Practise colours & adjectives as well as the basic present simple tense in your ESL class with this classic song, What a Wonderful World! by Louis Armstrong.
- These song lyrics include the following 10 adjectives: green, red, wonderful, blue, white, bright, blessed, dark, sacred & pretty
- The song also uses the following verbs in the present simple: I see, I think, how do you do?, I love you, I hear, I watch
- As well as the present continuous (they’re really saying) and the future with will (they’ll learn, I’ll know)
There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here.
Lyrics
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying “how do you do?”
They’re really saying “I love you”
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more
Than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Ooh, yes
Suggested activity: fill the gaps
Download this exercise (PDF)
Listen to the song and put the adjectives in the list on the right into the correct gaps: blue, bright, dark, green, pretty, red, white & wonderful
Also, fill phrases 10 & 11… What are the friends saying? What are they really saying?
I see trees of 1__________
2__________ roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a 3__________ world
I see skies of 4__________
And clouds of 5__________
The 6__________ blessed day
The 7__________ sacred night
And I think to myself
What a 8__________ world
The colors of the rainbow
So 9__________ in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying “10_______ _______ _______ _______?”
They’re really saying “11_______ _______ _______”
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more
Than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself
What a 12__________ world
Yes, I think to myself
What a 13__________ world
Ooh, yes
Louis ArmstrongLouis Daniel Armstrong, nicknamed “Satchmo“, “Satch“, and “Pops“, was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. Armstrong received numerous accolades including the Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance for Hello, Dolly! in 1965, as well as a posthumous win for the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972. His influence crossed musical genres, with inductions into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, among others.
Not convinced?
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