Learn about a great Alberta song
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Lesson plan overview
| Task | To listen to and understand a beloved Alberta song |
| 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 | 1.5-2 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 the song lyrics. Understand that the song is poetry, and so may not be as easy to understand as more literal texts. Use the appropriate grammar structures and vocabulary to respond personally to the song. (Encourage students to respond in full sentences.) |
| Cultural focus | Understand the importance of this song in Canadian and Albertan culture. |
| Specific task learning objectives | To understand Canadian (and Albertan) culture better by learning the words of “Four Strong Winds,” a song that many Albertans know by heart. To learn about the Edmonton Folk Festival. To have fun singing the song together. To talk about special songs from students’ home countries. |
| ESL Directions original video (🎥) and audio (🔊) activities? | This lesson includes both original video activities (🎥) and links to external video 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 will discuss a famous Alberta folk song: “Four strong winds.”
- What is a song?
- What is a folk song?
Skill-building activities
- Listen to Jessica Rhaye: Four strong winds (Ask students just to listen the first time. Play the song again. This time, ask students to note down and share any words or phrases they hear.)
Skill-using tasks
FEATURED CONTENT
- Understanding the words* (Listen to a Neil Young version of the song. Practice reading the lyrics. Then work together to try to understand the words.)
- Sentence scramble activity*
- Multiple choice activity*
- Gap fill activity*
- “Four strong winds” at the Edmonton Folk Festival video* (Ask your Edmonton students about the Edmonton about the Folk Festival. Explain that “Four strong winds” is always the last song of the festival. Watch a short video on the importance of the song at the Folk Festival and at national Canada Day celebrations.) 🎥
- Edmonton Folk Music Festival: Listen to Mary Chapin Carpenter: Four strong winds (This sing-along version was recorded for the Edmonton Folk Festival during the Covid shut down.)
Assessment/review tasks
Sing-a-long Karaoke* (Encourage students to sing along. Best to add two or three students each time you sing the song until everyone is singing. Note: This version is based on a Gilbert Ponce version of the song. The original version seems to have been taken down.)
Reflection questions
- Did you like the song?
- Does it remind you of any songs from your own country?
- Is it a happy or a sad song?
- Who is singing? Who is he singing to?
- What is the story of this song?
- Do you like to sing or play music?
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Click on the small right arrow at the top right of this video to see the Alberta YouTube playlist or visit the Alberta 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.
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 an ESL teacher in Edmonton, Alberta, I specialize in teaching online classes of beginner ESL students.
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