They had no idea that while they were away, burglars broke in to every apartment in the building. Today, everybody is trying to put their apartments, and their lives, back together.  Maxine Baxter, Side by Side TV News.

--------------
Jackie: Police are still investigating the robbery at 151 River Street.  As of now, there are no suspects.

Bob: And that’s the Side by Side TV News, Morning Edition for today. We’ll see you this evening. I’m Bob Rogers.

Jackie: And I’m Jackie Williams. “Our Neighbors, Our Lives” is next. Have a good day!

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