Today we are going to see the second part of the movie "The commitments". The film is based on the book of the same name by Roddy Doyle
Many of Roddy Doyle's books are based on the north side of Dublin where there have been a lot of problems of unemployment, social isolation and addiction. The characters in the film (book) reflect this misery. Their language, social values and lifestyles reflect the problems which they face. So, how can you find a way of getting out of the circle of poverty? Traditionally, music and sports have been a way for people to break the circle of poverty and achieve success. This is the story of the Rise and Fall of the Commitments- "the hardest working band in the world" After the film I want you to discuss why you think they chose soul music as their goal? What are the roots of soul music? What other ways are there for people from the ghetto to succeed in life? Why did their dream go wrong? What should they have done differently? Can you think of any examples in real life of successful groups who have broken up and gone their own way? Finally, the film was almost like a musical. Before that was a very popular kind of film. Why do you think it is not popular today? Discuss these questions. Finally how many people have already read their book and would like to do the questions in week 10? Hope you have a great holiday. See you on the 8th March
Today we are going to revise for a mini-test which will be this Friday. The subject is the text from from Echo Short Stories- My Best Friend's Dad. The test will consist of 4 parts: 1. Knowing the text- Re-read the text today so that you can AT LEAST answer the comprehension questions on page 66 (what happened) 2.Words from the text-You should know the meaning of the words in the exercise with the same name on page 67 3. Phrases from the text-Check out the meaning of the phrases on page 67/68 4.Write about the text- Either continue the text where it left off or a letter from either Anisha or Charlie to the other person the day after they have found out the truth. Good luck! Remember all the answers are on the webpage... While this is going on I'm going to start to talk to you about your grades
Today I want those who haven't completed the National Test to do so. 1. Role Play 2 or 3 students Either Anisha and Dad OR Anisha, Charlie and Dad Continue where the story left off... How? Why? When? Where ? What next? 2. Exercises from the book:- P. 66 What happened- Discuss ORALLY with your neighbour p. 67 WORDS p. 69 DISCUSS Charlie/Anisha's Dad 3. Exercises from the Internet:- a)Online exercises b)Listening Comprehension Listen to the text about Divorce and fill in the worksheet
Now most people have done the Reading and Listening. I will try to get all the papers marked and back by the beginning of next week. Please inform me if you have missed either part of the test. The next few lessons we will work with a short story from the Echo Short Stories book which was the most requested in your planning. The story is called "My best friend's dad" by Bali Rai. Bali Rai is a writer for mostly young people who lives in the city of Leicester in a very multicultural community. All of his books are set there in a real melting pot of people from different countries, backgrounds, religious beliefs etc. Here he is in a short YouTube clip talking about his home city
He is a very successful writer and has written loads of books about burning subjects. Here is his homepage. Working in pairs I'm going to give you a 5 minute task of finding out what the theme of his different books are: Now to today's Short Story. As you can see on page 66 there are loads of ways of practising reading using different methods. We are going to start off by listening to the story WITHOUT the book open. What impressions do you get of Anisha and Charlie? If they were living in Sweden what kind of place would be in focus? What is the twist at the end of the story? How believable is it? NOW read the story in pairs. Stop at the bottom of each page... Any new words, slang or other surprises? Loads of really English things that you've probably never heard of.. Examples? Finally DO a roleplay between Anisha and her father after the story ends!
