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Here is the place to be if you believe in the power of songs to teach English!
The place to find Creativity, Inspiration, Teaching Ideas and Resources to bring Musical Innovation to your English Language Teaching Practice!
Whether you teach English online or not, teaching with songs has a wider scope than you might think, and it does not only mean gap-fill!. Check my older posts and don’t be afraid to try something new!
This week, the Song Activity Factory features THE WEEKND’s hit: SAVE YOUR TEARS! I hope YOU and your students have a BLAST with it!
Description:
This song-based STEP-BY-STEP LESSON PLAN for ENGLISH language TEACHING features the lyrics for ‘Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd”. Students TALK about a quote, MATCH The lyrics of a song verse, WRITE comments, opinions, questions and speculations about the song, WORK in pairs to answer and reply to the comments as if they were the songwriter, CORRECT each other’s sentences, DISCUSS the answers and replies, LISTEN to the song and DO a matching exercise with the lyrics (interactive worksheet).
OBS: This lesson plan was made for ONLINE TEACHING, but it can be modified for face-to-face instruction, as well.
Language level: B1 Learner type: All ages Skills: speaking, reading, listening and writing Topic: Relationships Language/grammar: giving opinions, speculating, asking questions Materials: Genial.ly presentation, Collaborative Google doc and song extract mp3 file Duration: about an hour Download your free teaching resources: instructions; collaborative google doc for you to make a copy you can edit); song extract mp3
STEP-BY-STEP LESSON PLAN
Step 1 (5 min)
Screen-share slide one with the photo (Men Don’t Cry). Ask students if they agree or not and why.
Step 2 (7 min)
Screen-share the matching exercise. Have students read the halves. and help them with the vocabulary.
Ask them if they recognize the song. Have them do the exercise, then play the song extract for them to check.
| I saw you dancing ( ) | a) caught you by surprise |
| But then you saw me, ( ) | b) in a crowded room |
| A single teardrop ( ) | c) when I’m not with you |
| You look so happy ( ) | d) falling from your eye |
Answers: 1b, 2a, 3d, 4c
Step 3 (7 min)
Slide 3. Tell students to write at least one of the options below about the lyrics, and send you via chat box:
A comment about the verse Example: I think this verse is… because… or I like/ don’t like it because... An opinion (positive or negative) about it Example: I feel that the verse …. because... A question for the song-writer/singer about the verse A speculation about the meaning of the song Example: This might be a song about… because…
Important: as they send you their comments, opinions, and questions, copy them from the chat box into this Collaborative Google Doc for the next step! OBS: click the link to make a copy that you can edit!
Step 3 (7 min)
As students send you their work, highlight the mistakes in the Google doc. When they’re done, have some students correct the highlighted mistakes.
Step 4 (10 min)
Pair work. Now, tell your students to work in pairs (breakout rooms) and pretend they are the singer or the song writer and answer the questions and reply to the comments/ opinions. Give them 10 min.
Share the link to the collaborative google doc with designated spaces for students to write their answers.
Step 5 (10 min)
As students write their answers/replies in the designated spaces, highlight the mistakes you find for later correction. When all pairs have finished, have students read all the answers. Have volunteers to correct the mistakes. Help them if necessary.
Step 6 (5 min)
Have students who wrote the original questions, comments, opinions and speculations say what they thought of the answers/ replies they’ve received. Have other students participate by asking questions, and if they agree or disagree with the other students.
OPTIONAL Step 7 (10 min)
Interactive Worksheet. LINK Students listen to the song and match the halves of the other verses in the song. To check, tell students to click FINISH!! And then CHECK MY RESULTS!!
(OBS: I don’t recommend asking students to watch the music video, because it might be a little too weird LOL)
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!
KNOW MORE IDEAS FOR ENGLISH ACTIVITIES WITH SONGS HERE
That’s it for this week! I hope this activity is helpful and enjoyable!
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Song Activity Factory 