brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/ray-charles-new-sound/
45-minute lesson plan
| Time | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3′ | Warm-up | Ask the class: “What kind of music do you like? Can you name a song that makes you feel something very strongly?” Let a few students answer. |
| 3–11′ | Words | Pre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: piano, sight, blues, mix, soul. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example. |
| 11–18′ | Video | Play the video (4:12). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed. |
| 18–26′ | Comprehension | Worksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?” |
| 26–34′ | Grammar | used to + verb: for a habit or a state in the past that is not true now. Show “He used to sound like other singers.”, then do worksheet E together. |
| 34–42′ | Worksheet | Students do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key. |
| 42–45′ | Speaking | In pairs: “Ray Charles lost his sight, but he found his own sound. Do you know someone who lost something important and still found a new way? What did they do?” |
Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.
Words and grammar
- piano (noun): a big musical instrument with black and white keys. “Little Ray played the piano in a small café.”
- sight (noun): the ability to see. “By seven, he had lost his sight completely.”
- blues (noun): (the blues) a kind of slow, sad music from the American South. “He played the blues in clubs every night.”
- mix (verb): to put different things together (past: mixed). “He mixed church music with the blues.”
- soul (noun): a kind of music with very deep feeling, from gospel and the blues. “The new sound was called soul.”
Grammar: used to + verb — for a habit or a state in the past that is not true now. “He used to sound like other singers.”
Discussion questions
- Ray Charles lost his sight, but he found his own sound. Do you know someone who lost something important and still found a new way? What did they do?
- What was the hardest moment in Ray Charles's story? What did Ray Charles do?
- Make two sentences about your own life with “used to + verb”. (From the story: “He used to sound like other singers.”)
Student worksheet
A Match the words to their meanings
- piano (noun)
- sight (noun)
- blues (noun)
- mix (verb)
- soul (noun)
- keyboard (noun)
- braille (noun)
- gospel (noun)
- to put different things together (past: mixed)
- the ability to see
- Christian church music, often sung by a choir with strong feeling
- a way of writing with raised dots that blind people read with their fingers
- a kind of music with very deep feeling, from gospel and the blues
- a big musical instrument with black and white keys
- (the blues) a kind of slow, sad music from the American South
- the row of black and white keys on a piano
B Complete the sentences from the story
keyboard · braille · sight · blues · soul · gospel · mixed · piano
- By seven, he had lost his completely.
- He took a song from the church.
- He read music in .
- He played the in clubs every night.
- His fingers moved fast across the .
- Little Ray played the in a small café.
- The new sound was called .
- He church music with the blues.
C Did you understand?
- Ray Charles was born blind.True / False
- Where did little Ray first play the piano?
- In a big concert hall
- In a small café near his home
- At a radio station
- In a church in Seattle
- How did he read music at school?
- On a big screen
- His mother read it to him
- In braille, with his fingers
- He never read music
- He chose Seattle because it was very far from Florida.True / False
- Why were some church people angry?
- He stopped playing the piano
- He sang only in Seattle
- He cancelled a concert
- He mixed a church song with the blues and gave it words about love
- In 1961, he played a concert where Black fans had to sit apart.True / False
D Put the words in order
- used / singers / He / to / sound / like / other
E Grammar: used to + verb
We use it for for a habit or a state in the past that is not true now. used to + verb: He used to sound like other singers. · didn't use to + verb: He didn't use to have his own sound. · Did … use to + verb? Did he use to play in a café? Yes, he did.
Example from the story: He used to sound like other singers.
- Little Ray play the café piano as often as he could. (used to / use to / was used)
- He copy other singers, but later he found his own sound. (used to / uses to / is used to)
- Did he play in clubs in Seattle? (use to / used to / using to)
F Your turn
Retell Ray Charles's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Answer key
A. 1f 2b 3g 4a 5e 6h 7d 8c
B. 1 sight · 2 gospel · 3 braille · 4 blues · 5 keyboard · 6 piano · 7 soul · 8 mixed
C. 1 False · 2 b · 3 c · 4 True · 5 d · 6 False
D. 1 He used to sound like other singers.
E. 1 used to · 2 used to · 3 use to
Transcript
At seven, he could not see at all.
Years later, he turned a church song into a love song.
Would people love it, or hate it?
This is the story of Ray Charles.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Piano. A piano is a big instrument with black and white keys.
Little Ray played the piano in a small café.
Sight. Sight is the ability to see.
By seven, he had lost his sight completely.
Blues. The blues is a kind of slow, sad music from the American South.
He played the blues in clubs every night.
Mix. When you mix things, you put them together.
The past is mixed.
He mixed church music with the blues.
Soul. Soul is a kind of music with very deep feeling.
The new sound was called soul.
Now, one pattern: used to.
It shows that something was true in the past, but it is not true now.
In the past, he sounded like other singers.
He used to sound like other singers.
Ready? Let's begin.
Ray Charles was born in Georgia in 1930 and grew up very poor in Florida.
Near his home was a small café with an old piano.
The owner let little Ray play it.
He used to play there as often as he could.
But when Ray was about five, his eyes began to fail.
By seven, he had lost his sight completely.
His mother was strict.
She told him he had lost his sight, not his mind.
In 1937, he went to a school for blind children.
He read music in braille, with his fingers, and learned every song by heart.
He learned the piano, the saxophone and the clarinet.
At seventeen, he asked a friend which city was farthest from Florida.
The answer was Seattle.
There, he played the blues in clubs every night.
But he used to sound like other singers.
He wanted his own sound.
In 1954, he had a bold idea.
He took a gospel song from the church and gave it new words, about love.
He mixed church music with the blues.
Some church people were surprised and angry.
But young people loved I Got a Woman.
It became his first big hit.
The new sound was called soul.
One night in 1958, his band ran out of songs, with twelve minutes left.
So Ray made up a new song on the stage.
The crowd went wild.
What'd I Say became a huge hit.
In 1960, Georgia on My Mind went to number one.
But in 1961, he cancelled a concert in Georgia, because Black fans had to sit apart.
Would his home state ever welcome him back?
Yes. In 1979, Ray sang it for the lawmakers of Georgia, and it became the state song.
He used to copy other singers.
Later, other singers copied him.
He died in 2004.
Let's review. Little Ray played the piano in a small café.
By seven, he had lost his sight completely.
He played the blues in clubs every night.
He mixed church music with the blues.
The new sound was called soul.
And remember: he used to sound like other singers.
Ray Charles's story teaches us: when you lose one thing, you can still find your own sound.
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