Ideas for using songs

I tried this idea today in class. But remember we're trained professionals so don't try this at home, kids.














I thought that I'd do something different as the students have been doing exams all week and are very tired. Anyway, I choose 5am by Appleton as it's a sweet ballad and doesn't have much in the way of difficult language.

lesson plan

1 Write the title and the first couple of lines of the song;

It's 5 o'clock in the morning And I give up on sleep

life with a conscience and I decide to walk away

2 Ask students to guess what the song is about and who "I" is in this situation.

3 Play the song but without giving the students the lyrics. Ask students to come up with ideas about the what's the song is about in pairs.

4 Hand out the lyrics and play the song again.

It's 5 o'clock in the morning And I give up on sleep life (?) with a conscience and I decide to walk away

So I find my posessions And slide from your room Ignore all regrets I push myself into the street

I, I, I dont want to talk I've said my piece and I'll just go now I would love to believe and be? content to wait with you again

At 6 o'clock in the morning you'll awake all alone and pause for a moment to damn or bless me as you wish

I, I, I dont want to talk I've said my piece and I'll just go now I would love to believe and be? content to wait with you again

I agree, it would never be right and I'll just go now, and id love to believe and id be content to wait with you again, again, again

I, I, I dont want to talk I've said my piece and I'll just go now I would love to believe and be? content to wait with you again

5 This time ask students to think of questions using how, what, where, when, who, why

e.g. Why did she leave ?

6 Students then ask each other the questions and come up with their own answers.

7 Ask the students to do a role play. Divide the group into boys and girls/men and women and ask them to imagine that the they are the "I" and "you" in the song and that they meet by chance a year later.

This exercise got mixed results, I'm not sure if it was the fact that everyone was tired, they didn't like the song or it's just not a good idea. Then again if you try something new you have got to accept the fact that it may not work, I'll try this with a couple of other classes then we'll see.