18 Song-Based Lesson Plans To Prepare Students For Cambridge English First And Cambridge English First For Schools

At the SONG ACTIVITY FACTORY, we believe in the POWER OF SONGS TO TEACH ENGLISH in a fun and motivating way! We also believe – and prove – that using songs goes way beyond gap-filling exercises. We believe in the power of songs to get STUDENTS MOTIVATED and EAGER to learn and participate!

BUT MOST OF ALL, we believe in the power of songs to provide PLEASURABLE AND MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES FOR YOU TEACHER!!!

Isn’t it wonderful to be able to see the class you planned go well and smooth? Isn’t it deliciously amazing to see your students talking, interacting, having fun and learning at the same time? Isn’t it REFRESHING for you to have a break from those book activities and the grind of day-to-day classes and have some MUSIC TO INSPIRE YOURSELF and your students?

However, we also know that you are BUSY and LACK TIME to go through the tiring process of choosing a song and preparing an activity around it. This is especially true if you are an ELT professional preparing students for CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH EXAMS. You tend to focus more on developing students’ abilities and techniques in order to be successful in those exams, and this takes up most of your time and effort. Using songs in class then is rare, and when done at all, a listening exercise with gap-fill is the easiest and fastest choice although not the most creative one…

In this post, we hope to help you get ideas and inspiration to bring MUSIC back to your teaching practice in a USEFUL, PRACTICAL and INNOVATIVE way!

Here are

18 SONG-BASED LESSON PLANS TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH FIRST (FCE) and CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH FIRST FOR SCHOOLS (FCE FOR SCHOOLS):

Paper 1: Reading and Use of English PART 1 Multiple-choice cloze

1- Lauv – Modern Loneliness

Songs for Cambridge English: First [FCE] Modern Loneliness [Teaching With Songs B2]

2- Sing It With Me – JP Cooper (worksheet)

FCE Practice With Song Lyrics! Reading and Use of English [Teaching With Songs B2]

Paper 1: Reading and Use of English PART 2 Open cloze

3- Bebe Rexha – You Can’t Stop The Girl

Songs for Cambridge English: First [FCE] You Can’t Stop The Girl [Teaching With Songs B2]

4- Marina – To Be Human

Songs for Cambridge English: First [FCE] To Be Human – Marina [Teaching With Songs B2]

Paper 1: Reading and Use of English PART 3 Word formation

5- James Blunt – The Greatest

Songs for Cambridge English: First [FCE] The Greatest – James Blunt [Teaching With Songs B2]

Paper 1: Reading and Use of English PART 7 Multiple matching

6- Alec Benjamin, Luke Combs – Six Feet Apart

Song Battle [A. Benjamin vs Luke C.] Teaching With Songs For Cambridge English First: [FCE]

Paper 2: Writing PART 2 (A story)

7- Onerepublic – Didn’t I

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

8- Sing It With Me – JP Cooper feat. Astrid S

Songs For Cambridge English First: [FCE] Sing It With Me [Teaching With Songs – 4 Skills]

9- Together – SIA

Communication, Collaboration & Critical Thinking With Songs For Cambridge B2: SIA – Together!

Paper 2: Writing PART 2 (An email)

10- Email feelings (idea)

Writing Emails With A Song As Inspiration: An Activity Idea For Cambridge English: [First]

11- Sasha Sloan – Older

Get Students To Practice Writing With A Song: Email Feelings + Song Lottery [Sasha Sloan]

12- Now United – Beautiful Life

https://songactivityfactory.com/2019/03/10/beautiful-life-now-united/

Paper 3: Listening PART 2 Sentence completion

13- Sing It With Me – JP Cooper feat. Astrid S

https://songactivityfactory.com/2019/06/23/all-language-skills-in-one-song-for-the-cambridge-english-first-fce-sing-it-with-me-jp-cooper

Paper 4: Speaking PART 2 Long turn

14- Lauv – Modern Loneliness

https://songactivityfactory.com/2020/02/27/songs-for-cambridge-english-first-fce-modern-loneliness/

15- Lewis Capaldi – Hold Me While You Wait

https://songactivityfactory.com/2019/08/29/lewis-capaldi-a-lesson-plan-for-english-language-teaching/

Paper 4: Speaking PART 3 Collaborative task

16- REM – Losing My Religion

https://songactivityfactory.com/2019/05/12/mothers-day-flashback-losing-my-religion/

Paper 4: Speaking PART 4 Discussion

17- Calum Scott – No Matter What

https://songactivityfactory.com/2018/11/14/no-matter-what-calum-scott/

18- Kesha – Here Comes The Change

https://songactivityfactory.com/2018/10/29/here-comes-the-change-from-the-motion-picture-on-the-basis-of-sex-kesha/

A Joyful Journey Through Music, Travel, and Dreams Come True

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These song-based lesson plans are 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!