1. Ask the students to think of any films from the 1980s featuring teenagers dancing. Elicit a few titles.
2. Tell them that they are going to watch a video which explains why dancing in films was popular in the 1980s. The video is available on the BBC website and on BBC’s Facebook page (it’s a public post, so you don’t have to log in.) You can also find it on Twitter here.
3. Explain that for each time period (early 80s, mid 80s and late 80s) they will first have to answer one or two questions, they will look for a series of synonyms, and finally they will be writing the film titles mentioned in the video.
4. Play till 2:39, corresponding to the early 80s. Allow some time to answer the different sections. Play again.
5. Repeat the same procedure for the mid 80s (from 2:40 to 3:54) and late 80s (from 3:55 to 5:08).
6. Check the answers with the whole group.
VOCABULARY: Early 80s: 1. polished, 2. supported, 3. fad, 4. tanked, 5. mirrored, 6. blend or mash-up; Mid 80s: 1. ruled, 2. archetypal, 3. grown-up, 4. taking over, 5. defiance, 6. deemed; Late 80s: 1. diluted, 2. standstill, 3. heralding.
7. Have the students complete a summary using words from the vocabulary section (the synonyms they had found in the video) in the correct form.
You may also want to provide the words and have the students use the correct form:
KEY: 1. archetypal, 2. defiance, 3. backed, 4. ruled, 5. heralded, 6. blended, 7. fad, 8. had tanked, 9. were diluted, 10. standstill
8. Go over the film title sections and discuss any movies the students may have watched. Assign each film to pairs of students, and ask them to do some research about them. Provide the following as a guide:
– Film title:
– Genre:
– Release year:
– Director:
– Lead actors/actresses:
– Dance styles featured:
– Soundtrack:
– Plot summary:
– Notable Quotes (if any):
– Fun facts:
– Sample clips:
– Sources Used:
9. Have the students share their findings!
On the same page 
One thought on “Dancing Teens”