Activity 1 Listen to the song once and try to answer the questions. 1. When does the song take place? 2. What s the weather like? 3. How does the speaker feel? How do you know? Activity 2 Listen again and tick the verbs each time you hear them. You won t hear all of them! Verse 1 ticks Verse 2 ticks Chorus 1 ticks sitting diving learning singing driving yearning wasting wasting turning waiting waiting hanging handing Verse 3 ticks Verse 4 ticks Chorus 2 ticks sitting getting learning making stepping yearning taking letting turning www.teachitelt.com 2014 16304 Page 1 of 6
Activity 3 Here are the verbs that you heard in activity 1: Verse 1 Verse 2 Chorus 1... sitting...... driving...... turning...... wasting...... driving...... turning...... hanging....... driving...... waiting...... waiting... Verse 3 Verse 4 Chorus 2... sitting...... stepping...... turning...... taking...... turning... What words could go before and after them? You can use this list to help you: around around for you here my time around around for you my head too far around a shower here my head too fast www.teachitelt.com 2014 16304 Page 2 of 6
Activity 4 Listen one more time and write the missing verbs in the gaps. Verses 1, 2 and 3 1. nothing ever... Verse 2 2. I... so lonely Chorus 1, 2 and 3 3. all that I... see Verse 3 4. I... the power 5. I... so tired What tense are they in? Why are they in a different tense from the verbs in activities 2 and 3? Activity 5 Write about what you are doing right now. Right now At the moment I am... ing.... The weather is.... I feel / I m feeling... because.... www.teachitelt.com 2014 16304 Page 3 of 6
Activity 6 Write about your favourite day of the week, and your least favourite. You can write about your family, friends, hobbies, workplace and things which are important to you. My favourite day of the week My favourite day of the week is... because I (e.g. see / do / go to).... I meet.... The time goes quickly/slowly because.... My least favourite day of the week My least favourite day of the week is... because I (have to / can t / don t) (e.g. see / do / go to).... I (can t) meet.... The time goes quickly/slowly because.... www.teachitelt.com 2014 16304 Page 4 of 6
Teaching notes Level: elementary/pre-intermediate (A2). Aims: to practise listening skills (recognising verbs in a song) to work on collocations to review the use of present continuous and present simple forms to write a short piece using those tenses. Timing: approximately 45 minutes. Preparation The song is available on YouTube, for instance Lemon Tree Fools Garden Video Clip Completo : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phenpddusss. Make sure you don t choose a version which displays the lyrics! For copyright reasons, the lyrics aren t reproduced here, but they are available on various sites such as www.azlyrics.com or www.metrolyrics.com. Activity 1 Answers: 1. Sunday afternoon. 2. Rainy. 3. Depressed: bored, lonely, tired, isolated. Activity 2 Answers: Verse 1 ticks Verse 2 ticks Chorus 1 ticks sitting driving turning wasting waiting waiting hanging Verse 3 ticks Verse 4 ticks Chorus 2 ticks sitting stepping turning taking www.teachitelt.com 2014 16304 Page 5 of 6
Activity 3 Verse 1 Verse 2 Chorus 1 I m sitting here I m driving around I m turning my head I m wasting my time I m driving too fast I m turning around I m hanging around I m driving too far I m waiting for you I m waiting for you Verse 3 Verse 4 Chorus 2 I m sitting here I m stepping around I m turning my head taking a shower I m turning around Activity 4 Answers: Verses 1, 2 and 3 1. nothing ever happens Verse 2 2. I feel so lonely Chorus 1, 2 and 3 3. all that I can see Verse 3 4. I miss the power 5. I feel so tired What tense are they in? Present simple. Why are they in a different tense from the verbs in activities 2 and 3? 1. It s about a frequent situation, not an event at the moment of speaking. 2./5. Feel and miss have the same meaning in the simple or the continuous form. 3. Can is a stative verb. Extension activity Students present a favourite song to the class, saying why they like it and how it makes them feel. Stronger students could be encouraged to talk about the language of the song, saying, for example, how the choice of verbs or the use of colours adds to the impact of the song. www.teachitelt.com 2014 16304 Page 6 of 6