10 grammar teaching activities from one video clip

That really is something, isnt it? At this point I should mention that the footage is
available in royalty free format from www.archive.org.
Now, lets think of all the ways we can use this clip to uncover grammar points in the
classroom. You might want to use it for any one of these points, or combine several to
make for one lesson themed around early 20th Century San Francisco: the choice is
yours.
Talking about the past
Lets deal with the obvious; this video shows history. It makes for a great opportunity
to discuss all kinds of verb tenses. Here are just a few questions you could pose your
learners:
1. Simple past
What did people wear in those days?
How did people dress?
A description of clothes would be a simple way to do this, while a discussion on the
formality of clothing styles would also work well
What was transport like in early 20th Century San Francisco?
How did people move around?
Draw comparison with the present time, or ask for thoughts on transport and the
amount of traffic visible.
2. Past continuous
While watching this video, make not of five things that people were doing.
Where do you think people were going? Where were people coming from?
3. Present perfect
How have styles of dress changed in the years since then?
How has transport developed since early 20th Century San Francisco?
Almost everyone is formally dressed in the clip; is the same true nowadays? What
remains and what has disappeared?
Real time action
Treat the scene as if it were happening in the here and now.
4. Present continuous
Where are people going?
What are people doing?
Consider the reasons for these actions to promote creative thinking.
Reflecting on the past
Things have changed greatly in the world since then. How did people live? What is
better or worse in the modern world? What thoughts does this video put in our
minds?
5. Unreal conditional
If you could travel back to the time and place this video was made, what 2/3
things would you like to do? Why?
6. Past habits
Based on what you saw in this video, what kind of habits did people have in early
20th Century San Francisco?
What did people use to do on a regular basis?
This again makes for an interesting comparison with modern day habits.
7. Focus on articles
This would lend itself to a nice little paragraph about how we use articles. Here are
the first few sentences for you:
This video shows ___ San Francisco (no article with city names) in 1905. It
was filmed on ___ Main Street (no article with street names). One year later,
___ earthquake (indefinite article with the first mention of a general,
non-specific noun) destroyed ___ city (definite article because we know
which city, i.e. it has already been mentioned). ___ earthquake (definite
article with the second mention of a general, non-specific noun) killed
many thousands of people and destroyed many of ___ (test time: why the
definite article here?) buildings in this clip.
Activities that develop creative thought
8. Focus on one character in the video
Look at the man in this image. Write about his life:

Tell me about this mans life.
Who was he?
Where was he going on this day?
Why was he in a rush?
Did he get onto the tram?
Where had he come from?
What was he holding in his hand?
9. Modal verbs to describe the laws of the road
Write down a list of rules for appropriate transport / pedestrian behaviour on Main
Street San Francisco in 1905. Make them funny by contrasting them with what we
can do today.
People should run in front of the tram.
Horses and cars must drive across the tram line at all times.
No one needs to be careful of traffic in any way.
10. Compare life then and now
Give 3/4/5 examples to complete each of these sentences:
Life is better/worse now because
Life was better/worse then because


Air - La Femme D'Argent.mp4