Learn about a traditional Canadian Thanksgiving dinner and discuss other cultural traditions
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Lesson plan overview
| Task | To learn about a traditional Canadian Thanksgiving dinner and to encourage students to discuss their own cultural traditions. |
| 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 hours (depending on class size) |
| 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. Use the appropriate grammar structures and vocabulary to respond personally to the reflection questions. (Encourage students to respond in full sentences.) |
| Cultural focus | Students will understand the Thanksgiving dinner they will see celebrated in Canadian media, ads, and public spaces. |
| Specific task learning objectives | To familiarize students with the vocabulary for a traditional Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. To encourage them to talk about the traditions of their own special festivals. |
| ESL Directions original video (🎥) and audio (🔊) activities? | This lesson includes original video (🎥) and 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
Warm-up: Introducing the topic and defining our terms
- Today, we’re going to learn about a traditional Canadian Thankgiving dinner.
- When is Canadian Thanksgiving?
- What does “Thanksgiving” mean?
- What do you know about a traditional Canadian Thanksgiving (the one you see in the media and ads at this time of year)?
- What do people eat at a traditional Thanksgiving dinner?
- What is a main course?
- What are vegetables? Can you give some examples?
- What is a dessert? Can you give some examples?
Skill-building activities
- Vocabulary tip tiles* (Click on each tile for the name of the dish. You can also click on the gravy and cranberry sauce tiles for short Wikihow videos.)
- Let’s listen to the vocabulary again. (Ask students to pay attention to each word’s pronunciation and meaning.) 🔊
Skill-using tasks
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Assessment/review tasks
- Thanksgiving dinner random images* (Ask students to identify each type of food.)
- Speaking cards* (Ask students to explain each sentence in their own words.) 🔊
Reflection questions
- Does anyone here celebrate Thanksgiving?
- Is your Thanksgiving dinner different from the one we learned about today?
- Do you usually eat the foods mentioned in today’s lesson, e.g., turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, etc.?
- What is the most important festival in your home country?
- When is this festival, and how do you celebrate it?
- Do you have a special dinner with certain festive foods?
- Do you celebrate this festival in a different way here than in your home country?
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Keep readingCANADA YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
Click the small arrow at the top right of this video to play the videos or go to the YouTube Canada Playlist.
CANADA 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 “Canada” folder, which includes ESL Directions activities that you can add to your lessons.
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ABOUT ESL DIRECTIONS
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, I specialize in teaching online classes of beginner ESL students.
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