Oscar 2023: lesson ideas

The 95th Oscars will be held on the 12 of March which is a great event to discuss with students. Here are some ideas on how to conduct a lesson on Oscar 2023. There are listening, reading and speaking activities for Intermediate and higher levels students.  

Lesson plan:

1. Warm-up
2. Who is Oscar?
3. Don’t trust the headlines
4. It made me cry
5. Predict the winners 
6. Take the Oscar, it’s yours

Task 1: Warm-up

Read the riddle and guess the object. 

“I am one of the most beloved and respected men in Hollywood. I can’t be bought but I can be sold for the sum of $1.00.“

If students can’t guess, give them more clues.

“It’s golden and small.
It’s an award.  
Last year Will Smith won it.“

Task 2. Who is Oscar?

Read and answer the questions.

• What do you know about the Oscars? 
• Do you know why the statuettes are called Oscars? 

Go to the Oscars official website and read the article (including the first paragraph of “The stuff that dreams are made of“) about the most recognized trophy in the world. 

“Which of these facts do you think are the most surprising?“

Read the article again if necessary and choose the statements as True or False.

1. The designer of the statuette was MGM art director Cedric Gibbons.
2. Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley refused the Academy to realize the design of the Oscar statuette.  
3. The five spokes of the film reel signifies the five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers. 
4. The official name of the statuette is Oscar. 
5. The figure of the Oscar statuette is based on Margaret Herrick’s uncle. 
6. During the Second World War the Oscars were made out of bronze.

You can also check the lesson ideas from these articles:

Task 3. Don’t trust the headlines

Look at the three news headlines below and tell which link you would open first and why. 

1. 2023 Oscar Nominees Predict the Winners.
2. Seven Reasons Why the Year’s Flagship Film Awards Canceled.
3. 2023 Oscar Nominees Remember the Last Time They Cried Watching a Movie.

Now look at the headlines again. Only one is true, the other two are lies. Try your luck and choose the headline from the real news.

Task 4. It made me cry

Watch the video “2023 Oscar Nominees Remember the Last Time They Cried Watching a Movie“ and choose the movies mentioned in it:

1. All Quiet on the Western Front 
2. Tar
3. Stranger at the gate 
4. The Fabelmans 
5. The Whale
6. Top Gun: Maverick  
7. Triangle of Sadness  
8. The Banshees of Inisherin
9. Avatar: The Way of Water 
10. Everything Everywhere All at Once 
11. Women Talking 
12. All That Breathes
13. To Leslie 
14. Close
15. Aftersun

With strong students you can just play the audio and then show them the video to check their answers.

Task 5. Predict the winners

Look at the list of movies again and answer the questions below. Note that they are all nominated for an Oscar in 2023.

1. Have you watched any of the mentioned films? Are they worthy of an Oscar nomination? What films would you nominate? 
2. Do you take Oscar nominations into account when you choose a film to watch? Why (not)? 
3. What makes a good film?

If students haven’t seen some of them, play the trailers to get acquainted with the scripts. If you are short of time, play only the first minute of each trailer.

Open the link to have a look at the list of all nominees. Choose the category you are interested in and make guesses who will win. Give some reasons why they must win.

More lesson ideas:

Task 6. Take the Oscar, it’s yours

Match the words and phrases below. 

Watch the video (from 1:17) “Ariana DeBose Wins Best Supporting Actress for “West Side Story” from the 94th Oscars and say:

1. How the actress feels
2. How she shows modesty 
3. Who she thanks 
4. What message she leaves for the world

Now imagine that you’re giving an acceptance speech. Follow the structure.

• Tell people how you feel
• Show a little modesty
• Thank other people
• Leave a socially important message for the world

Inspirational Lessons!