The history of the universe in a 1 minute song - what's not to like?
The theme tune to the US Sitcom The Big Bang Theory is a wonderfully geeky song by The BareNakedLadies. It runs through all of the major events in the history of the universe in about a minute and lends itself really well to speculation and discussion.
Warm-up
In order for the main activity to be successful, it's good to guide students towards some likely answers first. Get them to discuss these questions in pairs or small groups:
1. What was the universe like at the start? (think of some adjectives to describe it)
2. What happened 100-200 thousand years ago 3.8 billion years ago? 4.5 billion years ago?
3. How did the earth have to change in order for the first life to evolve?
4. What caused the extinction of the dinosaurs? why?
5. What made early humans different to other animals?
Pre-listening Task
Give students the song lyrics with missing words and get them to speculate about what might go in each space.
Don't expect students to have all the answers, the key is that they think about what kind of information is likely.
Online: share the powerpoint below so they can look in pairs.
Classroom: print the handout below:
Listening Task
Students listen to check their answers.
Again, if you're teaching online, share the second powerpoint so that students can listen in pairs.
Or, just show them the video: