Lesson
plan (by ALESSIA MANGANO)
This
lesson is designed for students studying at third class of Scuola Media, level
A2.
It
provides students the opportunity to extend and develop their linguistic skills
and learn more about the world of music, through specific integrated activities
and strategies.
This
lesson is based on the communicative approach to the teaching and learning of
languages which emphasizes the communicative interaction between teacher and
students creating a relaxing atmosphere.
Overall
aims:
·
to enrich students general knowledge,
·
to give extensive and intensive reading
practice,
·
to extend the students’store of vocabulary
connected to music,
· to extrapolate the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context,
·
to build up motivation,
·
to develop writing skill,
·
to give freer speaking practice,
·
to give listening practice( for details and for
pleasure),
·
to give oral fluency practice using a song as a
follow-up,
·
to train students on interacting in pairs and
in group,
·
to recall known vocabulary,
·
to revise and increase grammatical knowledge,
·
to present new lexical items.
Personal aim:
·
to stimulate student interest in Beatles’story
and their music, using song in classroom.
Anticipated problems:
·
students may not be able to understand all the
words of the text and put paragraphs in correct order,
·
some students are more slower readers then
others, so that, listening to and reading the poem different times should help
slower readers in keeping up.
Assumed knowledge:
·
students know Present continuous, Past simple
and Present perfect;
·
students can give their own opinion about a simple text; can comment a
text about topics of interest.
Language
activities:
·
Reception: can scan very
short and simple texts in order to
locate specific information from different parts of a text; can skim a short
and simple text in order to catch its general meaning; can recognise
significant points in simple texts on subjects of interest.
·
Interaction:
can maintain a conversation or discussion on topics of interest; can give
personal views and opinions in discussing topics of interest; can summarise and
give his/her opinion about a short story.
·
Production: can briefly give reasons
and explanations for opinions, plans and actions; can write simple detailed
descriptions on a range of familiar subjects within his field of interest; can
narrate a story; can write simple on topic of interest; can summarise, report
and give his/her opinion about information on familiar routine and non-routine
matters.
Tasks
to be performed:
·
comprehension questions, true or false questions, taking part in open
discussions, reading text, analysing and discussing it with the classmates.
Materials:
·
photocopies, song, CD audio.
Time:
·
2-3 hours.
Procedure:
Pre-reading activity
Time:10
minutes. The teacher introduces the topic by showing Ss a picture representing
the Beatles and asking them questions like:
- Does this picture remind you of a group you
know?
- What do you know about the Beatles?
- Do you like their music?
- Have you got any Beatles cds or cassette at
home?
Ss
do brainstorming activity giving answers to the questions.
The
aim of this activity is to promote class-discussion, to build-up interest on
the topic and predict what the article is about.
While-reading activity
Time:
30 minutes.
Step
1: The teacher tells sts that they will be given a scrambled text of the
article and gives instructions to work in pairs to put paragraphs in the
correct order.
Teacher
cuts out slips of paper telling sts to order it as quickly as possible, giving
a time limit of 3 minutes.
Teacher
monitors, giving help if necessary by telling them to look at the dates.
Sts
are requested to skim the text working on cohesive elements and coherence.
The
aim is having sts order the paragraphs working in pairs and cooperating.
Step
2: The teacher reads the text aloud instructing sts to check the order of the
paragraphs. Sts listen to the teacher and readjust as necessary.
At
the end, teacher shows sts the text in order to make them correct.
Feedback: if they make mistakes in ordering
the text, teacher gets the sts to justify their choices and sort out any
problems along the way.
The
aim is to improve sts listening skill and self-evaluation.
Step
3: Language focus: teacher asks sts to read the text underlining the words they
don’t know.
Ss work in pairs and teacher encourages them
to discover the meaning of unknown words from the context first, and then use
the dictionary to confirm their thoughts.
Ss
help each other to understand any words they don’t know.
Step4:
Sts are requested to make a more detailed reading.
Then,
the teacher gives sts some sentences related to the text and they have to write
T(true) or F(false) next to the sentences and re-write the false ones to make
them true:
1)
The four Beatles were all born in Liverpool. T F
2)
They knew each other at school.
T F
3)
The Beatles played in a guitar-based rock band called “The Quarrymen”. T
F
4)
They first appeared in Liverpool with
Ringo Starr on 21st February 1964.
T F
5)
Brian Epstein became the Beatles manager and gave them a new image. T
F
6)
The group gave the first US concert on April 1964. T F
7)
The Beatles first important album was “ Please Please Me”. T F
8)
In 1968, they made their most creative single: Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely
Hearts Club Band. T F
9)
the music of the Beatles is still very popular today. T F
First,
sts have to accomplish the task individually, then they compare with the
partner the answers given and check.
Teacher asks them to decide on the most
interesting part of the story and why.
The
aim is to focus on intensive reading in order to get the meaning, to promote class-discussion to elicit different ideas, and to give writing and speaking skill practice.
Post-reading activity
Time:
60 minutes. Teacher introduces a Beatles’song, Penny Lane, as a follow-up
activity.
Pre-listening: the teacher writes on the blackboard the title of the song and does a
brainstorming activity asking questions like:
-
Who knows this song?
-
What do you think this song is about?
-
Think about the title, what does it suggest to
you?
Then,
the teacher gives the meaning of the most difficult words that sts probably
don’t know writing them on the blackboard.
“Penny Lane”
In
Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs
Of
ev’ry head he’s the pleasure to know,
And
all the people that come and go
Stop
and say “Hello”.
On
the corner is a banker with a motor car,
The
little children laugh at him behind his back,
And
the banker never wears a mac
In
the pouring rain-very strange.
Penny
Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,
There
beneath the blue suburban skies I sit
And
meanwhile back.
In
Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass
And
in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen,
He
likes to keep his fire engine clean,
It’s
a clean machine.
Penny
Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,
Flavour
of fish and finger pies in summer.
Meanwhile
back.
Behind
the shelter in the middle of the roundabout
The
pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
And
though she feels as if she’s in a play
She
is anyway.
In
Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer,
We
see the banker sitting waiting for a trim
And
then the fireman rushes in
From
the pouring rain-very strange.
Penny
Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,
There
beneath the blue suburban skies…
Penny
Lane!
Penny Lane:the
name of a Liverpool steet. Ev’ry:
every. Mac:
raincoat. Beneath:
under. Hourglass:
glass container used to measure the time(clessidra) Shelter: the place where people wait for bus. Trim:
hair cutting.
While-listening
Step
1: the teacher gives sts the song’s text cut in pieces and they have to
reconstruct it. Sts work in pairs, they listen and try to order the strophes.
Teacher
plays the song once instructing sts to check the order of their strophes.
Sts listen again and check the correct order.
The
aim of this activity is to develop sts listening skill.
Step
2: the teacher gives sts the song’s text with some missing words and asks them
to listen to the song and fill in the blanks.
In
Penny Lane there is a barber showing -----------
Of
ev’ry head he’s the-----------to know,
And
all the---------- that come and go
----------
and say “Hello”.
On
the --------- is a banker with a motor car,
The
little children -------- at him behind his back,
And
the banker never ---------- a mac
In
the pouring rain-very ------------.
Penny
Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,
There
beneath the blue suburban ------- I sit
And
meanwhile back.
In
Penny Lane there is a ------------- with an hourglass
And
in his pocket is a ------------ of the Queen,
He
---------- to keep his fire engine clean,
It’s
a clean machine.
Penny
Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,
------------
of fish and finger pies in summer.
Meanwhile
back.
Behind
the shelter in the middle of the roundabout
The
pretty --------- is selling poppies from a tray
And
though she feels as if she’s in a play
She
is ------------.
In
Penny Lane the ------------ shaves another customer,
We
see the banker sitting ------------ for a trim
And
then the fireman rushes in
From
the pouring ----------very strange.
Penny
Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,
There
beneath the blue suburban ---------…
Penny
Lane!
Sts
will listen to the song two times and then teacher shows them the right missing
words writing on the blackboard.
The
aim of this activity is to improve sts listening skill and enrich vocabulary.
Step
3:sts sing the song two times using correct rhythm and pronunciation.
Post-listening
Sts
work in pairs; they are requested to scan the text and identify the images
specifically referred to people in the song and fill in the table below:
Sts
discuss the meaning of the text freely.
Then,
teacher asks them to answer individually to this question:
-
What do the different images have in common?
-
In your opinion, what does Penny Lane represent
to the Beatles?
The aim of this activity is to promote
speaking and writing practice and inferring meaning from the song.