Teaching using film music

Here is an activity that I tried a few times over the last week with a lot of success. It can be done by all levels above intermediate. You'll need music from three different movies, preferably ones that your students haven't seen.

Lesson Plan

1 Tell your students that they are going to hear three pieces of music that come from a movie. What they have to do is think of;

Title
Genre
Scene

2 Make sure that they understand what genre means, if necessary, give examples or elicit different ones from the class.

3 Also make sure that where it says scene the students should write down what they think is happening at this point in the film, e.g. the hero is fighting with a two -headed alien at the top of the Empire State Building.

4 Play one to two minutes from the soundtrack.

5 Students compare their answers which each other. Elicit answers from the class. If a student knows the film then ask them to be the teacher and talk about the film.

6 Repeat these steps twice more.

7 Write on the board;

who where when which why how what

Now ask students to write down questions to ask you about the films from which you took the music.

8 Answer the questions.