PINK “Dear Mr President”
For a better understanding - Focus on the text
Homework: Choose one exercise for
a)In the song you receive a lot of information about the president. Try to characterize the speaker by drawing conclusions of the information given in the lyrics.
Profiling: Young/old? Male/female? Rich/poor? Position in the society? Working class/upper class? Likes/dislikes? Interests? Beliefs? Problems? Attitude? Judgement? Relationship to the president?...
b)Sum up the content of the song in your own words.
Remember: a summary is written in present tense, uses only indirect speech, summarizes only the most important pieces of information, is short and doesn’t simply copy words.
c)Find possible headlines for the topics, which are (indirectly) mentioned in the lyrics. What do the questions of the speaker aim at? Which problems does he/she talk about?
Keep in mind: headlines usually use a lot of nouns (in German this is called “Nominalstil”)
PINK “Dear Mr President”
For a better understanding - Focus on the text
Homework: Choose one exercise for
a)In the song you receive a lot of information about the president. Try to characterize the speaker by drawing conclusions of the information given in the lyrics.
Profiling: Young/old? Male/female? Rich/poor? Position in the society? Working class/upper class? Likes/dislikes? Interests? Beliefs? Problems? Attitude? Judgement? Relationship to the president?...
b)Sum up the content of the song in your own words.
Remember: a summary is written in present tense, uses only indirect speech, summarizes only the most important pieces of information, is short and doesn’t simply copy words.
d)Find possible headlines for the topics, which are (indirectly) mentioned in the lyrics. What do the questions of the speaker aim at? Which problems does he/she talk about?
Keep in mind: headlines usually use a lot of nouns (in German this is called “Nominalstil”)
PINK “Dear Mr President”
For a better understanding - Focus on the text
Homework: Choose one exercise for
a)In the song you receive a lot of information about the president. Try to characterize the speaker by drawing conclusions of the information given in the lyrics.
Profiling: Young/old? Male/female? Rich/poor? Position in the society? Working class/upper class? Likes/dislikes? Interests? Beliefs? Problems? Attitude? Judgement? Relationship to the president?...
b)Sum up the content of the song in your own words.
Remember: a summary is written in present tense, uses only indirect speech, summarizes only the most important pieces of information, is short and doesn’t simply copy words.
e)Find possible headlines for the topics, which are (indirectly) mentioned in the lyrics. What do the questions of the speaker aim at? Which problems does he/she talk about?
Keep in mind: headlines usually use a lot of nouns (in German this is called “Nominalstil”)
PINK “Dear Mr President”
Further activities - Interpreting and working with the text
1. “Should pop and politics mix?”
Think about what famous persons often have to go through: Hearing accusations, insulations, being laughed at, hearing rumours or lies about oneself... Here are a few further examples:
Do you know other English songs that criticize or make fun of famous public people? Should critical and partly insulting songs like “Dear Mr President” be censored (= to be forbidden)?
Make a list of pros and cons about this and prepare yourself for a discussion in class (role play). Here you might get some ideas:
2. “Excuse me... I have a question!”
Write a letter to either a) PINK or b) Mr Bush.
Ask her/him questions, which you still have on the text and also further questions, which weren’t asked but that you are interested in. Do also tell her/him what definitely needs to change in the country and what you would do if you were in his/her position. Be prepared to read it aloud in class or to hand it in.
3. “Me Mr Bush...”
Imagine you are George W. Bush and you have just received “the letter”.
Take over his perspective and write either a) an answer / statement or b) a diary entry or c) a dialogue between him and the first lady at the dinner table. Be prepared to present it in class.
4. “Media in use”
Use the lyrics of the song and make a plan to create something new out of it (e.g. a collage or a comic or short drama or a voting campaign or a TV report or a music video or a PowerPoint Presentation or ...).
If you need pictures as a material or other supporting media, let me know. Be prepared to present it in class (date of presentation by appointment).