Happiness - Intermediate Lesson

The beginning of January is always a difficult time for my students.  It is not easy returning to work after the Christmas holidays. This year is no exception, and everyone seems to have the 'January blues'.  At the weekend I heard a song by Pharrell Williams (thank you Arnon +מישקה ארנון), it made me feel so happy, that it inspired me to prepare a 'happy' lesson for my students:

HAPPINESS

Lesson objectives: To beat the January blues and to cheer up my students. To practise expressing opinions, talking about feelings and expanding vocabulary.

Warm up discussion:

Q1:  Why do many people feel tired after their Christmas holidays?

Q2: What are the 'January blues'?

Q3: Which of the descriptions below, best describe your mood today?

a.      Tired and negative.

b.     Low energy and no enthusiasm.

c.      Positive, but lacking in motivation.

d.      Happy and full of energy.

e.      Other ______________________

TASK 1: Now watch the video below, the song is called 'Happy' by Pharrell Wiliams:

Q1: How did the video make you feel?

Q2: How would you describe your mood now?

a.      Tired and negative.

b.     Low energy and no enthusiasm.

c.      Positive, but lacking in motivation.

d.      Happy and full of energy.

e.      Other ______________________

Q3: Can/does music make you happy?  

Q4: If you were asked to make a 'happy' playlist for a friend's party, what songs would you choose?

Vocabulary:

Happy: Feeling or showing pleasure or contentment 

Happy	Adjective	I am so happy to see you.
Happier	Comparative	I am happier today than I was yesterday.
Happiest	Superlative	He is the happiest man I know.
Happiness	Noun	Happiness is a wonderful feeling.
Happily	Adverb	She worked in the garden happily all morning.

Happy synonyms: Cheerful, glad, delighted, merry, jolly, gay, joyful.

Happy antonyms: Unhappy, sad, down, serious, upset, depressed.

Happy expressions:

 Happy Birthday/Christmas/Anniversary etc.

Happy for someone	I'm very happy for you.
Happy to do something	I would be happy to help you move house.
Slap happy:	Careless.
Happy go lucky:	Carefree, relaxed.
Happy hour:	A period of time when a bar sells drinks at a reduced price.
Happy ending:	The end of a book or movie, which is positive.

 TASK 2: Use the words below to complete the sentences:

           go lucky                ending                     for you             

happily        anniversary                happiest           hour

1. This is the ____________ time of my life.
2. Let's meet in the pub at 7.00 pm for a drink, it's happy ______ and the drinks are very cheap.
3. Happy _________! How many years have you been married?
4. He is so happy _____   ______, he doesn't worry about anything.
5. You passed your test!  I'm very happy  _____  _____.
6. I like Walt Disney films because they always have a happy ___________.
7. He played _________ until it was time for lunch. 

*Answers below.

What makes you happy?

I decided to make a list of ten things that make me happy.  At first it was quite difficult, I had to think quite hard. However as I began writing my list I had more and more ideas.  As the day passed, ideas kept popping into my head and my list became very long.  I realised that there are so many things that make me happy.

Here are ten examples from my very long list:

1. Spending time with my husband and children.
2. Dog walking.
3. Music.
4. Hugs.
5. The beach.
6. The sound of my sons laughing together.
7. Dancing.
8. Discovering new places.
9. Drinking wine with my girlfriends.
10. Coffee in the garden, with my husband on a Saturday morning.

Task 3: What makes you happy?  List 10 things that make you happy:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Task 4: Can you divide your list into categories?  For example:

1.Things that bring short term happiness and things that bring long term happiness.
2.Things you do alone or things that involve others.
3.Things that are free and things that cost money.
4. Other..

Discussion points:

Q1: Why don't we spend more time doing the things that make us happy?

Q2: Can you buy happiness?

Q3: Do happy people live longer?

Further reading:

This article was published in The Telegraph newspaper this week, concerning new research that proves that happy people live longer:

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8860123/Happier-people-live-longer-lives.html

 And finally do not forget:

 *Answers

1. This is the happiest time of my life.
2. Let's meet in the pub at 7.00 pm for a drink, it's happy hour and the drinks are very cheap.
3. Happy Anniversary! How many years have you been married?
4. He is so happy go lucky, he doesn't worry about anything.
5. You passed your test!  I'm very happy for you.
6. I like Walt Disney films because they always have a happy ending.
7. He played happily until it was time for lunch.