ARMY POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL DEPARTAMENT OF LANGUAGES

SOME IDEAS TO TEACH A SONG - LEVEL 1 (By Alfonso Guerra and Juan M. Ávila)

SONG: “ What A Wonderful World” (Louis Armstrong)

Pre-listening

1. The teacher will ask the students about the things they mostly like of the
world and why. Here the teacher can refer to the verbs used in the song, to
give the students background and their meanings.

2. The teacher will introduce the activity (learning a song), by summarizing

what the students have said.

3. The teacher will divide the class into groups of no more than 3 - 4 students
and give each group a set of cutouts with the song. (see annex 1)

While listening

4. The students will now be asked to order the cutouts to form 4 stanzas.
Then the teacher will play the song once. (YOUTUBE: LOUIS
ARMSTRONG WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD (2nd in the list)
(http://youtu.be/W7rLA7WBw3s) At this point, the teacher will not allow the
students watch the lyrics on the screen, yet.

5. The teacher will now check each group and correct any mistake by playing
the song for a second time. This time the students will be shown the lyrics
on the screen. YOUTUBE: WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD LYRICS (first
in the list) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yCcXgbKrE)

6. The teacher will collect all the cutouts and separate the students into
individuals.

7. The teacher will hand in a gapped paper with the lyrics to each student.
(Annex 2) They will then be asked to discover the missing verb for each
gap. The teacher will play the song again to check. This time, the students
are asked to sing the song along. (YOUTUBE: LOUIS ARMSTRONG WHAT
A WONDERFUL WORLD (2nd in the list) (http://youtu.be/W7rLA7WBw3s)
 8. The teacher shows the lyrics on the screen, while the students sing the song
and correct their own mistakes YOUTUBE: WHAT A WONDERFUL
WORLD LYRICS (first in the list)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yCcXgbKrE)

9. Both the teacher and students will analyze the meaning of each verb
separately and in context to get the main idea of the song.

10. The teacher will now ask the students to underline the new words. The
teacher will check if the students know all the vocabulary, or else will explain
the new terms using them in context (example sentences)

11. The teacher divides the class into 2 big groups and ask one group to sing
the song along with the video they are shown (YOUTUBE: EASY SONGS
FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS 2nd in the list. song n° 6)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPcgM1MnDnI&list=PL05E1FE495E225
87B&index=6) and then the other group. (The teacher will sometimes lower
or silent the volume of the song in order to listen to the students singing)

12. Explain that this song has been famous through the times, that it has been
sung by many people, with different rhythms, and has even been included in
some films like “The mysterious island”. (YOUTUBE: THE ROCK SINGING-
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw_tC8vfdUE) Explain that the lyrics
have been adapted to the film but the melody is the same.

13. Tell them that this song has also been sung in different rhythms like rock.
Play (YOUTUBE: JOEY RAMONE WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-3ox-6WhBA) and ask the students to
sing along.

14. Play the same video and this time, without any backup ask the students to
sing the song along.

After listening (If there isn’t enough time, it could be sent as homework)

15. Ask the students to write 5 sentences, each of them using a verb from the
list in the last exercise. This way the teacher will make sure the verbs were
understood.
What A Wonderful World Lyrics (Louis Armstrong)

I see trees of green, red roses too

I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They are really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow

They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.
(ANNEX 1)

(CUT EACH LINE OUT PREVIOUSLY AND MAKE SETS ACCORDIG TO THE
GROUPS YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE)

What A Wonderful World Lyrics (Louis Armstrong)

I see trees of green, red roses too

__________________________________________________________________________
I see them bloom for me and you

__________________________________________________________________________
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
_________________________________________________________________________
I see skies of blue and clouds of white

_________________________________________________________________________
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

_________________________________________________________________________
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

_________________________________________________________________________
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

_________________________________________________________________________
Are also on the faces of people going by

_________________________________________________________________________
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do

_________________________________________________________________________
They are really saying I love you.

_________________________________________________________________________
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow

_________________________________________________________________________
They'll learn much more than I'll never know

_________________________________________________________________________
And I think to myself what a wonderful world

_________________________________________________________________________
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

_________________________________________________________________________
(ANNEX 2)

(COMPLETE THE GAPS WITH THE VERBS IN BASE FORM)

What A Wonderful World Lyrics (Louis Armstrong)

I _________ trees of green, red roses too

I _________ them _________ for me and you
And I _________ to myself what a wonderful world.

I _________ skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I _________ to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

_________ also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how ______ you _____
They _______ really saying I __________ you.

I ________ babies crying, I __________ them ________

They'll ___________ much more than I'll never __________
And I ___________ to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I ___________ to myself what a wonderful world.

Here is a list of the verbs you will use. Some of them are repeated in
different parts of the song

(are – see – bloom – think – grow – learn - love – hear - watch - do)