This ELL lesson is designed around the beautiful stop motion animated short film Zero, written and directed by Christopher Kezelos. Students learn vocabulary from the film. They are also introduced to the concept of the word ‘synopsis’, which they use to make predictions about the film.
Language Level: Intermediate
Time: 50 minutes
Topic: Zero short film and movie synopses
I. Warm-up (1-5 min)
- Seat students in groups of 4.
- Using Zero Lesson PPT, ask class: “What should we do during class today?”
- Inevitably, at least one student will shout out, “Watch a movie!”
- Tell student that if s/he can give you a good reason, maybe you’ll say yes.
- Students will always come up with some reason, usually about how it’s good for their mental health (the student that persuades the teacher will be a hero for the rest of class).
- Agree to show a movie.
II. Presentation (10 min)
- Tell students that before watching the movie, we have to prepare.
- Hand out Zero Vocabulary and tell students to complete with their groups.
- If any group thinks they have completed the matching perfectly, they should call over teacher to check.
- After a few minutes, review answers as a whole class. Clarify and give examples.
III. Practice and Production (20-25 min)
- Using PPT, introduce the concept of a ‘synopsis’ and elicit the synonym ‘summary’ to cement student understanding. Introduce the synopsis for Jurassic Park:
- Tell students that the title of the film, as they can see from their vocabulary handout, is Zero.
- Tell students it is their task to write a synopsis for the film – BEFORE WATCHING IT. Have each group blindly pick a genre from Zero Synopsis Group Genres handout.
- Each group should work together to brainstorm and write a ~4-sentence synopsis, given their genre – Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Romance, Crime/Detective, or Sports.
- Tell students they should use at least 2 vocabulary words they learned earlier in class to write their synopsis.
- Student groups then present their synopses by either nominating one student to speak on behalf of the group, or having each student read one sentence.
IV. Show film (12 min)
- Depending on student level, show with English subtitles or not.
- Hopefully a detail or two from the group prediction synopses will emerge in the film, which always amuses students.
Materials:
– Zero Lesson PPT
– Zero Vocabulary handout
– Zero Synopsis Group Genres handout
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