Identify the seasons and months (and what to expect in Alberta)
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Week of Aug. 10/26
This lesson plan offers engaging activities for your first day of class, focusing on classroom rules, introductions, and cultural exchanges.
The plan includes lesson objectives, warm-up exercises, two short videos, and a range of…
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Lesson plan overview
| Task | To learn the names of the seasons and the months (and especially what these look like in Alberta). |
| CLB level | CLB Stage I (CLB 1-3) |
| Delivery method | Online |
| Class size | 10-15 students (vary the number of activities according to your class size) |
| Estimated time | 1.5-3 hours (depending on your class size and whether you do all parts of the lesson plan) |
| CLB Skills and Competencies | Speaking: Interacting with others Sharing information Listening: Interacting with others Comprehending information Reading: Comprehending information |
| Language focus | Learn the vocabulary needed to understand this topic. Learn the abbreviation for each month. Complete the optional “Part B: Building Sentences” activities below to help your students move from understanding vocabulary to using that vocabulary to create simple sentences. Use the appropriate grammar structures and vocabulary to respond personally to the reflection questions. (Encourage students to respond in full sentences.) |
| Cultural focus | Students learn that seasons in Alberta may not correspond with “official” season start and end dates. This knowledge may help them to prepare for the province’s longer winters. |
| Specific task learning objectives | Students will learn basic vocabulary for seasons and months, including the abbreviations for months. Students will learn which months fit into which seasons in Alberta. Students will use full sentences to describe each season. Students will discuss what clothes to wear in each season. Students will reflect on the weather differences between their first country and Alberta. |
| ESL Directions original video (🎥) and audio (🔊) activities? | This lesson plan includes original video (🎥) audio (🔊) activities. |
| Resource attribution | ESL Directions original resources are marked below with an asterisk (*). Feel free to use these, but please give credit to ESL Directions. |
Lesson plan
Part A: Vocabulary acquisition and practice
FEATURED CONTENT
Warm-up: Introducing the topic and defining our terms
- Today, we’re going to learn about seasons and the months in each season. We will also learn what each season and month looks and feels like in Alberta.
- What is a season? Can you name the seasons?
- What is a month? Can you name the months?
Skill-building activities
- Label the seasons* 🔊
- Months of the year: Match-up* 🔊
- Seasons and months: Fliptiles* (Vocabulary cards that will help your students to understand and complete the activities below.)
- Let’s review the vocabulary* (Pay attention to how to say the words, and what they mean.) 🔊
Skill-using activities
- Seasons and months* (A guide to the seasons and months and what these look like in Alberta.) 🎥
- Put the months of the year in order*
- Match abbreviations for months with full names*
- Answer questions about seasons and months (with a focus on Alberta weather)* (This is an open-ended speaking activity. Ask students to respond with full sentences, if possible.)
Assessment/review tasks
- Label each season* (Ask students to use full sentences, starting with “This is …”)
- Match seasons and months* (Allow for regional differences here. For example, spring does not necessarily start on its “official” date in Alberta.)
- What season is this?* (Ask students to identify the season and to describe what they see.)
Part B: Building sentences
FEATURED CONTENT
Warm-up: Introducing the topic and defining our terms
In this part of the lesson, we’re going to learn about:
- Identifying four parts of speech. Can anyone tell me what parts of speech are? Can anyone give an example?
- Practicing the present continuous verb tense. Can anyone give an example of this tense?
- Using subject/verb/object word order to make short sentences. Can anyone tell me what a subject is? A verb? An object?
Skill-building and skill-using activities
- Four parts of speech explainer* (A simple explanation of nouns, verbs, articles, and adjectives.)
- Present continuous verb tense explainer*
- Subject/verb/object explainer*
Assessment/review activities
- Dressing for the season*🎥 (Watch and read a story using the lesson vocabulary. Answer open-ended comprehension questions.)
Part C: Reflection questions
- Which is your favourite season? Why is it your favourite?
- What month is your birthday? What is the weather like on your birthday in your first country? What is the weather like here on your birthday?
- What ways have you found to enjoy Alberta’s long winters?
- What signs of spring do you see in Alberta?
- How are spring, summer, fall, and winter different in your first country?
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Click on the small right arrow at the top right of this video to see the Numbers playlist on YouTube or visit the “All about numbers” playlist.
DATES AND TIME WORDWALL ACTIVITIES
Wordwall is a very useful interactive lesson-creation site. If you sign up for a free Wordwall account, you will be able to see our “Dates and time” folder, which includes ESL Directions activities you can add to your lessons.
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Kathy Garnsworthy, the creator of ESL Directions, is an ESL teacher, movie buff, constant reader, and former editor and communications pro. Now a graduate of the Teaching English as a Second Language program at the University of Manitoba and an ESL teacher in Edmonton, Alberta, she specializes in teaching online classes of beginner ESL students.
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