english lesson for 11-year-old girl

[panta rhei]

i've got my11-year old english lesson kid here this afternoon and have absolutely no idea what to do with her today (unless she brings some things she needs to do from school) - does anybody of you have some suggestions about songs that might be cool to look at the lyrics for a girl that age? or some every-day slang that could be fun for her?

she's just about to head into her second year of english (6th grade), and is more interested in funny things to laugh about than in learning vocabulary and grammar....

any suggestions and ideas would be welcome!
thanks.

[microbe]

I used to like this when I was about her age. There are versions about that don't mention tobacco or alcohol if you look around. I prefer the original and it can stimulate debate about drugs in general.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain

On a summer day
In the month of May
A burly bum came hiking
Down a shady lane
Through the sugar cane
He was looking for his liking
As he strolled along
He hummed a song
Of a land of milk and honey
Where a bum can stay
For many a day
And he won't need any money

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain
There's a land that's fair and bright
Where the handouts grow on bushes
And you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars all are empty
And the sun shines every day
Oh the birds and the bees
And the cigarette trees
And the rockin-right springs
Where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain
You never change your socks
And the little streams of alkyhol
Come a-trickling down the rocks
Where the brakemen have to tip their hats
And the railway bulls are blind
There's lakes of stew
And the whiskey too
You can paddle all round
In a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain,
The jails are made of tin.
You can walk right out, boys,
As soon as you walk in.
There ain't no short-handled shovels,
No axes, saws or picks,
Oh, I'm going to stay
Where you sleep all day,
Where they boiled in oil
The inventors of toil
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain
The cops have wooden legs
The bulldogs all have rubber teeth
And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs
The farmer's trees are full of fruit
The barns are full of hay
Oh, I'm bound to go
Where there ain't no snow
Where the sleet don't fall
And the wind don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Oh come with me, and we'll go see
the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

http://www.bluegrasslyrics.com/bluegras ... s29253.htm

The Ugly Bug Ball is another fun childrens song.

The Ugly Bug Ball Lyrics

Once a lonely caterpillar sat and cried,
to a sympathetic beetle by his side.
"I've got nobody to hug,
I'm such an ugly bug."

Then a spider and a dragon fly replied,
"If you're serious and want to win a bride,
come along with us,
to the glorious
annual ugly bug ball."

Come on let's crawl
gotta crawl, gotta crawl
to the ugly bug ball
to the ball, to the ball
and a happy time we'll have there
one and all
at the ugly bug ball

While the crickets clicked their tricky melodies
all the ants were fancy-dancing with the fleas
then up from under the ground
the worms came squirming around

Oh they danced until there legs were nearly lame
every little crawling creature you could name
everyone was glad
what a time they had
they were so happy they came

Everyone was glad! What a time they had!
they were so happy they came!

Come on let's crawl
gotta crawl, gotta crawl
to the ugly bug ball
to the ball, to the ball
and a happy time we'll have there
one and all!
at the ugly bug ball.

Then our caterpillar saw a pretty queen
she was beautiful in yellow, black and green
he said, "Would you care to dance?"
their dancing led to romance.

and she sat upon his caterpillar knees
and he gave his caterpillar queen a squeeze
soon they'll honeymoon
build a big cocoon
thanks to the ugly bug ball

Come on let's crawl
Gotta crawl, gotta crawl,
to the ugly bug ball
to the ball, to the ball
and a happy time we'll have there
one and all!
at the ugly bug ball!

http://www.getsomenoise.com/!/printLyri ... =Burl+Ives

Both the above were released by Burl Ives many years ago. Hope this helps. BTW "Froggie went a courtin" is also on that last link.

I found this vid which is interesting in the context of the Uglybug ball - it isn't the same song however.

http://www.csc.uvic.ca/~csc561/MMLab/media/

[K&D]

big rock candy mountain...there was this movie, kids movie and they sang that song but it was totally different. it had a big guy dressed in a bunny suit and some son about that...wow, to remember this all at this momment...the kids would go to The Big Rock Candy mountain to have fun and meet all these different characters...thanks for the weird ass memory. i'll have to look that up.

[Lightning Rod]

Big Rock Candy Mountain
is one of the first songs of my memory
my dad used to sing it to me
I sang it to my daughter
thanks for the thought
I think I will record it

[judih]

i guess it's too late for today's lesson.

Around here, kids love Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boy (at least zo loves it and sings it straight through)

And Jimi Hendrix, of course - Drifting is easy and beautiful to draw to.

Rod Stewart - Sailing for teaching present progressive

Or grab a poem like Lew Welch's "Circle" and brainstorm in English about the hundred things.

i'm afraid i'm almost 'teached out', and ideas aren't abundant right now, but think of your kid's tastes - If she's into drawing - Fool on the Hill is a good one for translating into a comics story board....

Another thing to do is mutual story tell. You write a brief intro like: I wish...and she continues it and passes it to you and back and forth. Dialogue is a good way to correct her grammar. You say what she's trying to say, only in correct form and then you add on...

this is tried and tested with a bunch of ages...

j

[Arcadia]

hi pantha! the girls from 6º year that are my pupils don´t listen to music in english , but the boys of 6º year showed at the beggining of the year a caotic enthusiasm for singing a theme that starts with something like "we will, we will rock you" (I guess is an old Queen´s theme that appeared in a popular tv programme that they use to watch). My male ex-pupils that are in 9º year listen to Greenday and Nirvana.

I would suggest any Beatles or Lennon´s song.

[Lightning Rod]

it occurs to me that we have a superfluity of teachers represented on this site.

judih, panta, Zlatko, Arcadia, Jenni Peal, lovingpenfull, etc.
I have even taught. (what did I teach?--bad habits)

Teaching is a great occupation because you get to learn so much.

[microbe]

Include me in that list LR.

[K&D]

can you be an unwilling teacher? like soccrates, who always claimed he wasn't...but lets face it, he certainly had a lot of "students"

i want to be a teacher...i mean not an actuall teacher of you know a grade or anything. i want to be the gadfly to the nation. lofty talk as usual...but hey i'm young and idealistic....hopefully i'll never get over it!

first song i remember...first two. 1. Satisfaction (rollingstones) 2. Rhianon (Fleetwood Mac) i remember specific events everytime those songs play, esp. Rhianon...i can litterally smell Pledge..it use to be stronger, i quess i'm forming more memories and the old ones are being wiped away. also another early ones 3. Sledgehammer and 4. Thats Just the Way it is and Eight Days a Week...those songs, are weird to listen to and realize that i've been listening to them since i was born.

[K&D]

greenday...ah greeday, there like my generations rollingstones. been listening to them since i was in elementary school, curse words and all

[Lightning Rod]

thanks, microbe, for reminding me of this tune

here is the version of Big Rock Candy Mountain that I did today

http://www.studioeight.tv/musicpost/candy.mp3

you teach, too? i'll add you to the list

what do you teach?

[microbe]

what do you teach?

I haven't worked for nearly two years due to ill health but I did teach Computer Networking (CCNA) and PC Hardware (Comptia A+) at an Adult Education College.

I've downloaded you song and will listen when I have finished listening to the folk music programme I am tuned in to at the moment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/folk/harding/

If you are interested in folk music.

[microbe]

Just finished listening LR. Very nice. Takes me back a loooong way. Maybe panta rhei could play that version if she wants to use the song.

That link I gave above has some excellent songs on it but it is worth a visit just to hear Ralph MCtell singing live his song "After Rain". It is the very last song in the show if you are interested in paying a visit.

[panta rhei]

thanks to all kind and friendly repliers!

microbe - thank you for the lyrics. unfortunately, this kid will neither know them, nor be able to understand the text - much too complicated for her small english knowledge yet. but, i will keep these in mind for a later, maybe more advanced use some time. so, thanks again!

k&d - how great to hear your associative memories and thoughts about all these and other songs!

lr - love your recording. never heard that song before - it's smooth with a soft underlying giggle and reminds me of some surreal early forties american kids' movie....
i'm not a teacher, btw. i just teach some stuff, occasionally...

arcadia - yeah, i've found that, too... she doesn't listen to much music, especially not english music (she could think of one song, "lonely" by akon, though.... but except for the refrain there was not much material in the lyrics we could work on). she plays the harmonica, but apart from that, is more the rascal kind of type - playing outside on the meadows and in treehouses all day long.

judih - sk8er boi might be a little to advanced for her, but sailing is a great suggestion.... i even remember that you once sent me teaching notes / materials you've created for working with that song... exercises like filling in blanks and stuff.
do you, by any chance, still have these?
i tried some sort of dialogue with her yesterday (before reading your reply), btw - but it was hard to make her reply in english. she either answered in german (and told me long tales), or replied with just a single word, like "good", or "yes"....

beatles songs in general are a good suggestion, as well.
i'll have to think about which ones i could use and how (and look for a way to play my old vinyl records to her without a record player)...

thanks, all!

[judih]

i'll find those Sailing notes if it's the last thing i do on dry land....

hang on!

j