How To Captivate ESL Learners: Hero’s 21st Century Lesson

🌟🌟 Hello, Creative Teachers and Music Lovers! 🎵

Ready for a Classroom Adventure?

Let’s embark on a lesson that’s more than just listening to a hit song – it’s a launchpad for real skills our students need today:

Hands radiating energy with the words Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Collaboration for ESL learning. — Ignite the 4Cs in your classroom: Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Collaboration – the core of dynamic ESL education!

Say Goodbye to the Old-School

No more fill-in-the-blanks. With “Hero” by Alan Walker, featuring Sasha Sloan, we’re going to:

Get students talking and imagining
Have them connect lyrics with visuals
Encourage them to design their own music video concepts

This Isn’t Just a Lesson…

It’s a chance for your students to shine! In just about an hour, they’ll:

Match lyrics to pictures
Guess the story behind the song
Dream up and share their own music video ideas

A group of six students communicate and interact during an ESL class activity — Six students actively engage in conversation, embodying the essence of interactive ESL learning.

And the Best Part?

No printing or prep work needed. Just a simple online presentation and a YouTube video.

For Teachers New and Experienced

This plan is your ticket to a class where:

Every student is engaged
Every opinion is valued
Learning English feels like fun with friends

Are You Ready?

Let’s add some 21st-century sparkle to your English class!

Photo of Márcia Bonfim as a Jedi with the Creative Jedi Code text

Teaching With Songs: Merry Christmas, Ed Sheeran & Elton John together!

Get them revved up for Christimas with this engaging lesson plan!

How to Teach English with This ESL Song Lesson Plan: Instructions & Tips

Use this Pretty Genially Presentation To Enhance Your ESL Song Lesson:

PREPARATION: Familiarize yourself with the Genially presentation and make sure all technical aspects, such as audio and video playbacks, are functioning properly before the lesson. Preview the official music video to anticipate any questions or discussions that might arise from its content. Consider cultural and age-appropriate aspects of the song and video content for your specific class demographic

Step 1 (5 min)

Show Slide one of the genyally presentation (LINK) with the three sentences. Check if they understand them. Ask them to imagine in which situations someone would say or think them. Have students share their ideas and explain their reasons.

A- “Who’s gonna save me now?”

B- “I’m pretty sure I recognize you”

C- “I’m pretty sure I’ve felt this energy”

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS: Encourage students to be creative with their interpretations but also guide them to think about realistic contexts where such sentences could be used. If students struggle to come up with ideas, provide hints or scenarios to stimulate their imagination

Step 2 (7 min)

Tell your students that you are going to work with three sentences are from the lyrics of a song. See if any student recognizes it. (don’t expect them to)

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS: Play a snippet of the song without giving away the lyrics, to spark curiosity and see if the melody is familiar to anyone.

Step 3 (3 min)

Show the slide with the 3 pictures with speech bubbles. Have some students describe the pictures.

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS: Use the pictures to help students connect visual cues with linguistic content. Ask questions about the emotions and setting depicted to deepen understanding.

Step 4 (7 min)

In pairs (breakout rooms) the students match the sentences and the people. They have to come up with an explanation to why the person is thinking that in 15 to 20 words.

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS: Monitor the breakout rooms closely to ensure students stay on task and provide support where needed. Encourage students to justify their choices, fostering critical thinking.

Step 5 (10 min)

The pairs share their ideas and explain why the people are thinking that.

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS: Create a supportive environment where all ideas are valued. This will encourage even shy students to participate. If time allows, provide feedback on their language use to help them improve.

Step 6 (10 min)

Tell students you’re going to play the song. Their task is to put the sentences in the order they hear them. Play the song twice. Ask students to write their answers in the chat box.

Order of the sentences in the song: ( B,A,C)

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS: Before playing the song, remind students to listen for key words or phrases to help them order the sentences correctly. Playing the song twice is essential; the first listen is for initial impressions, the second for confirmation.

Step 7 (10 min)

Ask students what they think the music video for this song could be like. Have them imagine they are video makers and explain how they would create a music video for the song. Have students work in small groups to come up with ideas. then have them share with the class.

Play the music video (slide4) for them to check and compare their ideas and comment on it to close the activity.

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS: Encourage students to use descriptive language and narrative skills when imagining their music video.When watching the official video, prompt students to think critically about the differences and similarities between their ideas and the actual video.

MORE TIPS & SUGGESTIONS: CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. Keep time management in mind, ensuring each step doesn’t exceed the specified duration. Be flexible and ready to adapt if a particular step engages students more than expected.

Additional Tips: Use the chat box effectively during online lessons for students to post their answers, fostering a sense of participation. During the activity, incorporate mini-reviews of language points such as sentence construction, verb tenses, or vocabulary that come up in the song lyrics.

Remember, the key to a successful lesson is not just following the steps but also being responsive to the students’ needs and encouraging a positive and interactive learning environment. Enjoy your teaching experience with “Hero” by Alan Walker feat. Sasha Sloan!

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!

How to Boost your ELT with Musical Grammar Pieces feat Olivia Rodrigo

That’s it for this week! I hope this activity is helpful and enjoyable!

How I Create Visually Appealing Thumbnails

If you’re curious to know how I create those visually appealing thumbnails for our YouTube videos and Blog Posts, I use a fantastic tool that I discovered. It’s user-friendly and perfect for educators who want to add an aesthetic touch to their materials. Check it out HERE

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Happy teaching! 🙂