Learn the names of some famous symbols of 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 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.
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…
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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