Despicable Me

Name: _____________________________

You work for Universal. Despicable Me has been

nominated as one of the top movies of all time.

You are writing a letter to support its nomination. You

will include important information about the movie.

Your assistant left you some notes to get you started. She missed out the relative adverbs.

1. Fill in the correct relative adverb from the box.

why when where

a. 2010 is the year__________ the movie was originally released.

b. Gru's house is the place __________ Despicable Me is set.

c. The fantastic storyline is the reason __________this movie is so

great.

2. Write your own sentence about Despicable Me using one of the relative adverbs.

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 Despicable Me

You find facts that were used to promote the movie in 2010. You can combine the facts to
make complex sentences.
3. Fill in the correct relative pronoun from the box to complete each complex sentence.

who whose
whom which
Steve Carell, _______ other films
§ Steve Carell is the star of the movie.
include Horton Hears a Who! and
§ His other films include Horton Hears è Over the Hedge, is the star of the
a Who! and Over the Hedge.
movie.
§ Vector Perkins is played by Jason Vector Perkins, _______ is played
Segel. è by Jason Segel, is one of the
§ He is one of the other stars. other stars.
§ The production budget totaled $69
million. The production budget, _______
è is the money spent making the
§ This is the money spent making the
movie, totaled $69 million.
movie.

§ The movie had excellent reviews

The movie had excellent reviews
from critics.
from critics, one of _______ said
§ One of the critics said it was “a è
it was “a susprisingly thoughtful,
susprisingly thoughtful, family-
friendly treat.”
family-friendly treat.”

4. Think of some other facts you know about the movie. Write your own complex
sentence about Despicable Me using one of the relative pronouns.

Brain Power:
It’s your job to explain why the movie deserves to be the best movie of all time!
Investigate the success of Despicable Me. Try using boxofficemojo.com,
rottentomatoes.com and other sources.
Write a short letter arguing why it is the best movie of all time. Justify your opinion with
evidence. Use as many different relative pronouns and relative adverbs as you can.

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 Despicable Me

TEACHER GUIDE
Activity:
Introduce relative adverbs (where, when, why) with the examples below.
When: Monday is the day when……; 2014 was the year when…; Next week is when…; etc.
Where: My school is the place where…; The movie theater is where…; England, where…is…; etc.
Why: The reason why I love music is….; Seeing my friends is the reason why I love…; etc.
You may explain to students that relative adverbs are used to join sentences or clauses. Write one of the sentences on
the board and highlight the two parts that have been joined.
_______________________________________________
Next introduce relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which) with the examples below. Write both sentences on the
board and then help students to form complex sentences using a relative pronoun.
Steven Spielberg is one of the best directors ever. Steven Spielberg, who is one of the best directors ever, has

Steven Spielberg has won three Oscars.

}
won three Oscars. OR
Steven Spielberg, who has won three Oscars, is one of the
best directors ever.
Note – there are two possible solutions so you may discuss the different emphasis of each. You may also explain
the use of commas to set this clause apart.
Willow Smith acted in I Am Legend with her dad.
Will Smith is Willow Smith’s dad. }
Will Smith, whose dad is Will Smith, acted with him in I Am
Legend.
Note – it is also possible here to use ‘who’ – e.g. Willow Smith, who is the daughter of Will Smith, acted with him in
I Am Legend. OR Will Smith, who is Willow Smith’s dad, acted with her in I Am Legend.
The Lord of The Rings had an all-star cast. The Lord of The Rings had an all-star cast, one of whom
One of the stars of The Lord of The Rings was
Orlando Bloom.
} was Orlando Bloom.

The Oscars are awarded in February each year. The Oscars, which are the most prestigious awards in
Hollywood, are awarded in February each year.
The Oscars are the most prestigious awards in } The Oscars, which are awarded in February each year, are
Hollywood. the most prestigious awards in Hollywood.
Note – discuss again the different emphasis of these two combinations and the use of commas.
Go over the directions for students to complete Movies with Relatives independently.
Students could use the edition for their favorite movie.
Consider discussing or having students look up definitions of domain-specific vocabulary that appears in this task,
such as: nominated, nomination, released, promote, production budget, critic.
You may allow students to use the rubric to self or peer assess their work.
Differentiation:
Decrease difficulty: • Complete some of the activity as a class or with a group
• Have students read the text aloud to establish the correct word
• Provide sentence starters in Qs 2 and 4
Increase difficulty: • Remove some or all of the complex sentences in Q3 for students to generate the
whole sentence themselves
• For Q4 have students write the two parts as well as the complex sentence
Brain Power:
The Brain Power question is included to help students with strategic and extended thinking. There is generally no
right or wrong answer, but students are required to show a deeper understanding of the skill(s) being practiced.
Students should be encouraged to think strategically, plan carefully, carry out thorough investigations, and give clear
justifications to support their reasoning where appropriate. Provide support as necessary.

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 Despicable Me

ANSWER KEY
1. a. 2010 is the year when the movie was originally released.

b. Gru's house is the place where Despicable Me is set.

c. The fantastic storyline is the reason why this movie is so great.

2. Students should write one further sentence about Despicable Me correctly using
either when, why or where as a relative adverb.

3. Steve Carell, whose other films include Horton Hears a Who! and Over the Hedge, is
the star of the movie.

Vector Perkins, who is played by Jason Segel, is one of the other stars.

The production budget, which is the money spent making the movie, totaled $69
million.

The movie had excellent reviews from critics, one of whom said it was “a susprisingly
thoughtful, family-friendly treat.”

4. Students should write one further complex sentence about Despicable Me correctly
using either who, which, whose or whom as a relative pronoun.

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 Despicable Me

RUBRIC
To keep track of students’ progress against standards, check the boxes in the rubric below.
Indicate the students’ understanding of the skills covered in this task, using their score as an
indicator.

You may also use the Brain Power question as an indicator of exemplary understanding.

L.4.1.A Use relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (where,
when, why).

Question No. Proficient Developing Not Yet

Use relative adverbs (where, 1-2

when, why) Score = ___ / 4
Use relative pronouns (who,
3-4
whose, whom, which)
Score = ___ / 5

Strategic & Extended Thinking

Carry out investigative

Brain Power
research
Give clear justifications to
Brain Power
support reasoning

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