I've Never Seen An Elephant Fly
We will base this lesson on the original Dumbo animated film. Objectives: LESSON: Dumbo: I’ve Never Seen An Elephant Fly OBJECTIVES: a. Practice listening b. Learn vocabulary LEVEL: Intermediate and above. TIME: 20-30 minutes PRE-LISTENING: Pronunciation tricks · Ask students what they know about Dumbo. Write them on the board. · In pairs (or individual), students write the meanings and/or example sentence using the different vocabulary- 6-8 minutes Watch the original video and song here and play it for your students. |
Pre-Listening Exercise
1. Well, I seen a horse fly. I seen a dragonfly. I seen a house fly.
Fly (v) - ______________________________________________________
Fly (n) - ______________________________________________________
2. I’ve seen a peanut stand.
Stand (v) - ____________________________________________________
Stand (n) – a kiosk
3. I heard a rubber band.
Band (n) – an elastic string
Band (n) – a musical group
I seen a needle that winked its eye.
Eye (n) - ____________________________________________________
Eye (n) - ____________________________________________________
I seen a front porch swing.
Swing (n)(v) – type of music and dancing
Swing (n) (v) - ____________________________________________________
I heard a diamond ring.
Ring (n) - ____________________________________________________
Ring (v) - ____________________________________________________
I seen a polka-dot railroad tie
Tie (n) - ____________________________________________________
Tie (n) - ____________________________________________________
I saw a clothes horse rear up and buck.
Clothes horse (n) - ______________________________________________
Rear up and buck (v) – the aggressive or scared movements a horse makes
I heard a fireside chat.
Meaning one: subject + verb
Meaning two: adjective + noun
How to teach the lesson
LISTENING: (Make any modifications for your class)
2. Listen a second time and finish the exercise.
3. Review answers together.
How To Write The Meanings?
- Write the definitions - a good way to learn the meanings as well as think in English a bit more.
- Write example sentences - a good way to learn the words in context
- Draw pictures - good for students who are more visual and artistic. Allow their creativity to show
- Translation - this can be useful for students who can't grasp the concept of a word or needs to compare the word to their own language. (This may not be useful for words that don't have an exact translation)
Student Worksheet
When I See An Elephant Fly
Dumbo
I seen a peanut (1) ____________, heard a rubber (2) _____________
I seen a needle that winked its (3) ____________
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an (4) _____________________
(What'd you say, boy?)
I said, when I see an elephant fly
I seen a front porch (5) ___________, heard a diamond (6) ___________
I seen a polka-dot railroad (7) ___________
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly
I saw a clothes horse rear up and buck
And they tell me that a man made a vegetable (8) __________
I didn't see that, I only heard
Just to be (9) ___________, I'll take your word
I heard a fireside chat, I saw a baseball (10) ____________
And I just laughed till I thought I'd die
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly
When I see an elephant fly
III. Superstitions: What is this? ____________________________________________
Dumbo thought the secret to flying was the feather in his nose. This was a superstition.
In my country, people have some funny superstitions.
Walking under a ladder is bad luck.
If your palms itch, you will run into money.
Breaking a mirror will give you seven years bad luck.
Playing sports with lucky clothes.
Routines while watching sports. (eating the same food, not washing jersey, etc.)
What are some common superstitions in your country?
Talk with your partner and create a list of superstitions. As many as you can create in 4 minutes.
- _________________________________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________________________________
Pro Tips:
- Each listening activity should have a goal for listening (comprehension, listening for rhythm, pronunciation, etc.)
Post Listening: Superstitions
- List superstitions in their country.
- Each team gets 1 point for any superstition that the other groups don't have.
(Teachers: Play Stevie Wonder Superstition during their discussion time.)
Easter Egg Lessons
Cultural History - Look below at some of the cultural discussions you can lead with nature students.
What else can you find?
Extra Cultural Lesson
(Conversation starter options:)
- What do you think of the stereotype here?
- Are there any stereotypes of people in your country?
- What are other stereotypes you know of?