Learn the English names for members of your family
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Week of Dec. 15/25
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Lesson plan overview
| Task | To learn the basic vocabulary to describe members of your family. |
| 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 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 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 understand more about each others’ cultural attitudes to family, e.g., usual family size, roles of family members, etc. |
| Specific task learning objectives | Students learn the names for close family members. Students learn the vocabulary for family members who are male and members who are female. Students learn petnames for some of these family members (e.g., Grandma, Dad, etc.). |
| 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 names for members of your family.
- What is a family?
- What are some names of family members?
Skill-building activities
FEATURED CONTENT
- Vocabulary fliptiles*
- Listen to the vocabulary again* 🔊 (Pay attention to the pronunciation and meaning of the words.)
- Label your family members*
- Introducing family members* 🎥
Skill-using tasks
- Male or female?*
- What is a petname?
- Family pet names* or Family petnames: Labelling activity* (Click on each heading to see the familiar term.)
- Who am I?* (Fill-in-the-blanks activity.)
Assessment/review tasks
- Vocabulary: Open the box* or Your family vocabulary quiz* 🔊
- Family members: Male or female speed sort*
- Putting it all together* (Answer open-ended questions about family members.)
Reflection questions
- What are three words or phrases that you learned today?
- Are families different in Canada than in your home countries? Larger/smaller? Closer/more distant?
- Do family members have different roles in your home country, e.g., husbands and wives, parents?
- Who did you come to Canada with?
- What sort of activities do you do as a family?
- Do you have any sisters or brothers? What are their names?
- Do you have any children? What are their names? How old are they?
- What are your parents’ names? Are they still in your first country?
- What are your grandparents’s names?
- Did you know your grandparents when you were growing up?
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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.
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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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