OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES

This ESL lesson plan on Katy Perry's song "Roar" offers engaging activities, PDF worksheets, and digital materials designed for intermediate B1/B2 students. In this lesson, students will:

• Discuss jungle settings, animals, and media references while practicing descriptive speaking skills.
• Expand vocabulary related to animal actions and personality traits inspired by the jungle.
• Watch Katy Perry’s Roar music video and complete sequencing, lyric listening, and comprehension tasks.
• Learn and use empowering adjectives to describe personal transformation and emotional growth.
• Create and share their own stories based on characters facing challenges and developing inner strength.

PREVIEW & DISCUSSION

Students begin by looking at images of Katy Perry in the jungle and identifying different animals she sees, such as a tiger, parrot, elephant, and butterfly. They discuss other animals that live in a jungle and share any experiences they've had visiting one. Students then match action verbs to animals—like “roar” for tigers and “sting” for bees—reinforcing vocabulary linked to nature and behavior. The class discusses what traits or qualities certain animal actions might represent in a person, like boldness or resilience. Finally, they predict what a song called Roar might be about, using both visuals and the jungle context as clues. This warm-up helps students build interest and activates useful language for the lesson ahead.

VIEWING ACTIVITY

Katy Perry’s Roar is an empowering pop anthem about standing up for yourself and finding confidence. In the jungle-themed video, Katy transforms from a fearful plane crash survivor to a bold, fearless leader. Students first watch the video and put key events in order—such as Katy getting startled by a spider, brushing a crocodile’s teeth, and roaring at a tiger. Then, students listen to the first minute of the song and choose the correct lyrics from two options, practicing careful listening and contextual thinking. Next, they listen to the chorus and fill in missing words like “champion” and “victory,” which encourages them to notice pronunciation and rhyme.

DISCUSSION & CHARACTER TRAITS (ADJECTIVES)

After watching, students reflect on the video and song by discussing what they thought of it, how Katy’s character changes, and the message behind it. They then complete a vocabulary activity that connects Katy’s lyrics with adjectives describing personal growth—such as timid, assertive, and resilient. This task helps students understand nuance in language and how adjectives can reflect emotional transformation. To connect the lesson to broader contexts, students also read a short summary of the movie Cast Away and retell the story using adjectives from the previous task. 

CHARACTER TRAITS IN ACTION: STORIES & REFLECTIONS

In the activation phase, students use the lesson’s themes and vocabulary to create their own story. They choose a song, movie, book, or make up a short story that includes a character, a fear, an obstacle, and a transformation. Students write or describe the story and then identify traits like resilience or timidity without using those words in their actual plot. This allows them to creatively apply what they’ve learned while practicing speaking and writing fluency. The activity wraps up with story sharing and a class discussion. There is also an alternative option for students to engage in discussions about various personality traits they learned in the lesson with a focus on students' own experiences with them.

BENEFITS OF USING THIS KATY PERRY SONG ESL LESSON

This ESL lesson on Katy Perry’s Roar offers a dynamic and student-centered way to teach emotional vocabulary, comprehension, and storytelling. Students engage with authentic content that holds their attention and sparks conversation. The lesson helps them understand and describe personal qualities in both fictional and real-life contexts. Teachers get a ready-made structure that combines visual, listening, and speaking practice all in one. This ESL lesson on vacation and work phrasal verbs also allows for expansion into broader discussions about overcoming challenges, making it ideal for life skills language development.