
Learn the names of Canadian provinces and territories
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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 readingLesson plan overview
| Task | To learn the names of Canadian provinces and territories. |
| 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 | 2 to 2.5 hours (This lesson plan includes a lot of vocabulary. Depending on your class size and schedule, you may want to break this class into two or three sesssions.) |
| 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 learn the names of each province or territory. They will also learn how to differentiate the provinces and territories, e.g., by their very different terrains. |
| Specific task learning objectives | Students learn the names (and pronunciation) of provinces and territories. Students learn the location of each province and territory. Students learn something about the geography and population of each province and territory. |
| ESL Directions original video (🎥) and audio (🔊) activities? | This lesson plan 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 talk about Canadian provinces and territories.
- What is a province?
- Can you name some provinces?
- What is a territory?
- Can you name some territories?
Skill-building activities
Skill-using tasks
FEATURED CONTENT
- Western Canada (4 provinces):
- Learn the vocabulary, and listen to the name and description of each province* 🔊
- Western Canadian provinces* (Click on each tile to display the description, a short video, and a map showing the province’s location.)
- Western Canada: Four provinces* 🎥 (Learn names, locations, pronunciation, and some basic facts about each province.)
- Western Canada: Complete the sentence*
- Label a map of the Western Canadian provinces* 🔊
- Eastern Canada (6 provinces):
- Learn the vocabulary, and listen to the name and description of each province* 🔊
- Eastern Canadian provinces* (Click on each tile to display the description, a short video, and a map showing the province’s location.)
- Eastern Canada: Six provinces* 🎥 (Learn names, locations, pronunciation, and some basic facts about each province.)
- Eastern Canada: Complete the sentence*
- Label a map of the Eastern Canadian provinces* 🔊
- Northern Canada (3 territories):
- Learn the vocabulary, and listen to the name and description of each territory* 🔊
- Northern Canadian territories* (Click on each tile to display the description, a short video, and a map showing the territory’s location.)
- Canada’s North: Three territories* 🎥 (Learn names, locations, pronunciation, and some basic facts about each territory.)
- The Northern Territories: Complete the sentence*
- Label a map of the Canadian Northern territories* 🔊
Assessment/review tasks
Reflection questions
- How many provinces does Canada have?
- Can you name the provinces?
- What is a territory?
- How many territories does Canada have?
- Can you name the territories?
- What can you tell us about Western Canada, Eastern Canada, and the Northern Territories?
- What province or territory do you live in?
- Can you describe the province or territory you live in, e.g., mountainous/flat, many lakes and rivers/dry, old buildings/new buildings, many people/few people?
- Where have you travelled in Canada?
- How are the provinces and territories different from each other?
RELATED PAGES
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The lesson plan teaches your beginner ESL students the names, locations, and pronunciations of Canadian provincial and territorial capital cities. The…
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 a TESL Canada certified ESL teacher in Edmonton, Alberta, I specialize in teaching online classes of beginner ESL students.
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