What Are Some Effective Ways To Design A Lesson Plan That Uses Song Lyrics To Teach The Present Perfect Continuous Tense To Intermediate-level ESL Students, While Also Incorporating Authentic Materials And Avoiding Copyright Infringement When Selecting Songs And Distributing Lyrics To Students?

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Lesson Plan: Teaching Present Perfect Continuous with Song Lyrics

Objective:
Students will understand and use the present perfect continuous tense through the use of song lyrics, authentic materials, and engaging activities, while adhering to copyright guidelines.


Lesson Structure:

1. Warm-Up (10 minutes)

  • Activity: Review the present continuous tense.
    • Write sentences on the board (e.g., "She is studying," "They are playing").
    • Ask students to identify the structure and its uses.
  • Purpose: Activate prior knowledge and set the context for the lesson.

2. Grammar Explanation (15 minutes)

  • Explanation: Introduce the present perfect continuous tense, using a timeline to illustrate its use for ongoing or repeated actions.
    • Structure: "have/has been + verb-ing."
    • Examples: "I have been studying," "She has been living here."
  • Contrast: Differentiate from simple present and past continuous tenses.

3. Song Lyrics Analysis (20 minutes)

  • Song Selection: Choose a song with clear present perfect continuous examples (e.g., "Still Crazy After All These Years").
  • Activity: Play a verse and chorus, focusing on target structures.
    • Discuss lyrics, highlighting tense usage.
    • Use a handout with blank spaces for students to fill in the correct verbs.
  • Copyright Note: Use a small portion of the song, ensuring fair use for education.

4. Controlled Practice (15 minutes)

  • Exercise: Provide sentences from the song with missing verbs.
    • Students complete sentences using the present perfect continuous.
  • Alternative: Play the song again; students identify the tense in use.

5. Production Activity (15 minutes)

  • Pair Work: Students create sentences about their lives using the tense.
  • Class Discussion: Share sentences, encouraging natural language use.

6. Wrap-Up and Homework (5 minutes)

  • Recap: Summarize key points.
  • Homework: Ask students to find a song using the tense and discuss it next class, focusing on snippets to avoid copyright issues.

Materials Needed:

  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Handouts with song excerpts and exercises
  • Access to selected song for in-class play
  • Optional: Timeline printouts for visual aid

Assessment:

  • Informal monitoring during activities.
  • Review of worksheets for understanding.

Extension:

  • Consider a follow-up where students write their own verses or a class song using the tense.

This lesson plan integrates authentic materials, adheres to copyright guidelines, and engages students through music, promoting effective language learning.