IDGAF

Age: Older Teens & Adults

The idea here is to discuss the reasons behind songs, that is, what drives song writers to write certain types of song. They write for many reasons, either to express discontent  with a certain topic, which could be a political view, family issues, a broken heart, or a positive experience, instead. In a nutshell, they can talk about anything. Keep in mind that the more engaging your attitude is towards this task, the more engaged students will be. Believe it or not, a lot can be said. However, older teenagers and adults are “hard” to please, and they don’t get excited easily. So, it´s the teacher´s job to give the tone to the activity. For the song IDGAF , after a brief discussion, students will listen to the song and decide how the singer feels, in other words, the reason behind the lyrics. They will also guess the name of the song. In the end, they will write their own song and share them with their peers.

 

 

My Love

Age: Adults

I recommend the song “MY LOVE” for an adult group. First, students will say what they know about the author. Then, they choose a word/phrase from two options given for each line. After that, they listen and check whether they were right. Finally, they correct a few grammar mistakes in the song.

Locked Away

Age: Older Teens & Adults

The tasks for the song “LOCKED AWAY” couldn´t be  more simple than this! First, students complete a sentence using personal information and share it with a peer. Then, they listen to the song and underline the structure. After that, they write a letter of reply.

Hot n’Cold

Age: Older Teens and Adults

The song “HOT N’COLD” allows us to focus on using adjectives to describe people´s personalities. First, students are asked to draw a few adjectives as a way to show how familiar they are with them. Then, they listen to the song and find examples of opposites in the lyrics. They are also supposed to infer adjectives that are not in the lyrics. In the end, they say whether they have met people with mood swings.

Hazard: Simple Past 2

Age: Older Teens & Adults

Here is another possible way to work with the song “HAZARD”. First, students work on the Simple Past of a few verbs which happen to be in the lyrics and share them with a peer. Then, they listen to the song and fill in the blanks provided with the same verbs. After that, based on the lyrics, they guess what it is about and finally watch the video of the song to check whether they were right.

Hazard: Fill In The Blanks

Age: Older Teens& Adults

For the song “HAZARD”, students first guess what the song is about by taking a short quiz. Then, they are introduced to the vocabulary and after that, they listen to the song and fill in the blanks with words that rhyme the ones that appear in bold. After that, based on the lyrics, they share what they think the song is about and finally, they watch the video of the song to check.

Don’t Stop Believing

Age: Adults

For the song “DON’T STOP BELIEVING”, students will first combine fragments of information in order to guess and talk about the band. Then, arranged in small  groups, they will be provided with pieces of the song to be put in order. After that, they will listen to the song and check whether their sequence is correct. They will also have to guess the name of the song after that and finally, they will share what they think about the song.

Man In The Mirror

Age: Older Teens & Adults

The song “MAN IN THE MIRROR” is another great song which allows students to engage into a discussion on our role in the world. My suggestion is: First, students share what they know about the singer (he´s not the author of this song) and what they think about his music. Then, they listen to the song and read the lyrics in order to find out who the “man in the mirror” is. Next, they work on the vocabulary by matching the words and phrases provided with their definitions. Finally, they write a reflective paragraph about what they think the message in the song is.

 

I Can´t Forget About You

Age: Teens

The song “I CAN’T FORGET ABOUT YOU” is an opportunity for students to talk about music. First, they share what they know about the band and the kind of music they like or don´t. Then, they fill in the blanks with words they think are suitable. After that, they listen to the song and check whether they are right.  Finally, they illustrate the song and have the illustrations made into an animation.

Brothers In Arms

Age: Adults

The song “BROTHERS IN ARMS” gives room for reflection. The goal is engage students into writing. First, they read words taken from the lyrics and guess what the song is about. Then, they guess where those words go in the lyrics and listen to the song in order to check whether they are right. After that, they reflect and discuss what they think the last line in the lyrics means. Finally, they write a letter of reply.

22

Age: Older Teens and Adults

For the song “22”, you can first engage students into talking about their future by using “will” for predictions. Then, they will listen to the song and read the lyrics and, based on those lyrics, they will guess the meaning of a few words and phrases provided. After that, they will predict what will happen to the character in the song and share their predictions with a peer.

 

Smile

Age: Teens

The song “SMILE” gives students an opportunity to practice on synonyms. First, they will check items on a list and share with their peers what things they have done to make a friend smile. Then, they listen to the song and find what´s different. There are 10 synonyms for words and phrases in the song.) After that, students write them down and in the end, they google another song of their choice and replace words and phrases for synonyms. Finally, they share their songs with their peers.