ESL Movie Guide Worksheets on "Ponyo" - Studio Ghibli

Ten named characters from Ponyo - Ponyo, Fujimoto, Sōsuke, Toki, Lisa, Yoshie, Kōichi, Noriko, Gran Mamare and Kumiko - each get four ruled lines for a written description, alongside film-information fields and a diary task written from a chosen character's point of view.

Year groups: Secondary and Sixth Form, Lower Secondary, Years 8–13
Pages: 3
File type: PDF
Preparation: Print ready

Updated Jul 10, 2025

Subject: Formal Writing, Creative Writing, ESL, Vocabulary, Writing, Language Development, English
Topic: ESL, English Second Language
Resource types: Writing Prompts, Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables
Preparation: Print ready

From the author

About this resource

ESL Movie Guide Worksheets on "Ponyo" - Studio Ghibli

This English Second or Foreign Language (ESL EFL TESOL) teaching resource is a 3 page printable PDF movie guide for "Ponyo - Studio Ghibli" (2008 Japanese animated film by Studio Ghibli) is designed to help English as a Second Language (ESL EFL TESOL) learners. This teaching resource can be ideal for post-movie activities and is ideal for Middle School and High School students, from 7th to 12th grade. This ESL EFL TESOL (English Second or Foreign Language) Movie Guide Activity can be great for newcomers and any English language learners, making it an amazing teaching toolbox to use in ESL EFL classrooms, language centres, or by tutors around the World.

Within this ESL EFL Movie Guide on "Ponyo - Studio Ghibli" (2008 Japanese animated film by Studio Ghibli), ESL EFL TESOL teachers can find the following English Second or Foreign Language (ESL EFL TESOL) film activities:

General Information – Students fill in key details about the film, including the director, genre, release year etc.
Vocabulary Builder – An activity dedicated to new words and phrases, to improve ESL EFL students’ English vocabulary
Character Analysis – Students describe the main characters, helping them practice descriptive language and comprehension.
Movie Timeline Activity – Students arrange scenes in chronological order to enhance their understanding of the storyline.
Favourite Scene Reflection – A writing activity where students describe and explain their favourite moments from the film.
Movie Review Writing – Learners express their opinions in a structured review, improving their evaluative writing skills.
Creative Writing Activity – Students imagine themselves as one of the characters and write three diary entries from that character’s perspective, deepening their connection with the storyline.

This "Ponyo - Studio Ghibli" (2008 Japanese animated film by Studio Ghibli) movie guide is designed to create an enjoyable and stimulating learning experience for intermediate advanced ESL students.

ESL with Alan is an amazing Teaching Resources Store which aims to support English as a Second or foreign Language (ESL EFL TESOL) Teachers, Educators and Tutors around the globe (be it online or offline) to achieve their students' learning objectives while creating an enjoyable and stimulating learning environment. Never Forget! Learning is fun, So should English! Always

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Record a film's director, genre, voice cast and release year in English
Describe ten named characters from the film in a few written sentences each
Write in role as a chosen character across three separate days or scenes
Convey a character's thoughts, emotions and experiences in writing rather than retelling plot alone

Teaching tips

Hand out the film-information page before the screening starts - the four labelled fields and the two numbered lists of ten are designed to be filled in while students watch
Put the character names on the board first: several are Japanese (Sōsuke, Kōichi, Noriko, Gran Mamare) and learners will find it easier to match a name to a face during the film than afterwards
Four ruled lines per character suits a sentence or two each - pair students and split the ten names between them if the full page is too much in one session
Set the diary task as a three-part piece of homework, since it asks for three separate days or scenes rather than one continuous piece
The ruled space on the closing page is open-ended, so the same sheet takes a favourite-scene reflection, a short review or a longer version of the diary depending on what the class needs

Skills covered

Character description - students write about each of the ten named characters on the four ruled lines printed under their name.
Film vocabulary in English - the opening fields ask for director, genre, voice cast and release year, the terms an English learner meets around film.
Note-taking while viewing - two numbered lists of ten give a fixed place to record what students notice during the screening.
Point-of-view writing - the diary task asks students to retell three scenes as a character they connected with, in that character's thoughts and emotions.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

In ESL Movie Guide Worksheets on "Ponyo" - Studio Ghibli, which characters does the guide name?

Ten, each in its own labelled box: Ponyo, Fujimoto, Sōsuke, Toki, Lisa, Yoshie, Kōichi, Noriko, Gran Mamare and Kumiko. Four ruled lines sit under each name.

In ESL Movie Guide Worksheets on "Ponyo" - Studio Ghibli, what exactly does the diary task ask for?

Three diary pages, each covering a different day or scene from the film, written as a character the student connected with - retelling the scene from that character's point of view and capturing their thoughts, emotions and experiences.

Can the pages be used without watching the film?

Not really - every section draws on the viewing. The information fields, the ten character descriptions and the diary all ask students to write from what they saw, which is why the pages suit use during or straight after a screening.