SONG: ‘Give me some sunshine’ by Rajkumar Hirani

LEVEL: Elementary / Pre-intermediate

AGE: Teenagers / Young Adults / Adults

As an ‘enthusiastic’ (or maybe a crazy English teacher:) ) I always feel like the antennas of a radio receiving every little signal around so that I can find something useful and enjoyable for my students. It really doesn’t matter where I am, who I am with or what I am doing. Anything can seem to be a tool to be used in my class or any visual or auditory material can turn into a fun activity for my students. Especially if it is a day I am visited by the ‘Muses’  That can happen while hanging out in a toy shop, gazing at the ads in the metro or even flying in a lucid dream

Well, a couple of days ago, I was watching  ‘3 Idiots’ (which has been the only film which made me laugh and cry so I strongly recommend). The music was as good as the awesome story. Anyways, I decided to prepare the following set of song activities and I think the 33^rd Blog Carnival will be the most conducive atmosphere for sharing it. Thanks to my dear colleague Eva Buyuksimkesyan‘s CALL for blog posts to be hosted on her fabulous blog at the carnival.

The activities below are all about ‘Give me some shine’, my favourite song in the film I mentioned above. Although a big part of the song is in Hindi, I found it very meaningful and enjoyable. I even visualized myself singing it with the students joyfully and using some gestures and mimes.

Below are some ideas about how you can use this song in your classroom. I hope you will like them:)

BEFORE SINGING

• Make the students listen to the chorus and ask them to sing along. Repeat it altogether till they can do it alone without hearing the music.
• Tell them that they have to stop what they are doing and sing it when you call out ‘GIVE ME SOME SUNSHINE’. If you want, you can even add some gestures and tell them to imitate you.
• Give each student a piece of paper and ask them to draw and colour ‘some sunshine’.
• While they are drawing, stop them by calling out ‘GIVE ME SOME SUNSHINE’ and sing the chorus with them. When they finish, ask them to continue  to draw their picture.
• Repeat the same a couple of times till they finish their own ‘sunshine’ picture.

Give Me Some Sunshine CHORUS.

WHILE SINGING

• Play the English part of the song and tell the students to hold up their ‘sunshine’ pictures when they hear the word ‘sunshine’. They can also sing along during that.
• Ask the students to work in pairs / groups and give them a set of word cards (the lyrics of the song).
• Tell them to put the words in the right order while they are listening to the song.

Give Me Some Sunshine ENGLISH PART.

• Before playing the full song, inform the students that a big part of the song is not in English but in Hindi as it is one of the songs in an Indian film called ‘3 Idiots’. Encourage the students to guess what the lyrics may be by watching the video clip.
• Tell them to get into pairs / groups again and share their ideas. They may also share their ideas with the whole class.

Give Me Some Sunshine FULL SONG.

• Finally, play the song with the English subtitles. You can choose the group with the closest answer in the end and reward them with a smiling sun on the board.

Give Me Some Sunshine LYRICS (Hindi and English).

AFTER SINGING

• Ask the students to change some words in the English part of the song and create their own lyrics.

Here is mine:

Give me some chocolate

Give me some sweets

Give me another piece

I wanna eat them all

• Then, they can sing their parts in the class or record it to play for their friends.
• As an extension activity, you can make them watch the film in the class or at home. They can write their comments on their ‘sunshine’ picture or post them on the class blog / wiki  etc.

P.S 1:  Watch the film before you decide to use it in your class. I think it is not a good idea to use it with young learners, but you can still use the English part of the song with them.

P.S 2: Please don’t go mad with me if you keep singing it in your mind again and again for the whole day or maybe week:)

Please do not hesitate to share your experiences if you try any of these activities. Let me end the post with another version of the lyrics:)

Send me some comments

Tweet my post

Send me your ideas

I wanna hear them all

When I read about the main idea of

the 29th ESL / EFL / ELL Blog Carnival on

Sharon Turner’s blog,

I was sure what to blog about and wrote this post especially for the carnival:)

I always think that there is a hidden mother soul deep inside me (though I’m not one yet:) and this holy creature usually arises in the middle of the class while caring for my little kiddos (!). I whirl around the class like a mother giving instructions constantly, guiding them throughout the tasks and correcting their mistakes. Sometimes I even act like a bit manic especially while mentoring group activities. Turning into an older person suddenly, I start reminiscing about my years at school and trying to give them life lessons. I’m not even going to mention about the number of panic attacks I can have during the rehearsals before the end of year shows. No matter what happens, I spread my wings over my baby birds:) trying to improve their morale and flow my love into their hearts. When the time comes to fly from the nest (the end of the year for a teacher:), I feel so proud of them but  still  scared to give them a full responsibility. Doing my best to conceal this whole process from them, I say goodbyes and get ready for the next group of birdies.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Probably, yes:) As teachers we sometimes don’t have the courage to give our students the “responsibility”. Why not giving them more opportunities to help them find out their own skills and interests and express themselves? Do not hesitate a moment longer and let it be! Once you start allowing your students to do that, they begin to discover their own secret gardens.

I’ve been thinking about this since I attended the Third ELT Conference at Bogazici University a couple of months ago. This conference was much more different than the other conferences I attended.  It was organized by five great ELT students and it left an unforgettable impression in our memories.  These enthusiastic students, ‘the teachers of the future’ did not only made the arrangements but also conquered our hearts by taking care of everyone at the conference and dealing with every little detail. Aysegul Bayram, Busra Nur Ozer (4th year students from Bogazici University – probably they will have been graduated soon:) ), Basak Temel , Buse Aral and Sevim Acikgoz (3rd year students from Bilgi University) performed a miracle as students. I’m sure they will set a good example for other students and of course for us, the teachers as well.

From Left to Right: Sevim Acikgoz, Aysegul Bayram, Buse Aral, ME:), Basak Temel and Busra Nur Ozer

This can look like a “unique” responsibility to shoulder, but I think it is not impossible. You never know what hidden potential your students have, so do not hesitate to give them a chance to go for it. Remember that they are the “future”!.  The people of the “future”.

Adem Sahin (an ELT student from Pamukkale University) compiled the best shots of the conference and prepared this great video:

Other posts you might like:

The Third International ELT Students Conference by Adam Simpson

The ELT Students Who Are Already in “Flow” by Burcu Akyol

The Third International ELT Students Conference by Eva Buyuksimkesyan

The flying girl by Merve Oflaz

Don’t let your student run away! by Merve Oflaz

Leave the dark out and let the light in! by Merve Oflaz

 

Me, serving the drinks:)

After taking part at 24th Edition of EFL / ESL / ELL Blog Carnival on Eva Simkesyan‘s blog , this is the second time I’m attending a blog carnival. Thanks to Adam Simpson and Larry Ferlazzo for hosting great posts on their blogs.  For the 27th Blog Carnival, I will share an exciting lesson in which my students participated in all parts of it enthusiastically.

It was based on a reading text called “Two Drinks That Changed the World” in the course book “Challenges 4″ by Pearson Longman, but of course it is OK if you use another similar reading. By adapting some parts of the activity, it can be used for Pre – Intermediate students or above.

Things you need:

* Different kinds of herbal tea, black tea and coffee

* Kettle, paper glass (If the students want, they may bring their own cups / mugs), tea sticks, some water and sugar

Here are the steps of the activity:

This is a “hot” warm – up providing Ss to answer the question below while having their hot drinks. Prepare the kettle and other materials beforehand. Offer the students a hot drink they want to have. If they don’t want to have, tell them it is OK and they may still join in the activities. After the students get their drinks, ask them to smell the drink first and drink it later. Tell them to read the ingredients on the packaging and express their ideas about the drink using the adjectives / adverbs on the power point slide.

Students enjoying their hot drink and having a pair work

Then, give the students a piece of paper with a ready border, ask them to write about their feelings / thoughts down and leave their messages on the English Corner. They can keep drinking or get a new cup if they finish.

Next , they are  put into groups. Each group reads a part of the text and then groups are changed again, so they can inform other groups about the part they have read.

How the activity went in my class

I tried it with my Grade 8 students last year and they were so happy to take a break after all the studies they have for the national exam, SBS. The students enjoyed each process of the lesson. The reading lessons which usually described as “boring” (by them) has become fun and even took place as the top priority on their weekend worksheeet. Students mentioned that they do not have fear or anxiety before reading a text anymore. I believe it was not only an integrated lesson (including reading, writing, listening, and speaking) but also very productive and creative.

Tips

* Do not forget to get a permission from the coordinator / vice principal / principal before the activity.

* Because of the hot drinks, the activity can be dangerous for young learners and even for the others, so warn the students not to rush and to be careful. Take precautions before the lesson (maybe getting a first aid bag).

* Ask the students if they are allergic to any kinds of herbal tea or other drinks.

* Inform the students at least a day before, so they can bring their own cups or mugs.

* No matter what their age is, serve the water for the tea and coffee yourself.

* Finally, take photos during the activity and display them on the bulletin boards. You may even create a handout / worksheet using the photos (adding callouts to ask the Ss to fill in or a reflection paragraph).

ENJOY IT!

If you have any addings or adaptations, please do not hesitate to share. I will be glad to hear.

Hogwarts Houses: This is a great method that will help your classroom management. Divide the classroom into four groups and name each group as one of the Hogwarts Houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Make a chart with four columns and write the names of the houses in each column. Write 100 points for each house. Display the chart on the wall so everyone can see it. You can decorate the chart with the logos of the houses as well. Take points from the related house if a student misbehaves, forgets homework or distract others. If a student participates the lesson, does regular homework or behaves well, give points to the related house. After a while, students will start to warn each other and try to be more careful. The winner group is awarded monthly or weekly.

Tip: If you let the students choose the names of the groups, it can take a long time because most of them would want to choose Gryffindor which Harry belongs to:) To avoid the chaos write the names of the houses on little pieces of paper and call a student from each group to pick up one so each can have a name. Another important thing is setting up the rules. Specify the rules very well and let your students know.

Prefects: Choose some students as the heads of the classroom. These students can take more responsibilities and help you to distribute the worksheet, prepare the class before you, assist you during the computer activities and so on.

Tip: You can choose one prefect per house, four in the whole class. To give each student equal responsibility you can change the prefects regularly so each student can become a prefect throughout the year.

Howler: If you want to warn a student, write a note on a red paper, fold it and give it to the student.

Tip: Do not overuse it not to lose the effect. Try not to use any offensive words that will depress them.

Word Cauldron: Ask the students to prepare word cards for the new words they have learnt. Students can share the words to prepare the cards. According to the level of the students, you may ask them to draw a picture of the word or to write a sample sentence using the word. Put all the cards in the cauldron. Play word games using the cards as a warm-up or in your extra-time. After each unit or module the cauldron can be emptied and prepared for the next group of words.

Tip: Find a box and stick a picture of a cauldron on it. If you can, find a cauldron:)

The Magical Eye: Make a list of the students on a cardboard and put it on the wall. Moody’s magical eye is capable of seeing things through objects so why not using it as a symbol for the students who have missing homework. Print out little pieces of the magical eye and then stick one for each missing homework next to the related student on the cardboard.

Tip: Sticking out the pictures can take time so it is better to choose students in charge of this chart. Maybe the prefects.

Magic Diary: Writing is a torture for some students. This activity can help them enjoy it. This imaginary diary is taken by each student in turns. Students should definitely read what was written before they write something because what they should do is to continue the diary in a meaningful way.

Tip: If the teacher involves, the activity will be really catchy.

The Sorting Hat: This can make question and answer activities very enjoyable. A student wears the hat and calls out a friend’s name to ask a question and after that student answers the question the hat goes to him or her. Even the most boring drilling activities will turn into a joy with the magic of the sorting hat:)

Tip: A paper hat will probably be torn very easily so it’s better to get a real one. It is very easy to find these kind of hats in the accessories or toy shops.

Anything you want to add? I think as teachers we can create a lot of new themes and make our students feel special. No matter what method or tool you use, the REAL magic is YOU. The only thing you should do is believeing in yourselves!

Looking forward to reading your comments and ideas…