Engaging English Lesson: Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” – Vocabulary & Memory Game

DESCRIPTION:

This STEP-BY-STEP LESSON PLAN for ENGLISH language TEACHING features the song “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift.

Students TALK about the singer, DESCRIBE pictures, LISTEN to the song intro, CHOOSE the photo that best represents the feeling of the song, work with a worksheet in which they READ word definitions and find the words in the lyrics of the song, WATCH the music video and PLAY a memory game with questions about the video.

OBS: This lesson plan was made for ONLINE TEACHING, but it can be modified for face-to-face instruction, as well.

Language level: B1+/B2
Learner type: All ages
Skills: speaking, reading, listening, writing 
Topic: word definitions, feelings
Materials: genially presentation, YouTube Video, pdf worksheet (normal and editable)
Duration: 45 - 50 min
Downloadable materials: Instructions.pdf, worksheet.pdf, editable worksheet.pdf

OBJECTIVES OF THIS LESSON PLAN:
- Encourage students to describe and analyze the feeling of a Taylor Swift song based on visual cues
- Provide students with an opportunity to practice reading comprehension and vocabulary through a worksheet activity
- Challenge students' attention to detail and memory recall through a game that involves watching a music video

Here’s an Engaging ESL Song Activity for Noah Cyrus’ New Song

Fresh from the Song Activity Factory!

Welcome to the Song Activity Factory! Here, we follow the rules of The Creative Jedi Code:

See below for other posts to Teach English Creatively With Songs:

Lil Durk – All My Life: Using Song Lyrics in ESL Lessons

Check out this great song-based lesson plan!

STEP-BY-STEP LESSON PLAN

Step 1 (5 min)

Ask students what they know about Taylor Swift and if they like her songs or not and why.

Tell them that Taylor Swift has become the first artist in history to claim every slot in the top 10 of the US singles chart. She overtakes Drake, who held the previous record of nine top 10 singles in September 2021. Before him, the Beatles scored eight top 10s in 1964. WOW!

Step 2 (3 min)

Genially Presentation Link

Slide 01. With 3 pictures. Students describe the pictures.

Step 3 (5 min)

Slide 02. Tell students they are going to listen to one of Taylor’s songs intro (about 1 min) and choose 1 photo from the three that best represents its feeling. Play the song intro.

Have students share their ideas and explain their choices.

Step 4 (15 min)

Worksheet with List of word definitions and lyrics. (see links for the worksheet pdfs: editable and normal, in the ‘downloadable materials’)

Students read the lyrics, find the words being defined, and complete the list with them. (see answers in the instructions pdf in the ‘downloadable materials’)

Step 5 (15 min)

MEMORY GAME!

Divide students into 2 groups and tell them you’re going to play the music video for the song Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift, and they must pay attention to all the details for a Memory Game of questions about it!

Play the music video for them.

Memory Game Questions:
1 - Where is Taylor at the beginning of the video,which room? (kitchen)
2 - What’s she eating? (Eggs, broccoli and bacon)
3 - How many shots of tequila do the two Taylors drink the first time? (6 - 3 each)
4 - What’s written on the black board? (Everyone will betray you)
5 - How many people are eating in the dining room when giant Taylor arrives? (5)
6 - What are they drinking? (red wine)
7 - What’s Taylor’s son wearing around his neck at her funeral? (headphones)
8 - Which animal appears in Taylor’s funeral photo? (cat)
9 - How much money does she leave her children? (13 cents)
10 - What kind of house do they discuss at the funeral? (beach house)

The team with more points in the end is the winner!

Step 6 (5 min)

Play the music video again. Have students comment on it (saying what they thought about it, which part they liked the most, etc) to finish the activity,

Note: there’s a transcript of the funeral part of the video on the instructions.pdf (see ‘downloadable materials’ in the description).