The band wrote this during a visit to Moscow in 1989.

The previous year, they became the first

hard-rock band to play in Russia, and they returned to play the Moscow Music Peace Festival. At
this show, they were inspired by the sight of thousands of Russians cheering them on even
though they were a German band. In our interview with Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker, he
called this song, "a kind of message soundtrack to the world's most peaceful revolution on
earth."

Lead singer Klaus Meine told NME: "Everyone was there: the Red Army, journalists, musicians
from Germany, from America, from Russia-the whole world on one boat. It was like a vision;
everyone was talking the same language. It was a very positive vibe. That night was the basic
inspiration for Wind Of Change."

In 1990, this became the unofficial anthem for the German Reunification, an event that politically
lasted from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the official reunification on October 3, 1990.
(thanks, Martin - Rostock, Germany)

In Germany, it is remembered as the song of German reunification and a message of hope

Germany! This is important when we think about the historical context of the song.

1. INM
Begin by asking your students what they know about German history during the late 1980s.
Some of your students might remember that in 1989, the Berlin Wall was demolished. The Berlin
Wall was built in 1961 and divided East Berlin from West Berlin. These two territories were
important in the Cold War, a power struggle between the Soviet Union and Western powers like
the United States and Great Britain. You do not need to be a history expert to talk about these
events. The most important thing for you and your students to discuss is that the wall
represented a physical barrier constructed for political reasons. Many people could not see their
family members or move freely just because they lived on one side of the wall. Have a brief
discussion about what it might be like to live in that kind of situation. Remind your students that
after the wall was demolished in a wave of popular demonstrations, Germany was reunited in
1990. What is their opinion about these events?

2. Listen to the song (15 minutes)

3. Discussion (10 minutes)

What did your students think of the song? Do they enjoy this type of music? What did they think
about the lyrics? Now that you have listened to the song and talked about the context, do your
students think the song is about history?

If the students did not understand all the words or need another chance to fill in some of the
blanks, you can listen to the song again.

4. Writing activity (15 minutes)

Now it is time for your students to be creative! Give them some of the most important phrases in
the song and have them write their own ideas about what these phrases mean to them.

You can use:

"the children of tomorrow"

"the wind of change"

"freedom bell"

"the future's in the air"

"share their dreams"

They can associate these phrases with historical events, their own ideas about the future, the
images in the video, their own lives, etc. Once they have had time to write down their ideas, they
should share them with the rest of the class.

If you have three or four students, you can all share your ideas together. If you have a larger
class, this is a good opportunity for group or pair work. You can move around the room to help
the students talk in English about their ideas.

5. Wrap-up (10 minutes)

You and your students have done great work! You should use the last ten minutes to answer any
last questions your students may have.

You can review the new vocabulary words that you learned and have your students help you use
them in sentences to be sure they understand. You can also write some of the most interesting
ideas your students had on the board so that everyone can discuss them.

Give your students a short activity to do at home with the skills and topics you've worked on
today. You might ask them to research the Berlin Wall or some other historical event that has
come up in the discussion. You might also ask them to read about the band Scorpions on the
internet. Be sure they read in English and write a few sentences about what they learned to
share in the next class.
Keeping your lessons fun and interesting will help your students be successful. Enjoy!