Learn some facts about the first Europeans to explore Canada
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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…
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Lesson plan overview
| Task | To learn some facts about the first Europeans to explore Canada. |
| CLB level | CLB Stage I (CLB 2-4) |
| 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 understand some of the history of Canadian exploration and settlement in order to better understand current issues. |
| Specific task learning objectives | Beginning ESL students learn some basic facts about Canada’s history in the Discover Canada study guide. Students learn some facts about early Canadian explorers. Students share information about any explorers who came to their home countries. |
| ESL Directions original video (🎥) and audio (🔊) activities? | This lesson includes original 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. |
Notes for ESL teachers and students:
This is a shortened and simplified version of some of the information in Canada’s citizenship study guide (intended to introduce this topic to beginner ESL students).
Students who are eligible to write the citizenship test should consult the Government of Canada’s full official guide, Discover Canada: The rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Please check Discover Canada for any content changes made since this webpage was created.
Lesson plan
Warm-up: Introducing the topic and defining our terms
- Today, we’re going to learn about the first Europeans to explore Canada.
- Who are Europeans?
- Does anyone know where in Europe these early explorers came from?
- What the word “explorer” mean?
Skill-building activities
FEATURED CONTENT
- Vocabulary flashcards*
- Let’s review the vocabulary and definitions* 🔊 (Pay attention to the order, pronunciation, and spelling of each word or phrase. Think about what the definitions mean.)
- Definition unjumble*
Skill-using activities
- Listen to and read a passage about the history of the first Europeans in Canada*🔊 (This activity also includes comprehension questions.)
- Timeline of events*
Assessment/review tasks
Reflection questions
- Tell us three new words you learned today.
- Can you tell us the names of the early European explorers we learned about today? Can you tell us something about each explorer?
- What two European countries did these explorers come from?
- The British and French explorers both claimed Canada for their own kings. What do you think may happen later?
- Did explorers from European countries visit your home country? What European country or countries did they come from? What can you tell us about these explorers?
RELATED PAGES
Introducing Canadian citizenship
This page provides simplified and shortened lesson plans for beginner ESL students on topics related to Canadian citizenship. The page is…
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Who we are: English and French in Canada
Intended as an introduction to Canada’s citizenship guide for ESL beginners, this lesson plan focuses on the history of Canada’s two…
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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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.
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