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

 

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.