Films in four words Teaching Ideas

Introduce the idea of short film summaries with an easy example. Write these summaries on the board one after another:

1. Astronaut family’s space accident.

2. Four heroes face Doom.

3. New powers are Fantastic.

Elicit the film they refer to (Fantastic Four).

Now tell the students they will try to identify twenty other films in the same way. Students take notebooks or papers and work in pairs to guess the films.

Back in the classroom, challenge students (again, working in pairs) to devise their own word summaries for films, using four words or less. Make a rule that they can’t use the film’s title in their summaries. Give them enough time to devise five or more each. You might like to precede this activity by brainstorming films that the students have seen recently.

Finally, use the reviews to play a game. Each pair is partnered with another pair to form a team of four. However, the two pairs should sited be positioned at opposite sides of the classroom. Pairs take turns to read a review aloud. Their partner pair must try to guess the film the review is for to score points.

Activity

Can you identify these famous films? Each one is summarized using four words or less. To make it easier, there are three summaries describing each film. How many can you get right?

Film 1 Film 2

1. Aliens ‘storm’ across the Earth. a) Sequel not so sharp.

2. E. T. catches cold. b) Donnie solves Jigsaw puzzle.

3. Aliens Cruise to the Earth. c) Jigsaw tortures more victims.

Film 3 Film 4

1. The model assassin. a) Uma avenges wedding bloodbath.

2. Model learns to relax. b) One wedding, many funerals.

3. Crazy supermodel loses popularity. c) Heroine comes to blows with ‘evil’.

Film 5 Film 6

1. Winslet’s love life wrecked. a) Big Fat Green Wedding.

2. King of World drowns. b) Dragoness hot for donkey.

3. Met Rose, and then froze. c) The Green Princess Bride.

Film 7 Film 8

1. Cruise punishes victimless crimes. a) Pit ‘takes out’ wife.

2. Mind reading crime stoppers. b) Under cover couple uncovered.

3. Future crime, present problem. c) Exchanging vows to kill.

Film 9 Film 10

1. Scarred head, parents dead. a) Maid for each other.

2. Brooms. Wands. Pointy hats. b) Making Beds, Borrowing Clothes.

3. Potter faces two-faced professor. c) J. Lo’s Cinderella story.

Film 11 Film 12

1. Genie dreams for freedom. a) Parker beats school bully.

2. Street rat makes wish. b) Spider’s web catches girl.

3. Thief wins princess’s heart. c) Slingin’, swingin’, and clingin’.

Film 13 Film 14

1. Hanks, beach, bouncy companion. a) Stretchy Mom saves Dad.

2. Desert island delays delivery. b) Superhero family fights fan.

3. Lonely Hanks grows beard. c) Monster baby surprises Syndrome.

Film 15 Film 16

1. Little fish, big lies. a) Talk to the ham.

2. Angelina: big lipped fish. b) ‘Woof’ becomes ‘Oink’.

3. Will Smith’s first Oscar. c) Talking pig wins big.

Film 17 Film 18

1. Treasure hunting’s no game! a) NY hits Ice Age.

2. Lara steals strange object. b) Tornadoes rip Hollywood apart.

3. Jolie’s time with Dad. c) Smart kids burn books.

Film 19 Film 20

1. Psychiatrist needs medical attention! a) Family movie kills viewers.

2. Bruce has no life. b) Don’t watch the tape.

3. Kid sees dead people. c) Watch, answer, die soon.