Lesson plans and other resources for your online beginners’ classes (CLB 1-4).
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THIS WEEK’S FEATURED POST
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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What’s on this page?
Notes 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.
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 in World War II
Learn about Canada’s role in World War II.
Canada’s regions
Provincial and territorial capital cities
Learn the name of each provincial and territorial capital city.
Provincial capital cities
Learn the name of each provincial capital city.
Provinces and territories
Learn the names of Canadian provinces and territories.
Canadian provinces
Learn the names of the 10 Canadian provinces.
The West Coast
Learn about Canada’s West Coast province, British Columbia.
Prairie Provinces (CLB 2-4)
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.
Ice hockey in Canadian culture
Learn about the significance of Canada’s favourite sport in Canadian culture.
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
Canadian holidays
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Canadian culture and environment
Check out these free digital and interactive resources for ESL beginners on Canadian cultural and environmental topics. Main topics include Canadian…
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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
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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