Sam Cooke, 1960

The topic of noun clauses is usually not addressed until the intermediate or advanced level. Yet the reality is that lower-level students encounter noun clauses regularly in everyday speech, in sentences such as Do you know where my keys are? This grammar-based lesson gives students practice using noun clauses without making it necessary to go into lengthy explanations or even using the words noun clause.
The song that culminates this lesson,”Wonderful World,” has clear, classroom-friendly lyrics with a few simple noun clauses.
Some record companies have revived interest in older songs like this one by making lyric videos for them. The 2015 lyric video for this song works well in the language classroom. Historic scenes  flash on the screen while the music plays.

Choose from the following activities:

• Grammar In the no-prep activity below, students practice forming questions beginning Does anybody know where…:

1. Scatter some of your personal items around the classroom–for example, put your pen on a bookcase, your briefcase on the floor, etc.
2. Ask students, “Where is my pen?” Students answer, “It’s on the bookcase.”
3. Rephrase the question this way: “Does anybody know where my pen is?” Point out the new position of the word is. Explain that the words where my pen is no longer form a question—the words are now part of a question—so question word order is not used. Find all your misplaced items by asking the class questions beginning Does anybody know where.
4. Next, move students’ personal items around the room—put one student’s pen on another’s desk, one student’s jacket on the back of another student’s chair, etc. Students reclaim their items by asking, “Does anybody know where my _______ is?” The student who has the missing item says, “I have it” and returns it to its owner.

If you choose to explain what a noun clause is, here is a definition from the website of the British Council that you might find helpful:

A noun clause is a clause that is used in the same way as a noun or a pronoun. Example: I know what he was doing there.

• Grammar Practice forming sentences with noun clauses with the worksheets below. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Worksheet #1, levels high beginning and up. Students form sentences beginning I don’t know when talking about a Martian who shows up at a party.

noun clauses, I don’t know.docx          noun clauses, I don’t know.pdf

noun clauses, I don’t know (webpage)

Worksheet #2, levels high beginning and up. Students form questions beginning Do you know where…? when looking for items in a living room.

noun clauses, do you know, Level 1.docx          noun clauses, do you know, Level 1.pdf

noun clauses, do you know, Level 1 (webpage)

Worksheet #3, levels low intermediate and up. Students form trivia questions beginning Do you know…?

noun clauses, do you know, Level 2.pdf

noun clauses, do you know, Level 2 (webpage)

• Pre-Listening Complete the lyrics worksheet below, which focuses on rhyming words in the song. Lyrics intended for nonprofit educational use only.

wonderful world, gap-fill.pdf

• Listening Listen to the audio-only video while reading the lyrics above.
• Singing Sing along while listening to the song and reading the lyrics. My high-beginning students sang verses 1-4.
• Listening Watch the official lyric video.