Creative Writing With OneRepublic – Didn’t I [B2] Songs For Cambridge English First: [FCE]

Description:

This song-based activity STEP-BY-STEP LESSON PLAN for ENGLISH language TEACHING features the song DIDN’T I by ONEREPUBLIC. Students CREATE characters based on a sentence and prompts, LISTEN to the song and TALK about its meaning, READ the lyrics and use them to WRITE a short narrative with the characters they created and WRITE a story in the mold of CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH: FIRST FOR SCHOOLS (FCE FOR SCHOOLS PAPER 2 PART 2 as homework.

OBS: This lesson plan was made to be used for ONLINE TEACHING WITH ZOOM features like ZOOM WHITEBOARD, ZOOM SCREEN SHARE and ZOOM CHAT, but it can be modified for face-to-face instruction, as well.

Language level: B1+ B2
Learner type: All ages
Skills: speaking, reading, listening and writing
Topic: Dating and relationships
Language/grammar: personality adjectives, narrative tenses
Materials: Youtube video, google slide and google doc
Duration: 1 hour - 1h 30 min
Downloadable materials:  instructions; google slides; 
google doc character building (to make a copy you can edit)

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS POST!

STEP-BY-STEP LESSON PLAN

Step 1 (3 min)

Ask students: what makes a story interesting? The characters or the plot (what happens in it)?

Step 2 (5 – 7 min)

Show the slide with the sentence about the first character. Ask students to use their imagination to give you the information about the person, based on the short phrase about him. Write their best ideas to fill the information. Save this information to use later.

CHARACTER 1
He wore a surgical mask in public not to keep from catching a virus,
 but to keep people away from him.
Who is he? Use the following prompts to create a character:
Name:
Age:
Nationality:
Occupation:
Marital status:
Hobby:
3 adjectives to describe his personality:

Why did he want people to stay away from him?

Step 3 (10 min)

Share the link to the Collaborative Google doc in which each group has a designated work space.

Show slide two, with the second character. In pairs/small groups (breakout rooms) students repeat the step 2 for the woman. They write their answers in their designated space in the doc.

CHARACTER 2
She ran out of money, so he had to stop playing poker.
Who is she? Use the following prompts to create a character:
Name:
Age:
Nationality:
Occupation:
Marital status:
Hobby:
3 adjectives to describe her personality:

Why did she run out of money?

Step 4 (10 min)

Correct the mistakes. Then, have a vote on the most interesting character to be used in the next part of the activity.

OBS: they can also choose to mix characteristics from all the groups’ ideas!

Step 5 (5 min)

Play the song Didn’t I – Onerepublic

Step 6 (5 min)

Ask students to tell you what they understood from the song. If they thought it was a happy or a sad song and why.

Step 7 (5 min)

Show the slide with the lyrics. Play the song again and they listen and read.

Help students with the vocabulary.

Ask them what the song is about. (A couple that broke up, but the man still loves her)

Step 8 (10 min)

Again in pairs/small groups (breakout rooms), students write a short narrative based on the song including the two characters they created in steps 2 and 3.

Step 9 (5 – 7 min)

The pairs/small groups read their short narratives. Have a vote on the most interesting.

Step 10 (homework)

On the Cambridge English: First for Schools (FCE for schools), in the second part of the Writing paper (Paper 2), there is the option of writing a Story. If you are preparing your students for this exam, you can assign the next step for homework.

Students write a story -with the same characters they created- starting with this sentence:

He looked behind the door and didn't like what he saw.
They must include:

- Happy news

- A photograph

They must write 140 - 190 words

This song-based lesson plan is sure to spice up your classes! However, would you like to think, feel and act more creatively on your own to be able to turn ANY song you want into an engaging lesson plan?
HERE are TIME-SAVING ideas that do the heavy work so you can focus on the most important: INSPIRING and MOTIVATING YOUR STUDENTS to learn CREATIVELY!