Flight Plan: Present and Past Modals for Speculation

I. Watch the movie segment. Then write down three different explanations for what happened in the segment on a piece of paper. Use your imagination.



Ex: The boy is sleeping somewhere on the plane.
1 ___________________________________ 2 ___________________________________ 3 ___________________________________

II. Teacher collects the sheets and redistributes them among the students.
III. Students analyze their peers' explanations and write sentences with modal verbs for speculation. Remember that you should vary the modal verb according to what you believe really happened to the boy.
Observe if the sentences refer to the present or to the past. You will have to choose the correct verb form.
(PRESENT IDEA: MIGHT BARE INFINITIVE) (PAST IDEA - MIGHT HAVE PAST PARTICIPLE)

Ex:
The boy might be sleeping somewhere on the plane. (It is possible, but you don't think that is what really happened)
The boy must be sleeping somewhere on the plane. (It is very possible. You probably agree with the idea)
The boy can't be sleeping anywhere on the plane (It is not a plausible explanation. You don't believe it happened at all)

IV. Read the sentences out loud. Explain why you chose those modal verbs. Agree and disagree with your friends' ideas.

V. What is the most plausible explanation decided by the class?
WORKSHEET
MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - FLIGHT PLAN