Summer of 69 - Simple Past

Hi guys...

After a really long time I´m kinda back here.
I´ll post a class that I created with a song.

This class is to students who want to become better users of Simple Past.

The song is: Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams



Warm-up
What is the most vivid memory you have from childhood, teenage hood, vacations, trips… How do you feel about it?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1- Watch the video clip without sound and check the activities they did.
( ) watched movies in the car ( ) threw fruits on each other
( ) went to the beach ( ) got themselves in problems
( ) played music with the band ( ) painted the house
2- Listen to the song now and fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs below:

I got my first six string
________ it at the five and dime
________ it till my fingers bled
Was the summer of 69
Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we _______ real hard
Jimmy quit and Jody got married
Shoulda known we´d never get far
Oh when I look back now
That summer ________ to last forever
And if I _______ a choice
I´d always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life
Ain´t no use in complaining
When you _______ a job to do
________ my evenings down at the drive-in
And that´s when I met you
Standing on your mama´s porch
You _______ me that you´d wait forever
Oh and when you _______ my hand
I _______ that was now or never
Those were the best days of my life
Back in the summer of 69
Man we _______ killing time
We were young and restless
We _______ to unwind
I guess nothing can last forever
And now times are changing
Look at everything that´s come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six string
I think about you wonder what ______ wrong

3- What does the author mean when he says “played till my fingers bleed”? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4- Do you think the author have a special feeling with this particular summer? Justify your answer with sentences from the song ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5- The collocation “Tried real hard” from the song means what? Can you imagine other ways to express the same idea? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6- In colloquial talks many informal words/expressions come up. Identify them and rewrite them in a formal way. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7- What does the author do to remember those days? What do you do to remember yours? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8- The expression “five and dime” refers to products sold almost without any cost. Come up with more words which express the same idea. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9- Are you the type of person who links songs to memories? Which memory have you related to a song? Write about it? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Download the worksheet
http://www.4shared.com/office/2I7V_sb5/summer_of_69_-_activity.html?


-ANSWER KEY-
Warm Up: Personal answer

1-
Watched movies in the car
Played music with the band
Threw fruits on each other
Got themselves in problems

2-
Bought
Played
Tried
Seemed
Had
Got
Spent
Told
Held
Knew
Were
Needed
Went

3-
He was so happy he bought the guitar that he played non-stop.

4-
Yes, he does
"Those were the best days of my life"
'If I had a choice, I would always wanna be there"
"That summer seeme to last forever"

5- It means something that is tried very much
Try a lot
Give it a try
Try harder
Try once more
Keep Trying

6-
Wanna - Want to
Shoulda - Should have
Ain´t - Any negative

7-
According to the song, he plays his old guitar.
Personal answer

8-
Pretty Penny
Good bargain
Cheap
Inexpensive
Good deal
On sale

9-
Personal answers