Express Your Feelings

This activity focuses on emotions and music and the relationship between them. Students can have different interpretations of music than the lyrics suggest, and this can be a wonderful point of departure.

Preparation

The facilitator selects a song that students will likely have some feelings about — regardless of whether they are already familiar with the lyrics.

Procedure

1. Play the song without any pre-vocabulary teaching or warm-up. 2. Have students write down (or draw or make a collage based on) how the music made them feel and give supporting statements (they can use lyrics they hear or describe the music). 3. Have them share what they think the song is about with a partner. 4. Hand out the lyrics and play the song again. Ask if anyone can explain the meaning of the song. Add any information the students did not express. 5. Then ask them how their interpretations of the song’s music compared to the actual lyrics.

Variations

1. Students rewrite the song in groups using vocabulary learned in class and/or a discussion. 2. Lead a discussion highlighting how music can affect our emotions or how emotions influence music choice.

When to Use It

• To raise students’ interest/awareness in emotions expressed in music • To practice discrete listening

Level

Skills

Practice

Materials

Lyrics

Preparation Time

5–20 minutes (depending on whether you need to type the lyrics)

Activity Time

10–20 minutes

Possible Resources

Sing Out Loud: Traditional Songs https://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/singout-loud-traditional-songs Sing Out Loud: Children’s Songs https://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/singout-loud-childrens-songs