“The Sound of Sunshine”

Both the song and the activities below, including the story behind the song, are suitable for levels high beginning and up.

Michael Franti & Spearhead, 2010

Choose from the following activities:

  • Reading Read the story behind the song, titled “Sunshine in a Song,” which describes how the song came to be written in a hospital bed. For levels high beginning and up. Permission is granted to reproduce the story for classroom use.
  • Listening Listen to the official audio-only video while reading the lyrics below, which are punctuated and annotated to facilitate comprehension. Intended for nonprofit educational purposes only.

sound of sunshine, lyrics.docx          sound of sunshine, lyrics.pdf

  • Listening Watch the official video. It is not appropriate for all classrooms, so previewing is advised. A live performance at a Seattle radio station is appropriate for all classrooms. Also recommended is the Spanish/English version of this song. (Preview all the way to the end of the video to be sure it is appropriate for your class.)
  • Singing Sing the chorus. It is in boldface in the lyrics above.
  • Writing Write a Walking Dictation. (For step-by-step directions for a Walking Dictation, please see Activity 7: Walking Lyrics-Dictation.) Below is the student worksheet with nine phrases missing from the song (a cloze exercise), as well as a printout of the missing phrases for the teacher to post around the room.

sound of sunshine, cloze ex.docx          sound of sunshine, cloze ex.pdf

sound of sunshine, missing phrases.docx    sound of sunshine, missing phrases.pdf

  • Discussion Picking up on the line “the sun is hot,” ask students to line up at the front of the room according to the hottest temperature they have ever experienced (not in a sauna), with the hottest temperature at one of the line and the coolest at the other end. Students will need to interact to get in the right order. Once students have lined up, ask the students at the “hottest” end of the line where they were and what it felt like. (This question is from the Internet TESL Journal’s list of conversation questions on the topic of weather.)
  • Reading Read another story with the “sunshine” theme, “Victor’s Private Guatemala,” about a newcomer to New York suffering from lack of sunshine. (Coming to this site in 2024)