Your home and community

Lesson plans and other resources for your online beginners’ classes (CLB 1-4).

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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

My family

Lesson plans

Learning family names

Learn the English names for members of your family.

Talking about life events

Learn basic vocabulary related to family history by talking about grandmothers’ lives.

Resources

Links to helpful external resources …

Life events and family histories
- Adele’s ESL Corner:
  - My family (fill-in-the-gaps story)
  - Ruth’s family (story with comprehension questions)
  - Sue’s family (story with comprehension questions)
Discussion questions:
- The TESL Internet Journal Archives conversation questions: Family

My home

Lesson plans

Rooms in my house

Learn the names and functions of some main rooms in a house.

Finding an apartment

Learn the basic vocabulary needed to read classified ads for apartments and to speak with an apartment manager.

Renting an apartment

Learn the basic vocabulary needed to talk with a landlord about renting an apartment.

Resources

Links to helpful external resources …

ISS of BC video lessons and teacher’s guides:
- At home
- Rooms and furniture
Learning Chocolate: House (Many vocabulary activities on a house theme.)
Settlement at Work: LINC classroom activities: 1 and 2. (Scroll down the page to find LINC 1 and 2. Each text also has audio files and learning objects. Find the “At home in our community and the world” section in each document.)
Tutela: Housing collection (Includes resources related to housing, especially about dealing with landlord and tenant issues. Tutela is a free resource-sharing site, but you will need to create an account to access resources.)

My garden

Lesson plans

Asking for help at a garden centre

Learn how to ask basic questions at a garden centre.

Alberta garden flowers

Learn the names of some Alberta flowers.

Resources

Links to helpful external resources …

British Council/LearnEnglish Teens: The garden (Vocabulary-based lesson plan.)
7ESL Learning English:
English Vocabulary: In the garden vocabulary in English video
ESL video: Kayo’s vegetable garden
ESOL Courses:
- English words for vegetables
- Picture matching quiz
LanguageGuide.org: Vegetables
LearnHip: Sounds of summer slideshow quiz
My Canadian English:
Rabia Garewal: Vegetables CLB 2L SKill Building H5P (Tutela is free but requires a subscription.)
Discussion questions:
- ESL Vault: Gardening conversation questions

My neighbourhood

Lesson plans

Aerial view of a town with a festival, swimming pool, and green park areas

Summer fun in our town

Learn the names of some places to visit in your town, especially during the summer

Talking about my community

Learn the vocabulary to describe your community.

Talking about your city

Learn the vocabulary to describe the main landmarks in your city.

Resources

Links to helpful external resources …

Algonquin College. (2009). LINC classroom activities: LINC 2 (A pdf resource. Scroll to “At home in our community and the world, ” “Community and government services,” and “Family & relationships.”)
Learning Chocolate: Community (Vocabulary and practice activities.)
Toronto Catholic District School Board: Home and Neighbourhood CLB 1/2 (An H5P series of activities on Tutela. Tutela is free but requires an account.)
Discussion questions:
- LearnHip: Conversation cards (Scroll to “Towns and cities.”)
- The Internet TESL Journal Archives ESL conversation questions: Community

At school

Lesson plans

Parent-teacher interviews

Learn the vocabulary needed to participate in a parent-teacher interview.

Resources

Links to helpful external resources …

British Council, Learn English Kids: School subjects word game
CCLB: CLB 3 4 Module Communicating with a Child’s School (This resource is on Tutela — a free information-sharing site for ESL teachers. You do need to create an account.)
Learning Chocolate: School subjects
Sanook: Subject guessing game video
Septster 147 videos:
- Parent-teacher conference 2
- Parent-teacher conference 3
Settlement.org (both of the videos below are available in multiple languages):
- Parent Teacher Interviews (Elementary School) – Video
- Parent-Teacher Interviews (Secondary School) – Video

At the library

Lesson plans

Getting a library card

Learn the vocabulary needed to obtain a library card (as well as about library services, e.g., ESL classes).

Resources

Links to helpful external resources …

ABC Education: Library words video (Basic vocabulary related to libraries.)
International English Teaching: At the library video (Video with some comprehension questions.)
Learning Chocolate:
- Library (General library vocabulary.)
- Library activities (Verbs related to libraries.)
Lingoneo: At the library (Listening and comprehension activties.)

Clothes and clothes shopping

Lesson plans

Trying on clothes

Learn how to ask basic questions about colour, fit, and size in a a clothing store.

Buying clothes

Learn the vocabulary you need to buy clothes in a clothing store.

Returning and exchanging clothes

Learn the vocabulary needed to to return or exchange clothes in a clothing store

Winter clothing

Learn the names of clothes you need to keep warm during a Canadian winter.

Resources

Links to helpful external resources …

Clothing:
- Anne-Marie Kaskens, Svetlana Lupasco, Margaret Stasiak (Toronto Catholic District School Board): Shop for clothes 1/2, Colour and size (This resource is on Tutela, a free resource-sharing website for ESL teachers. You will need to create an account to access this resource. Do numbers 1 (“Looking for clothes vocabulary”), 3 (“Reading a receipt”), and 5 (“Do you have a different colour?”))
- ESOL Courses: English words for winter clothes and accessories matching exercise
- Games to Learn English:
  - Bubbles (Click on the bubbles to make sentences. Click on “Wearing.”)
  - Clothes (Dress the mannequins in spring, summer, winter, formal, beach, and student clothes.)
  - Falling English: Move the clouds to form sentences. Click on “Wearing.”)
  - Fast English (Audio and images help students to practice vocabulary for different kinds of clothes. Click on “Clothes 1” and “Clothes 2.”)
  - Fast phrases (Practise sentences that include different kinds of clothing. Click on “Wearing.”)
  - Hangman (Play the classic Hangman game with clothing vocabulary. Click on “Clothes 1” and “Clothes 2.”)
  - Vocab game (Image and text matching game. Click on “Clothes 1” and “Clothes 2.”)
- Many Things:
  - Things people wear 1 (Various vocabulary games. Scroll down the page to find this entry.)
  - Things people wear 2 (Various vocabulary games. Scroll down the page to find this entry.)
- My Canadian English:
  - Winter in Canada, Clothing (Video.)
  - Winter in Canada, Clothing (Google slides.)
- Clothing stores:
  - British Council, Learn English: Shopping for clothes (Audio and tasks.)
  - ISS of BC: How would you like to pay? (Video and related activities.)
  - Learning Chocolate: Clothing (Vocabulary on many aspects of clothing.)
  - Rick Hulbert: CLB 1-3, Problems with clothes shopping (This resource is on Tutela. The site is free, but you must create an account.)
  - Clothing discussion questions:
    - LearnHip conversation cards (Scroll to “Clothes.”)
    - The Internet TESL Journal Archives conversation questions: Clothes and fashion

Work

This page includes work-related lesson plans and resources for your beginners’ ESL classes (CLB 1-4). The page includes digital and interactive…

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Food, food shopping, and restaurants

Find digital and interactive resources on food, grocery shopping, and restaurants for your beginner ESL students (CLB 1-4). Resources include vocabulary,…

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HOME AND COMMUNITY YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

Click on the small right arrow at the top of this video to play the videos or go to the YouTube Your Home and Community Playlist.

COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBOURS 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 “Community and neighbours” folder, which includes ESL Directions activities that you can add to your lessons.