Written By: Tears For Fears From the title of the song - what you think this song is about? Do you think it is a sad or happy song? Discuss with your group/partner Complete the crossword – use your dictionary or the Internet to assist you if necessary ACROSS 3 The opposite of “nowhere” The superlative form of “early” Complete the expression meaning “everywhere” – ‘far and _ _ _ _’ Use a prefix to create the opposite of “familiar” 10 An opposite of “hard” 11 A word similar in meaning to “nervous” 10 DOWN 11 Created by Enid Venter – South Africa Add a suffix to “expression” to form a new word The opposite of “early” A word meaning “hide” A word meaning “very bright” The opposite of “best” A word to describe “sorrow” 3 Select the best word or phrase (in red) from Column B that has more or less the same meaning as a word or phrase (in blue) in Column A Column A Column B A familiar not leading to any conclusion B worn out difficult to accept C bright and early having no direction D going nowhere to ignore someone E hide my head to be embarrassed / ashamed F drown my sorrow very early in the morning G kind of funny tired / used H hard to take to drink alcohol so as to stop feeling bad I run in circles easy to recognise J to look right through someone strange Listen to the first part of the song and fill in the gaps using the words in the box below nowhere expression drown early glasses places familiar All around me are (1) faces, Worn out (2) – worn out faces; Bright and (3) for their daily races, Going nowhere – going (4) And their tears are filling up their _(5), No expression – no (6) Listen to the remainder of the song and correct the mistakes Hide my head I want to (7) my sorrow, And I find it kind of sunny; I find it kind of sad No tomorrow – no tomorrow Deep amfrying blue The dreams in whichII’m are the best I’ve ever had I find it hard to sell you, I find it hard to bake When people run in circles it’s a very, very mad girl – mad girl Children waiting for the may they feel good, Snappy birthday – snappy birthday Made to feel the way that every child would, Fit and listen – fit and listen Went to tool and I was very nervous, No one flew me – no one flew me by Enid Venter – Hello preacher tellCreated me what’s my lesson, South Africa Looked flight through me – looked flight through me 6 Select the best definition (in green) from Column B that has more or less the same meaning as the idiom (in orange) in Column A Words that have been taken from the lyrics are given in blue Column A Column B A to throw your weight around to avoid letting people know that you are good at something, usually because you are shy B here today, gone tomorrow to punish someone so that they will not behave badly again C to look on the bright side in a place that is far away from where most people live D E teach somebody a lesson to make someone cry in the middle of nowhere to try to see something good in a bad situation F G reduce somebody to tears stay in one place for a short time hide your light under a bushel to behave in a way which shows that you are more important or powerful than other people H not look a gift horse in the mouth you should not criticize something good that has been offered to you Created by Enid Venter – South Africa Use the Internet or a dictionary to help you find the meaning for the following idioms / expressions The words underlined are from the lyrics Use of the idioms / expressions in sentences – tell them to your partner / group 8a come through something while the going is good the school of hard knocks to be on your best behaviour be (caught) between a rock and a hard place as mad as a hatter be dead to the world Use the Internet to some research on teenage suicides Give answers to the questions that follow Information can be obtained from many different websites – Examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_suicide http://www.yutopian.com/religion/theology/teenagersuicide.html Does the character the singer portrays display any of these symptoms? Answer ”Yes”, “No” or “Not Given” sadness anxiety feelings of hopelessness oversleeping feelings of pessimism thoughts of death thoughts of suicide o o o o o o o difficulty concentrating feelings of guilt little interest in hobbies fatigue insomnia changes in appetite Some of causes of teenage suicides are given below: Rank these in order of what you consider to be the most serious (1 = most important 10 = least important) o o o o o o o o o o 8b o o o o o o parents divorcing drug abuse peer pressure domestic violence physical / sexual abuse parents financial problems bullying at school break up with a girlfriend or boyfriend failing (or fear of failing) exams mental disorders Compare with your partner / group and then talk about which (in your opinion) cause the most suicides / attempted suicides and how we can try to prevent the suicides Created by Enid Venter – South Africa Repeat picture of Adam Lambert from Page here before printing the lyrics Picture not included because of space Written By: Tears For Fears All around me are familiar faces, Happy birthday – happy birthday Worn out places – worn out faces; Made to feel the way that every child should, Bright and early for their daily races, Sit and listen – sit and listen Going nowhere – going nowhere Went to school and I was very nervous, No one knew me – no one knew me And their tears are filling up their glasses, Hello teacher tell me what’s my lesson, No expression – no expression Looked right through me – looked right Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow, through me No tomorrow – no tomorrow And I find it kind of funny; I find it kind of And I find it kind of funny; I find it kind of sad sad The dreams in which I’m dying are the best The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had I’ve ever had I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take When people run in circles it’s a very, very When people run in circles it’s a very, very Mad world mad world mad world – mad world Mad world mad world Children waiting for the day they feel good, Created by Enid Venter – South Africa TEACHER NOTES AND ANSWER KEY: I have included numerous tasks – take your pick The crossword contains some of the words / phrases used in the song but some of the vocabulary is general I have included an ordering task after the Answer Key Video link for Adam Lambert live on Regis & Kelly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUmzGl0zy4k Video link for Tears For Fears version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXuXikfIYHY Download free crossword puzzle maker at: www.eclipsecrossword.com/ ANSWER KEY From the title of the song - what you think this song is about? Do you think it is a sad or happy song? Discuss with your group/partner I get students to research the topic of rising rate of suicide in teenagers They could research the reasons that teenagers commit suicide and make some suggestions as to how we could try to prevent this from happening Complete the crossword – use your dictionary or the Internet to assist you if necessary ACROSS everywhere earliest wide unfamiliar 10 soft 11 anxious DOWN expressionless late conceal sadness brilliant worst Select the best word or phrase (in red) from Column B that has more or less the same meaning as a word or phrase (in blue) in Column A familiar .easy to recognise worn out tired / used bright and early very early in the morning going nowhere not leading to any conclusion hide my head to be embarrassed / ashamed drown my sorrow to drink alcohol so as to stop feeling bad kind of funny strange hard to take .difficult to accept run in circles having no direction to look right through someone to ignore someone Listen to the first part of the song and fill in the gaps using the words in the box below familiar glasses places expression early drown Listen to the remainder of the song and correct the mistakes And I find it kind of funny; I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take When people run in circles it’s a very, very mad world – mad world Created by Enid Venter – South Africa nowhere Children waiting for the day they feel good, Happy birthday – happy birthday Made to feel the way that every child should, Sit and listen – sit and listen Went to school and I was very nervous, No one knew me – no one knew me Hello teacher tell me what’s my lesson, Looked right through me – looked right through me Select the best definition (in green) from Column B that has more or less the same meaning as the idiom (in orange) in Column A Words that have been taken from the lyrics are given in blue Some definitions have been sourced from the “Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary” Column A Column B A to throw your weight around to behave in a way which shows that you are more important or powerful than other people B C here today, gone tomorrow to look on the bright side stay in one place for a short time to try to see something good in a bad situation D teach somebody a lesson E F G in the middle of nowhere reduce somebody to tears hide your light under a bushel H not look a gift horse in the mouth to punish someone so that they will not behave badly again in a place that is far away from where most people live to make someone cry to avoid letting people know that you are good at something, usually because you are shy you should not criticize something good that has been offered to you Use the Internet or a dictionary to help you find the meaning for the following idioms / expressions The words underlined are from the lyrics Use of the idioms / expressions in sentences – tell them to your partner / group (Definitions and examples taken from Cambridge Advanced Learner Dictionary.) slip through your fingers if something you hope to achieve slips through your fingers, you not manage to achieve it You're surely not going to let a job/man like that slip through your fingers! while the going is good while an opportunity lasts Many people fear that the newly-elected government will be ousted in a military coup and are leaving their country while the going is good play hard to get to pretend that you are less interested in someone than you really are as a way of making them more interested in you, especially at the start of a romantic relationship: Why won't you call him back? Are you playing hard to get? to be on your best behaviour to behave very well, usually because you are in an important or formal situation Now children, I want you all to be on your best behaviour when grandma arrives Created by Enid Venter – South Africa 8a be (caught) between a rock and a hard place if you are between a rock and a hard place, you have to make a difficult decision between two things that are equally unpleasant I'm caught between a rock and a hard place If I go with Isobel, it'll be much more expensive and if I go with Julie, Isobel probably won't speak to me again as mad as a hatter to be crazy A long time ago, people who made hats used a substance that gave them an illness which made people think they were crazy Her brother's as mad as a hatter be dead to the world to be sleeping very deeply Guy was curled up on the sofa, dead to the world Use the Internet to some research on teenage suicides Give answers to the questions that follow Information can be obtained from many different websites Information extracted from various websites on teen suicides is given at the end Created by Enid Venter – South Africa Ordering (I print the 1st half on a different colour to the second half) I give them the lyrics to check the answers The lyrics are mixed up and students listen and place the lyrics in the correct order They must also find the correct half of the line All around me Worn out places – Bright and early Going nowhere – And their tears are No expression – Hide my head I want to No tomorrow – And I find it kind of funny; The dreams in which I’m dying I find it hard to tell you, When people run in mad world – Children waiting for Happy birthday – Made to feel the way Sit and listen – are familiar faces, worn out faces; for their daily races, going nowhere filling up their glasses, no expression drown my sorrow, no tomorrow I find it kind of sad are the best I’ve ever had I find it hard to take circles it’s a very, very mad world the day they feel good, happy birthday that every child should, sit and listen Went to school and I was very nervous, No one knew me – no one knew me Hello teacher tell me Looked right through me – what’s my lesson, looked right through me Created by Enid Venter – South Africa Meaning of the lyrics: Actual lyrics are highlighted in red Taken from: http://www.lyricinterpretations.com/lookat.php/bands/tearsforfears/9fdc42612a22a9d Contextually speaking, here is what the song writers say about their own song: (from Wikipedia) Lyrically the song is pretty loose It throws together a lot of different images to paint a picture without saying anything specific about the world —Roland Orzabal It's very much a voyeur's song It's looking out at a mad world from the eyes of a teenager [1] —Curt Smith All around me are familiar faces Worn out places, worn out faces -The familiar faces, worn out places, and worn out faces indicate that he has seen all their is to see, and that to him (an adolescent, teen), all faces look the same, worn out and tired of life Bright and early for their daily races Going nowhere, going nowhere -The daily races are our lives, busy and hectic The narrator conveys the meaning that everybody seems to wake up bright and early, as if for a purpose, but in the end they go nowhere, because there is no purpose in life And their tears are filling up their glasses No expression, no expression Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow No tomorrow, no tomorrow -The tears fill up their glasses, and you can imagine the meaninglessness and bitterness they must feel, if they are to drink their own tears, as the song indicates To drink your own tears without expression is very extreme, because sadness indicates that there is meaning in life, and something to be sad about, but no expression, and no tomorrow, indicate that the narrator is indifferent, so worn down as to not even feel sad or angry, but rather he would like to drown his sorrow And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I'm dying Are the best I've ever had - The funniness he talks about is a very dark emotion, it is a bitter, mocking type of funny that corresponds with sadness A sad type of funny This is the way he feels about his life, because he dreams of dying, the only relief from a meaningless life that contains no hope for feelings of purpose and fulfilment I find it hard to tell you 'Cos I find it hard to take When people run in circles It's a very, very Mad World -The reason he finds it hard to tell you is because he is about to reveal the song's theme, it's ultimate message: THERE IS NO MEANING IN LIFE He doesn't find this hard to take, but what he DOES find hard to take is that people are still willing to live, which he describes as "running in circles." A Mad World, is not an angry world, but mad as in crazy, insane, meaningless Children waiting for the day they feel good Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday Made to feel the way that every child should Sit and listen, sit and listen Created by Enid Venter – South Africa The child stage is the most innocent of humans, and their desires are innocent, they just want to feel good, like the type of happiness a child feels during his birthday But also note that the narrator wants us to consider why we as humans feel the need to celebrate the birth of our lives, which he views in an ironic tone, consistent with the feeling of the song "Happy birthday", and "sit and listen" are repeated twice, to sound mechanical, routine, mundane, and ultimately meaningless Even to sit and listen, to try and learn the meaning of life, is in a way, meaningless Went to school and I was very nervous No one knew me, no one knew me -Remember, school is a social place, not just a place for learning It is where humans interact This is where he is nervous, where he feels isolated, and alone He is INSIGNIFICANT Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson Look right through me, look right through me -The teacher is a figure of authority and knowledge, as well as wisdom Although the teacher teaches lessons of life, He/she looks right through the young narrator Once again the narrator reminds us that we are Insignificant So what picture does this song portray? A dark, mad world, with no purpose, very nihilistic Life is insane, because people pretend to live The themes: Life is meaningless Individuals are insignificant What is important about this song is that it is not a grown man who is lamenting life, but a young child, who feels he has seen all there is to see, and has realized very early, that life is meaningless He is lamenting this realization, and in a way, has given up The following taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_suicide Causes in Teenage suicide Teenage Suicide is not caused by any one factor, but likely by a combination of them Depression can play a massive role in teenage suicide Some contributing factors include: • Drug abuse • Divorce of parents • Parental unemployment • Household financial problems • Peer pressure • Victim of bullying • Social rejection • Anger and Guilt • Break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend • Loss of a limb, becoming blind, or deaf • Domestic violence or abuse • Lack of success in exams at school • Mental disorders such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, body dysmorphic disorder and schizophrenia Depression is considered to be a highly common cause of suicide About 75 percent of those individuals who commit suicide are depressed Depression is caused by a number of factors, from chemical imbalances to psychological make-up to environmental influences Suicide prevention Promoting overall mental health among adolescents is key to reducing possible suicidal thoughts Some people argue that limiting young people's access to lethal weapons, such as firearms, may be a pivotal deterrent Some school-based youth suicide awareness programs exist to try to increase high-school students' awareness of the problem, provide knowledge about the behavioral characteristics of teens at risk, and describe available treatment or counseling resources However, some research has shown that this may have an unintended negative effect of suggesting suicide as an option for teenagers Created by Enid Venter – South Africa The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention advocates taking suicide threats seriously Seventy-five percent of all suicides give some warning of their intentions to a friend or family member A common treatment for a young, suicidal patient is a combination of drug-based treatment (e.g imipramine or fluoxetine) with a 'talking-based' therapy, such as referral to a cognitive behaviour therapist This kind of therapy concentrates on modifying self-destructive and irrational thought processes Lack of parental interest in their teenage children is a major factor in teenage suicide: according to one study 90 percent of suicidal teenagers believed their families did not understand them In a crisis situation professional help can be sought, either at hospital or a walk-in clinic There are also several telephone help numbers for help on teenage suicide, depending on one's location (country/state) In the US, 1-800-SUICIDE will connect you to the nearest support hotline Sometimes emergency services can be contacted The following taken from: http: //www.yutopian.com/religion/theology/teenagersuicide.html Reasons for Teen Suicide It's not easy to be teen-agers nowadays They are constantly confronted with new social roles, new relationships, and having to get used to their body changes Other issues include financial uncertainty, and fears of growing up Thus feelings of stress, confusion, self-doubt, and pressure to succeed can be overwhelming to teen-agers From a family point of view, the lack of parental interest may be another problem In two income families, parents and kids spend limited time together Moreover, many children grow up in divorced households The formation of a new family with step-parents and step-siblings, or moving to a new community can be very unsettling and can lead to insecurity Other teens are faced with family alcoholism, domestic violence and even sexual abuse Other external factors include, the pressures of modern life; competition for good grades and college admission Increasing violence in the newspapers and on television lead to more teenage suicides It's also easier to get the tools for suicide nowadays Suicide girl.com And when the teen-agers are looking for answers to their problems, they found no one to talk to, making them feel quite lonely For some teens, suicide may appear to be the only solution to their problems and stress mentioned above Facts about Teen Suicide Suicide in youth often occurs after the victim has gotten into some sort of trouble or has experienced a recent disappointment or rejection For example, suffering a loss or humiliation of some kind, loss of self-esteem by doing poorly on a test, the breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or the trauma of parents' divorce Young people who have attempted suicide in the past or who talk about suicide are at greater risk of future attempts Many of the symptoms of suicidal feelings are similar to those of depression Adolescents who consider suicide generally feel alone, hopeless and rejected They are more vulnerable to having these feelings if they parents with alcohol or drug problems, or have a family life affected by parental discord, disruptions, separation or divorce However, a teenager may be depressed and/or suicidal without any of these Teens who abuse alcohol or drugs are more likely to consider, attempt or succeed at suicide than are non-abusers People who are depressed have altered levels of certain brain chemicals Studies show that aggressive and impulsive people who make violent suicide attempts have reduced amounts of serotonin, a key brain chemical Depression and the risk for suicide might have biological as well as psychological causes A family history of suicide is a significant risk factor in a young person Most everyone has normal mood swings and occasionally feels sad But when that depressed mood lingers for more than two weeks, serious depression could be setting in Adult women, who are physically or emotionally abused as children are more likely to have mental problems, suffer from depression and are more likely to attempt suicide Warning Signs on Teen Suicide • • • • • a change in eating habits, gain weight or loss of appetite a change in sleeping habits, sleeping much more or have insomnia withdrawal from friends, family, and regular activities violent actions, rebellious behaviour, or running away drug and alcohol use Created by Enid Venter – South Africa • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • teenage pregnancy unusual neglect of personal appearance fail to live up to his own or someone else's standards (when it comes to school grades, for example)? dramatic personality change persistent boredom, difficulty concentrating, restless or a decline in the quality of schoolwork feel hopeless or guilty, and that life is not worth living sudden mood or behaviour changes: too quiet or too hyperactive frequent complaints about physical symptoms, often related to emotions, such as stomachaches, headaches, fatigue, etc loss of interest in pleasurable activities not tolerating praise or rewards complain of being a bad person or feeling rotten inside give verbal hints with statements such as: "I won't be a problem for you much longer", "Nothing matters", "It's no use", "I won't see you again", and "I'd be better off dead" give away favourite possessions, clean his or her room, throw away important belongings, etc become suddenly cheerful after a period of depression have signs of psychosis (hallucinations or bizarre thoughts) have trouble with a girlfriend (or a boyfriend)? Or have trouble getting along with other friends or with parents? write notes or poems about death talk about suicide Say things like "I can't take it anymore," or "Nobody cares about me" Suicide girl.com Created by Enid Venter – South Africa