STAGE one – Song 1. Ask Ss if they’ve seen the video for “If I Were a Boy” (They probably have.) If they have mostly, ask them these questions. And if they mostly haven’t, give them as gist questions on the board or dictated. “What is Beyonce’s job in the video? What is her boyfriend’s job in the video? Where do they see each other? What do they argue about in the middle of the video?” Play the video. (Answers: 1 and 2 are meant to get at the fact that Beyonce is just imagining being in her boyfriend’s position. 3. In a bar. 4. One of them is jealous of the other’s co-worker.) 2. After answering the first questions, give Ss the lyrics, and they fill in the gaps. 3. Afterwards, with the whole class, answer the Vocabulary questions.
STAGE two – Writing 1. Write “If I Were a Boy” and “If I Were a Girl” on the board. Tell the Ss they are going to write a poem similar to the song by Beyonce. Obviously, boys will write “If I Were a Girl” and girls, vice versa.You may or may not want to use the template from the handout. It depends on how familiar the students are with the form (If + past simp., would + inf.). Ss write the poems and compare in pairs. (If your kids are lazy and need motivation, tell them you’ll be taking it up for a grade, and they’ll probably hop to it.) 2. In feedback, ask one of each pair to explain what their partner would do if he or she were a girl or boy, as the case may be. If time doesn’t allow, you can end by brainstorming differences about boys and girls or whatever and give them the poem to write as homework.
