Calling 911

Learn how to speak with the 911 operator in an emergency

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Lesson plan overview

Task	To learn the basic vocabulary needed to call 911 in an emergency.
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 to 3 hours (depending on whether you complete all parts of the lesson)
CLB Skills and Competencies	*Speaking:* Interacting with others Getting things done Sharing information *Listening:* Interacting with others Comprehending instructions Getting things done Comprehending information *Reading:* Comprehending information
Language focus	Learn the vocabulary needed to understand this topic. Learn the vocabulary needed to respond to basic questions from a 911 operator. Complete the optional “Part B: Building Sentences” activities below to help your students move from understanding vocabulary to using that vocabulary to produce simple sentences. Use the appropriate grammar structures and vocabulary to respond personally to the reflection questions. (Encourage students to respond in full sentences.)
Cultural focus	Students learn about the health care system in Canada and Alberta (e.g., what emergencies justify calling 911 and what happens when you call). Students may discuss what to do when they hear the siren of an ambulance, a police car, or a firetruck behind them on the road.
Specific task learning objectives	Students learn when to call (and when not to call) 911. Students learn the basic vocabulary used in a 911 call. Students practice role plays (both pre-set and open-ended).
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.

Part A: Vocabulary acquisition and practice
This is a self-contained, complete lesson plan (about 1.5 hours) focused on vocabulary.

Part B: Building sentences
Part B takes your students further by giving them some tools to build simple sentences (using the vocabulary they learned in Part A).

Use Part B (about 1.5 hours) if you want to focus on:

Sentence production.

Specific lesson-related grammar points. Note: Every lesson also includes similar practice exercises for subjects, verbs, and objects — the basic building blocks of most English sentences.

Part C: Reflection Questions
These topic-related discussion questions work at the end of either part A or B.

Lesson plan

Part A: Vocabulary acquisition and practice

Warm-up: Introducing the topic and defining our terms

Today, we’re going to talk about calling 911 in an emergency.

What is an emergency?
What is 911?
Why do you call 911?
What happens when you call 911?

Skill-building activities

Vocabulary flashcards*
Listen to the vocabulary again* 🔊 (Pay attention to how to say the words and what they mean.)

Skill-using tasks

Calling 911* 🎥 (Listen to a 911 call from a woman whose husband has fallen and is unconscious.)

Audio, role play, and comprehension questions* 🔊
Tell the story* (Read and explain each sentence.)
Gap-fill activity*

Assessment/review tasks

Part B: Building sentences

Find a list of all of the grammar-based activities on this website.

Introducing the topic

In this part of the lesson, we’re going to work on creating short sentences from the vocabulary we learned in Part A.

To help us, we’ll focus on:

“Is he/she?” questions and answers.

Subject, verb, and object word order.

Skill-building and skill-using activities

“Is he/she?” questions and answers

Quick guide: Forming “Is he/she?” questions and answers*
Practice answering “is he/she?” questions with short and full answers*
Pick the correct answer*
“Is he/she” questions and answers explainer* (A more detailed explanation that you can teach in class or send home with your students.)

Word order in English sentences

Today, we’ll look at three important parts of English sentences.

What is a subject?
What is a verb?
What is an object?

Let’s practice!

Quick definitions: Subjects, verbs, and objects*
Unjumble the sentences*
Create sentences in subject/verb/object order*
Subject/verb/object explainer* (A more detailed explanation that you can teach in class or send home with your students.)

Assessment/review activities

Calling 911 for Phillip*🎥 (Watch a story using the lesson vocabulary and grammar points.)

Calling 911 for Phillip: Reading passage and comprehension questions* 🔊 (Read the story, and identify the grammar points.)

Part C: Reflection questions

Please give us some examples of when you would call 911.
When would you not call 911?
Have you ever had to call an ambulance for someone? How did you feel when you had to make that phone call?
When should you go to Emergency in the hospital? When should you go to a family doctor or clinic instead?
Do you have the same kind of 911 process in your country? If the process is different, how is it different?
If you are driving, what do you do when you hear an ambulance, a police car, or a firetruck behind you?

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HEALTH YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

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HEALTH WORDWALL ACTIVITIES

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