As I wrote before, I’m doing more songs with my YLs this year and thoroughly enjoying myself as I lead them in a few verses of “If you’re happy and you know it”.  However, the original songs can be somewhat restrictive in the language they expose our students to and I’m always on the look out for ways to incorporate a wider range of vocabulary into the lessons.  Fortunately, a town close to us has a zoo which the majority of students go to at some point on a school trip.  So the lyrics of Old MacDonald have now begun,

In Jerez there is a zoo

E I E I O

And in the zoo there is a…

Before starting the song I ask students to think of a number of animals they can see at the zoo and write them on the board, making the song more personal for them as well.  The trouble is sometimes figuring out on the spot what sound some of the animals make…koala (snoring), seal (clapping), giraffe (munching on tiptoes), lemur…I’m still stuck on that one – any ideas!?