Observe and Report: Shocking Moments

We usually talk about shocking moments in our classes. I used this funny scene - one of my favorite ones on this blog -  to illustrate the topic and have students role-play the continuation of the scene. 





Definitions provided by Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 


Shocking: 1. extremely surprising: 2. offending or upsetting someone by doing or saying something which they consider is immoral or unacceptable. 


I. Work in pairs:


1. Think about two events that have been in the news recently which would apply for each of the definitions for the word SHOCKING.

2. Tell each other two situations in which you were shocked. Try to come up with one situation for each definition.

3. Think about three things that would probably shock your parents (children). Mind definition 1.

4. Think about three things that would shock you. Mind definition 2.


II. Watch the segment from the movie Observe and Report. Than answer the questions that follow.



1. Describe the scene.

2. The main character is shocked. Which definition (1 or 2) better applies to this shocking moment.

3. How would you react if you were in her shoes?

4. Did she overreact or was the situation shocking enough? Explain it.

5. What should happen to the guy who shocked the girl? Justify your answer.


III. Role-Play:


SCENARIO 1:




S1: You are a police officer. Ask the victim to describe what happened and decide what you are going to do about it.




S2: You are the victim. Answer the police officer's questions and tell him what you want him to do about the situation.


SCENARIO 2:




S1: You are a police officer. You have caught the suspect. Ask him what and why he acted that way. Decide what you are going to do about it.




S2: You are the suspect. Come up with a good explanation for your behavior. Try to be as convincing as possible. Make the police officer believe that your behavior is not a reason for concern. 


MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - OBSERVE AND REPORT