Understanding Canadian symbols

Learn the names of some famous symbols of Canada

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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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by ESL Directions

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Lesson plan overview

Task	To learn the names of some Canadian symbols.
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 to 2 hours (depending on class size and how many activities you choose)
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 meaning of some common symbols for Canada.
Specific task learning objectives	Students learn about some major Canadian symbols, including significant animals and plants as well as other symbols. Students see short videos about most of the symbols, so that they can see and hear them. Students discuss the meaning of these symbols. Students discuss symbols of their own country.
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 talk about some common symbols for the country of Canada.
Can anyone tell me what a symbol is?
Does anyone know any symbols of Canada?

Skill-building activities

FEATURED CONTENT

Vocabulary flashcards*
Listen to the vocabulary again* (Think about how to say each word and what it means.) 🔊
Canadian symbols tip tiles* (Click on each image to open a description and, often, a short video.)
Canadian symbols video* 🎥

Skill-using tasks

Let’s learn more about these symbols* (Students listen to the transcript of the video again and then try to work out what each sentence means. This is a longer activity that you may only want to use with your more advanced beginners.) 🔊
Quiz*
Win or lose quiz*

Assessment/review tasks

Speaking cards* (Please answer each question with a full sentence.)
Spinning random images* (Ask students to identify the symbol and to tell you as much as they can about it.)

Reflection questions

Name as many Canadian symbols as you can.
Pick one of these symbols and discuss what you think it means. For example, beavers are symbols of hard work. Why do you think the symbol you chose represents Canada?
Can you name some national symbols of your first country? What do these symbols mean?
Use the BookWidgets’ Memory Lane widget to find out what students remember from the lesson.

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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CANADA 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.

TRENDING 🔥

Checking in at the doctor's office

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Canada's regions: Provinces and territories

Christmas dinner and other feasts

Renting an apartment

Learning banking vocabulary

Canada's regions: Prairie Provinces (CLB 2-4)

Making an appointment with your doctor

Canadian holidays

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.