Lesson plans and other resources for your online beginners’ classes (CLB 1-4).
FOLLOW ESL DIRECTIONS ON
THIS WEEK’S FEATURED POST
Week of Dec. 15/25
Teach your beginner ESL students about preparing for a traditional Canadian Christmas and encourage them to share their own cultural traditions.
The lesson includes interactive vocabulary activities, a short video, and reflection questions to…
Keep readingNotes for ESL teachers and students
- This page will introduce beginner ESL students to some topics related to Canadian citizenship through simplified and shortened lesson plans.
- These lesson plans are not intended to reproduce the Government of Canada’s full citizenship guide. Students who are eligible to write the citizenship test should consult the full official guide, Discover Canada: The rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
- Please check the official citizenship guide for any content changes made since this webpage was created.
Focus on content: Confederation
Watch this short video to learn about how Canada became a country in 1867. This video is part of the “Confederation” lesson plan.
Lesson plans
Who we are

Aboriginal peoples
Learn about the history of Aboriginal people in Canada.

English and French in Canada
Learn about Canada’s two official languages.
History

Aboriginal Peoples
Learn some facts about the history of some groups of Aboriginal people in Canada.

The first Europeans
Learn some facts about the first Europeans to explore Canada.

Confederation
Learn how Canada became a country in 1867.

Why do we celebrate Remembrance Day?
Learn about Canada’s role in World War I.
Canada’s regions

Capital cities
Learn the name of each provincial and territorial capital city.

Provinces and territories
Learn the names of Canadian provinces and territories.

The West Coast
Learn about Canada’s West Coast province, British Columbia.

Prairie provinces
Learn about Canada’s three Prairie provinces.

The Northern Territories
Learn about Canada’s three Northern Territories.

Atlantic provinces
Learn about Canada’s four Atlantic provinces.

Central Canada
Learn about Central Canada: Ontario and Quebec.
Canadian symbols

Canada Day: Learning to sing “O Canada”
Learn how to sing Canada’s national anthem.

Victoria Day: Learning to sing “God save the king”
Learn how to sing Canada’s royal anthem.
Resources
Links to helpful external resources …
- The Canadian encyclopedia (An excellent source of information about Canadian history and other citizenship topics.)
- Government of Canada, Immigration and Citizenship:
- Discover Canada: The rights and responsibilities of citizenship (This is the official Government of Canada citizenship guide, the authoritative source of the information needed to pass the citizenship test.)
- Apply for citizenship:
- Historica Canada: Heritage minutes (A series of short videos on different topics in Canadian history.)
- Simple English Wikipedia (A good source for supplemental information on citizenship topics at a beginner level.)
RELATED PAGES
Alberta
This webpage offers online lesson plans and other resources for ESL beginner classes on Alberta topics. Lesson plans cover Alberta’s history…
Keep readingCanadian holidays
Teach your beginner ESL students about Canadian holidays using these online lesson plans and other resources. Lesson plans include opening and…
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.
SHARE THIS PAGE:

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 a TESL Canada certified ESL teacher in Edmonton, Alberta, I specialize in teaching online classes of beginner ESL students.
FOLLOW ESL DIRECTIONS ON
CONTACT US







