Simple Past in Songs: Engaging ESL Lesson Plan with Kelly Clarkson’s “Me”

Quick Lesson Overview:

Discover an engaging ESL lesson focused on simple past tense verbs with Kelly Clarkson’s “Me.” This song-based activity encourages teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking in students. Starting with a lively warm-up related to the song’s title, students will identify past tense verbs, create imaginative stories using them, and share their narratives with their classmates.

• Language level: B1 and above
• Learner type: All ages
• Skills: speaking, reading, listening, writing
• Topic: Music and personal growth
• Grammar: Simple Past
• Materials: YouTube video, song extract audio (see step 2)
• Duration: about an hour
• Downloadable materials: Instructions.pdf

Objectives Of This ESL Song Lesson Plan:

1. To spark students’ interest in using simple past tense verbs through an engaging song-based activity.
2. To foster teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking by challenging students to craft stories using the identified verbs.

Lesson Plan: Billie Eilish & Self-identity

How to Teach English with This ESL Song Lesson Plan: Instruction

Warm-up Activity (5 min)

Guess the Song Title

Divide the class into small groups of 3-4 students.

1. Tell the students that you will give them a series of clues related to a song title, and their task is to guess the title as quickly as possible.
2. Provide the following clues, one at a time, allowing the groups to discuss and guess the title after each clue:
   • Clue 1: This song is by a famous singer who won the first season of a popular singing competition show.
   • Clue 2: The title of the song contains a personal pronoun.
   • Clue 3: The song is about self-reliance and not needing someone else to make you feel complete.
3. The first group to guess the correct song title, “Me” by Kelly Clarkson, wins the warm-up activity.
4. After revealing the song title, tell the students that they will be working with this song during the lesson and move on to the main activity.

Step 1 (7 min)

Quick Review of Simple Past Tense

Have students give examples of regular and irregular verbs in the affirmative form.

Step 2 (10 min)

Identify Simple Past Verbs in the Song

Divide students into small groups and distribute blank sheets of paper. Play the song extract of the first 2 verses below, and have teams identify as many past tense verbs as they can. The team with the most correct verbs wins. Play the lyrics video for students to check their work.

see the answers in the instructions.pdf

Step 3 (15 min)

Create a Creative Story Using Simple Past Verbs

Challenge the groups to come up with a creative story or situation using all the simple past verbs they identified. Give them 5 minutes to brainstorm ideas and 10 minutes to write their stories.

Step 4 (7 min)

Share and Read the Stories

Have students read their stories to the class.

Step 5 (5 min)

Vote on the Best Stories

Students vote on the funniest, most creative, and craziest stories.

Simple Past Tense Practice: A Visual 4-Minute Video Activity for ESL Teachers

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