Job Discussion Forums

[Austrian]

ok, I'm new here and only into my 4th week - I teach Senior 1 + 2 -during the last 10 minutes of the classes I so far have done some group activities - teams competing in spelling contests, etc.

I'd be looking for a short song with easy lyrics where a few students could sing the lead part and the rest a catchy refrain - as I have 70-80 per class and like to get them all involved in such activity

do any such songs come to your mind?

I would need to be able to download the song and the words from the net, though

[Austrian]

well, I've chosen the "There's a Hole in the Bucket" one for the time being - will see how it goes - the lyrics shouldn't be too difficult and the melody neither ...

[nolefan]

i've used "Mercedes Benz" by Janis Joplin quite successfully so far. It's one of the few songs that they've all liked.

Another sure winner is Picture by Kid Rock and Sherryl Crow

[Norman Bethune]

[murman]

Hi Austrian,

I taught in China last year. I've only just seen your posting, so I hope this message is still relevant.

I found that the Chinese I taught - groups of over sixty to a class - loved:

Sailing by Rod Stewart
As long as you love me - The Back Street Boys
Yesterday once more - The Carpenters
Yesterday - The Beatles
Yellow Submarine The Beatles

I did these as gap fills. I sang each song and played the guitar, and they filled in the missing words. I had to sing each song a few times. I did two songs a lesson, then got one or two of them to come out the front and sing a song to the class. These lessons went down really well. The only song they had difficulty singing was 'Yesterday'. They do like the song though.

Hope this has helped.

All the best,

Murman

[oprah]

I find the Carpenters music excellent as there is no one that has the clarity of voice as Karen Carpenter.
SING is the name of one of them, very easy and simple.
TOP OF THE WORLD is another one.
I do not do Yesterday Once More... I teach them NEW songs, not the ones they already know and they all know YESTERDAY ONCE MORE, and they all know MY HEART WILL GO ON.. and they all want to sing these two songs but I do not give into them on these.

[boxcarwilly]

I have used "When I'm Sixty-Four" a song written by Paul before he joined Beatles. Many different groups of students on different continents have enjoyed this one.

[kev7161]

How about the Partridge Family theme song: "Come On Get Happy"?

Hello world, here's a song that we're singin'
Come on, get happy
A whole lotta lovin' is what we'll be bringin'
We'll make you happy

We had a dream we'd go travelin' together
And spread a little lovin' if we'll keep movin' on
Somethin' always happens whenever we're together
We get a happy feelin' when we're singin' a song

Travelin' along, there's a song that we're singin'
Come on, get happy
A whole lotta lovin' is what we'll be bringin'
We'll make you happy

We'll make you happy
We'll make you happy

(Of course, you can't use any "g" at the end of words. Did you know there were different lyrics in the first season, but they were changed to these in the remaining ones? Of course, there was a different Chris too, but he was changed between Season 1 & 2 as well- - someone said in an interview that he was a holy terror.)

Surely in this modern age this song could be downloaded from somewhere (but don't call me Shirley). You could even have one girl play the tambourine badly and out of rhythm and most of the kids could lipsync along. Don't forget, the electric piano doesn't even have to be plugged in! But I loved the Partridge Family when I was a kid, there were even some pretty cool songs. And they definitely kicked the Brady Bunch's a$$e$!!

[william wallace]

Nothing to say.

[lily]

Check out this thread: Music in the classroom

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=22005&highlight=

I'll just go bump it up for you.

[dialogger]

Yesterday Once More is the one I've had most success with.
Tried Danny Boy and Moon River but although tunes are easy the imagery is hard to get across.
I had a whole carriage on the Shenyang to Dalian train singing YOM one afternoon last summer.
The chorus gets 'em belting it out 'Ev'ry Sha la la la Ev'ry Wo o o o etc'
See if you can do it without a record as the orchestral fill ins are hard to manage.
When you have students exiting class singing in English you know you've 'broken through'.
best

[dajiang]

'Imagine' might work...

it might be interpretated as being contra-revolutionary though.

'Let's get together' by the Youngbloods is perhaps less political... or is it?
http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/forrestgump/letsgettogether.htm

g'luck
dajiang

[rickinbeijing]

Some great suggestions here, although I think the final verse of The Doors song is pushing it content-wise (just drop it).

Here's my two mao worth (feel it's worth more than two fen but not two kwai).

Chinese tend to be quite sentimental and therefore love sentimental songs. Yes, I know that's a generalization, but it's mostly true. Try these:

John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" OR
"Five Hundred Miles" (Away from Home)

"If You're Happy and You Know It" (Clap Your Hands) lots of physicality too. Add "behind" (i.e. posterior) for some roars.

Burt Bacharach "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"

An oldie but goodie: "Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore" (you can leave out the Hallelujah if the religious overtones concern you).

Karen Carpenter indeed had one of the clearest voices in memory (but such a tragic life) and you can hear the instrumental versions of her songs in many stores here. I also recommend "Yesterday Once More."

Another great John Denver song with lots of repetition is "Sunshine On My Shoulders."

A personal favorite: "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan. Simple but brilliant and the ominous but sweet-sounding "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" by Pete Seeger.

Two big Beatles' hits, "Yesterday" (as mentioned above) and "And I Love Her."

Another one I do is "Country Roads" by John Denver, changing West Virginia to the name of whatever city or town your students live in and also a few descriptions.

[charmed]

TO THE OP:

we're handling the same year level of students and i found these songs worked well:

One Love - Blue - you'll need some time to explain some of the words and phrases, though

Pretty Boy - M2M - its catchy coz there's also a chinese version. Focus on voice blending, too.

The Day You Went Away - M2M - also catchy

We Are the World - USA for Africa - with chinese revival when they did a fund raising for tsunami victims - works well for your more advanced students who could focus on the song after you explained the vocabs. I also had my students present this on a school program with all the vocal artists represented.

More Than Words - Extreme - i'm trying this out next week as a follow up after my lesson on Body Language. should work coz the melody is easy enough and they could even sing along with a guitar the song is basically acoustic-based. Voice Blend focus if there's time

OTHER SONGS IN LINE FOR ME:

Ironic - Alanis Morisette -- i'll try a lesson on Irony

Perhaps love - John Denver -- lesson on simile and metaphor

I Swear - Friendship song

Love, Me - Collin Raye (country) -- a song with a story line. might also jiggle their imagination a bit to draw out the story behind the song or make up their own story lines.


WHAT I DO:

I used to do long walks just trying to find taped materials but now I download songs from KAZAA, transfer to MP3 player, stick it to some loudspeakers and i'm all set. My students simply copy the songs on their own MP3s or transfer 'em on the class computer.

Do Gap Fill, Vocabs, etc.


Hope these will help. PM if it works for u.

<Charmed>

[hesterprynne]

Song ordering activities- where you mix up the lines and make ss listen and put them in the right order- are fun and easy for you. I used to use www.letssingit.com for lyrics, but now I search for lyrics on www.dogpile.com . If you have a big Xinhua bookstore, you can get a book full of up-to-date, translated songs for 24 kuai with CD and baseball-player-style cards about the artists. The logo of the good books is in the lower corner of the front cover- Music Heaven.