Songs

Songs in the classroom can be used like any text! You can:

• make cloze or C-tests;
• cut up the strips and listen and put the text in order;
• work with the music video;
• sing and act along!

With English in the third grade in Switzerland, we might ask ourselves if traditional kindergarten songs such as "The Hokey Pokey" or "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" are actually appropriate or interesting for eight or nine-year-old children - there are plenty of good modern songs or ESL raps that are appropriate for younger learners!

• ISL Collective has a great filter where you can search for songs by CEFR level or by grammar point. Try it out!
• If you are interested in making lip syncs or parodies with your classes, you might look through the article on creative tasks (starting on page 24!) in Cruz, M., & Pinto, C. (2021). Issues’ 21-Issues in Education.Cruz, M., & Pinto, C. (2021). Issues’ 21-Issues in Education. Politécnico do Porto (below)
• Buechel, L. (2019). Lip syncs: Speaking… with a twist. English Teaching Forum (Vol. 57, No. 4, pp. 46-52). US Department of State. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

Student Blog Entries

Over the years, students have been busy bloggers! On these blogs you will find songs, stories, Go Noodle activities and more! There are so many blogs, it is hard to organize, so just click on one that you think looks interesting and use the "filter" button (next to "Articles") to select the category you're interested in. You will find hundreds of songs students have deemed useful over the years. Please remember that these links take you to external sites which are not maintained by the PHZH.