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Author Topic: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?  (Read 1768 times)

Offline sfujiki

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Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« on: February 25, 2016, 12:35:39 PM »
Hello all!

My coteacher asked me to choose 8-10 pop songs to teach grades 4-5.  I'm having trouble figuring out what's easy enough (and appropriate) for them to learn.  Help!
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Offline pixelOwl

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2016, 12:26:29 PM »
Hey here's a thread that has some posts of song suggestions:
http://www.waygook.org/index.php/topic,44134.msg357231.html#msg357231

Also just from what I've already used with my 5th and 6th graders, they liked these songs:
Count on me - Connie Tolbot (written by Bruno Mars)
Upside down - A teens (there's a cute ppt style version on youtube)
Heal the world - Michael Jackson (or Connie Tolbot's cover)
Lemon Tree - Fool's Garden
Let it be - Beatles

I also think you could do well with:
Better when I'm dancin' - Meghan Trainor  (new Peanuts movie)
Go The Distance - Hercules
Good time - Owl city & Carley Rae Jepson
Waiting for love - Avicii (it has a stunning lyric video)
*Gr4 loved this song: Seven days of the week (aka I never go to work) by TMBG

Just listen to the whole song before using it. Some of the songs I wanted to use had one or two lines that could have been awkward to try and explain to young munchkins and some are too abstract for them to easily grasp.

Good luck!
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Offline sfujiki

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2016, 02:26:26 PM »
Thanks so much, PixelOwl!  That was really helpful, I appreciate it :)
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Offline Foreverparadise

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2016, 03:36:50 PM »

How about Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds?"

The words are easy and the melody is catchy.
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Offline schnieppster

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2016, 05:11:14 PM »
....It's super cheesy, but "We are going to be friends" by the White Stripes is pretty appropriate. 
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Offline sfujiki

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2016, 10:45:13 AM »
Thank you so much for the suggestions, guys!  I decided on the songs below since they have a lot of repetition and easy vocab.


Count on Me – Bruno Mars
https://youtu.be/yJYXItns2ik

Just a Kid – Wilco
https://youtu.be/Tax9JqdCMUM

Happy- Pharrell Williams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTjPaB178tg

Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows- Lesley Gore
https://youtu.be/w5Fgp-KihIA   

Three Little Birds- Bob Marley
https://youtu.be/HCCGZh-TxK0

When I’m Gone (cups)- Anna Kendrick
https://youtu.be/pjcOzqxu4JQ
And the students can learn the cup dance too! 
https://youtu.be/DDfRPtDsedA

All is Love- Karen O and the Kids
https://youtu.be/BjEnXkaYIIE

Waiting for Love- Avicii
https://youtu.be/-ncIVUXZla8

Safe and Sound- Capital Cities
https://youtu.be/P-u_1gNcmek

Call Me Maybe- Carly Rae Jepsen
https://youtu.be/n0XguJCwIVc

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Offline drobinson11

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2016, 11:53:12 AM »
These are all great suggestions, I'm also going to be doing a song. Me and my CoT have decided to do One direction- One thing as our first song, but these are great for when we change songs. Thanks :)
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Offline okapifire

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2016, 03:42:07 PM »
Quote from: sfujiki on March 04, 2016, 10:45:13 AM
Thank you so much for the suggestions, guys!  I decided on the songs below since they have a lot of repetition and easy vocab.


Count on Me – Bruno Mars
https://youtu.be/yJYXItns2ik

Just a Kid – Wilco
https://youtu.be/Tax9JqdCMUM

Happy- Pharrell Williams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTjPaB178tg

Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows- Lesley Gore
https://youtu.be/w5Fgp-KihIA   

Three Little Birds- Bob Marley
https://youtu.be/HCCGZh-TxK0

When I’m Gone (cups)- Anna Kendrick
https://youtu.be/pjcOzqxu4JQ
And the students can learn the cup dance too! 
https://youtu.be/DDfRPtDsedA

All is Love- Karen O and the Kids
https://youtu.be/BjEnXkaYIIE

Waiting for Love- Avicii
https://youtu.be/-ncIVUXZla8

Safe and Sound- Capital Cities
https://youtu.be/P-u_1gNcmek

Call Me Maybe- Carly Rae Jepsen
https://youtu.be/n0XguJCwIVc

Just a note but "Cups" talks about whiskey. IDK if you want to deal with that. There's a "Kidz Bop" version that's cleaner.

Also Happy repeats a lot but I think some lines are too hard. I tried teaching it to my kids but some parts they never mastered.
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Offline Bicky

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2016, 04:17:19 PM »
"As long as you love me" BSB
5th grade students enjoyed it.
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Offline BayouDrank

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2016, 05:53:38 PM »
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Offline vanwest3

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2016, 06:02:54 PM »
Here are some oldies that worked well in my classes last year:

1) Lou Christie "two faces have I"
2) Beatles "I wanna hold your hand"
3) Chordettes "Lollypop"
4) Patti Page "How much is that doggie in the window"
5) Sound of Music Soundtrack "Favorite things"
6) Bobby McFerrin "Don't worry be happy"
7) Tokens "the lion sleeps tonight"
8) Temptations "my girl"
9) Oasis "don't look back in anger"
10) 4 Seasons "big girls don't cry"
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Offline asiaman

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #11 on: June 19, 2016, 07:10:03 PM »
are those pop songs for teaching kids or adults?
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Offline seantheman

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2016, 02:43:43 PM »
The Beatles have such a huge collection of songs that they can be used for adults or children.

For Children you have Let it Be,  or  All together now (which has colors , numbers etc), Octopus's garden etc

For adults there are 100's of others
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Offline akplmn

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2016, 03:03:06 PM »
You have some great suggestions above.

My kids (5th and 6th grade specifically) tend to get interested in either kpop stars singing in English, or English covers of kpop songs that they like.  IU sings in English a lot, for example (though if you could find something by one of the groups they're currently obsessed with, that's probably best).

I also did a quick google search for English covers of kpop songs, and found this:  https://www.dramafever.com/news/10-amazing-stylistic-covers-of-k-pop-songs/

Apparently Ke$ha did a recording of Run Devil Run by Girls' Generation?!  Random ...
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Offline yfb

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #14 on: July 09, 2016, 05:32:31 PM »
Been going off the beaten track to teach the kids new songs lately. It really is a challenge to find a song that is 1) clean (>90%) and 2) slow enough. But here are a few songs that have been a hit with my kids and aren't the bog standard lemon tree > let it be sort of songs.

Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World
One Republic - Say (All I Need)
Wiz Khalifa - See You Again (the rapping is a little hard but the higher levels should be able to follow along with practice)
The Presidents of the USA - Peaches (warning, highly annoying song)
One Direction - History (honestly anything by OD is good)
Bruno Mars - Treasure (after editing out that "sexy mf'er" bit at the start)
Owl City - Good Time
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Offline kkelley913

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #15 on: July 19, 2016, 02:58:09 PM »
I did Shake it off by T. Swift with my 5th graders a while back. 
Also, Lemon Tree by Fools Garden is popular with that age group. 
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Offline chu7

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #16 on: August 03, 2016, 10:03:46 AM »
Lenka- Everything at Once. Teach them about animals and similes!
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Online editrice74

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Re: Help! Easy pop songs to teach English?
« Reply #17 on: August 03, 2016, 02:29:03 PM »
Incredible list; this should come in handy in my own classroom! Thanks.
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