"Dumb Ways to Die": Song Worksheets

-
Dumb Ways to Die is one of those songs that you cannot get rid of easily. Apart from its catchy tune, it comes with an equally enjoyable video, making it one of the most popular videos in YouTube.


It was originally designed as a public service announcement campaign by Metro Trains in Melbourne, Australia, to promote rail safety. The video went viral through sharing and social media starting in November 2012. Since then it has spawned more songs, a considerable number of parodies, video games and, believe it or not, a couple of ESL lesson plans!

The following lesson plan is a combination of what circulates on the Internet (a version that works best with my classes). Ideal for older children and young teens. Level B1, mainly due to its vocabulary (although it becomes self explanatory through the video)


If you decide to use it in your class, leave me a comment and tell me how it went!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dead Poets Society Worksheets

-
Image
The 21st March is  World Poetry Day  and it is an excellent opportunity to show students a film I am particularly fond of (in fact most teachers are): Dead Poets Society. Dead Poets Society   is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Robin Williams. Set in 1959 at the fictional elite conservative boarding school Welton Academy, it tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry. There are tons of worksheets out there for both native and EFL students focusing on different aspects of the film. The film itself is very rich in  literature material and can provoke discussions on many issues like poetry, conformity, education, the list goes on.  The following worksheets are inspired by the ones found on the internet so in this sense they are not original. However they are written with my students in mind (ideally 15-18 year olds at B1+ level) and are adapted to what can be easily
Read more

"Zebra Question" by Shel Silverstein

-
Image
It seems that I have a soft spot for Shel Silverstein's writings.  They are simple yet so rich in meanings and they are always accompanied with straightforward illustrations that make them ideal for children and adults alike. Three years ago I created a short lesson on  The Missing Piece Meets the Big O . This year I made a short video for one of Silverstein's short poems, the  "Zebra Question".  photo by  VIKTOR HANACEK Zebra Question is a poem from the book  A Light in the Attic , published in 1981. It is about a boy who asks a zebra whether it is black with white stripes or white with black stripes. The zebra replies somewhat sassily with an exhaustive list of questions: "Are you good with bad habits? Or are you bad with good habits? Are you noisy with quiet times? Or quiet with noisy times? and on and on and on in a repetitive way. The poem reminds us to look at situations but also at ourselves from different perspectives. Nothing can ev
Read more

CEFR and Guided Learning Hours

-
Image
How many guided learning hours are needed for a language learner to progress from one level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) to the next? For more information visit  the official website  for the  Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
Read more