Holidays & Events

Canada Day
Vocabulary b
Match the words with the correct images. a
1. Canada c
2. flag

3. barbecue
d
4. parade

5. picnic e f g
6. fireworks

7. concert
8. cake
h i
9. decorations
j
c 10. celebration

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Reading
1. July 1 is Canada Day. On July 1, 1867, Canada became a country.
The country had four provinces. The provinces were Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec.

2. Canadians like to have a big celebration on Canada’s birthday.

Some people have a picnic in a park or by a lake. Some people have
a barbecue in their backyard with friends and family. Many people
like to eat hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob,
and cake on Canada Day.

3. On Canada Day, you will see the Canadian flag everywhere.

People hang flags from buildings or homes. Some people
also carry small flags in their hands.

4. Many cities have free outdoor concerts or parades.

Lots of people celebrate Canada Day together at these events.
There are usually many red and white decorations because
these are the colours of Canada’s flag.

5. At night, people like to watch fireworks.

What a perfect ending to a fun holiday!

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Comprehension
A. True or False?

Are the following statements true or false?

Write T if the answer is true and F if the answer is false.

1. Canada Day is on July 4.

2. Some people go to an outdoor concert on Canada Day.

3. Canada’s flag is red and white.

4. Some people eat cake on Canada Day.

5. People watch fireworks during the day.

B. Ask & Answer

 ractise asking and answering the following questions with your partner.
P
Then write the answers in the spaces below.

1. When is Canada Day celebrated?

2. Why do people celebrate Canada Day?

3. Name two things you can do outdoors on Canada Day.

4. What do some people carry in their hands on Canada Day?

5. What do some people do at night on Canada Day?

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Vocabulary Review
A. Unscramble the Words

Unscramble the words from the reading on page 2.

1. cinicp 6. cnaada

2. lfga 7. letoincebar

3. brbeecua 8. sotidocearn

4. keac 9. ccoenrt

5. rapdae 10. owfrkiser

B. Word Search

Find the words you unscrambled in Part A in the Word Search below.

b a r b e c u e m k n s
f p a r a d e t i o n s
i f i f e e c d i e f g
r o c e d c b t a c a c
e p c e r o a c f i t r
w a i f l r n k a r e c
o b a c b a a r e n c a
r b r e n t s c o n a n
k e l o r i n d e c o a
s e w e n o c i r e w d
c c u i c n o f l a g a
k c c p a s a r a r p a

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Vocabulary Review cont.

C. Look at the Pictures

Circle the sentence that best describes the picture.

1. a) Let’s watch the fireworks.

b) Let’s have a barbecue.

c) Let’s go to a parade.

d) Let’s have a picnic.

2. a) The flag looks pretty in the night sky.

b) The decorations look pretty in the night sky.

c) The fireworks look pretty in the night sky.

d) The cake looks pretty in the night sky.

3. a) The cake is under the table.

b) The cake is on top of the table.

c) The cake is beside the table.

d) The cake is around the table.

4. a) They are marching in a parade.

b) They are looking at a parade.

c) They are listening to a parade.

d) They are watching a parade.

5. a) The hamburger is on the plate.

b) The hamburger is in the plate.

c) The hamburger is at the plate.

d) The hamburger is under the plate.

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Pair Activity (Student A)

What’s for lunch? Ask your partner how many Example:
hot dogs, pieces of watermelon, bowls of
A: How many cherries are on the picnic table?
potato salad, and cookies are on his/her picnic table.
B: There are 6 cherries on the picnic table.
Draw those missing food items on your picnic table.

hot dog piece of bowl of cookie hamburger apple bottle piece cherry
watermelon potato of pop of cake
salad

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Pair Activity (Student B)

What’s for lunch? Ask your partner how many Example:
hamburgers, apples, pieces of cake, and bottles
A: How many cherries are on the picnic table?
of pop are on his/her picnic table. Draw those
B: There are 6 cherries on the picnic table.
missing food items on your picnic table.

hot dog piece of bowl of cookie hamburger apple bottle piece cherry
watermelon potato of pop of cake
salad

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Find Someone Who...

Walk around the classroom and ask your classmates questions.
Write your classmate’s name on the right if he/she answers yes.

# Question Classmate

1 Does your country celebrate its birthday?

2 Did you decorate your house last year for a holiday?

3 Do you know what your country’s flag looks like? Describe it.

4 Do you like cake?

5 Do you like watching parades?

6 Do you like going on picnics?

7 Do you like going to concerts?

8 Do you like hamburgers?

9 Do you like watching fireworks?

10 Do you often have a barbecue with your friends?

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Listening
 http://blog.esllibrary.com/2015/06/24/podcast-canada-day-beginner/

Fill in the blanks as you listen to the recording.

1. July 1 is Canada Day. On July 1, 1867,             became a

country. The country had four                   . The provinces
were Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec.

2. Canadians like to have a big                       on

Canada’s birthday. Some people have a picnic in a park or by a lake.
Some people have a                 in their backyard with
friends and family. Many people like to eat hamburgers, hot dogs,
potato salad, corn on the cob, and         on Canada Day.

3. On Canada Day, you will see the                 flag

everywhere. People hang flags from buildings or homes.
Some people also carry small           in their hands.

4. Many cities have free outdoor                 or

parades. Lots of people celebrate Canada Day together
at these events. There are usually many red and
white                       because
these are the colours of Canada’s flag.

5. At night, people like to watch                   .

What a perfect ending to a fun holiday!

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Answer Key
NOTE: LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Beg

These activities are designed for beginner- This lesson includes a reading, TIME: 1.5–2 hours
level adult ESL learners, but they may also vocabulary development tasks,
TAGS:  Canada Day, Canadians, Canada,
be suitable for younger ESL students. comprehension questions, a pair
holiday, birthday, July 1, province,
activity, and a group activity.
dominion

Vocabulary Vocabulary Review

1. b 3. f 5. d 7. h 9. i A. UNSCR AMBLE THE WORDS

2. g 4. j 6. e 8. a 10. c
1. picnic 5. parade 9. concert
2. flag 6. Canada 10. fireworks
Reading (and/or Listening)
3. barbecue 7. celebration
4. cake 8. decorations
Read individually, in small groups, or as a class. You can also play
the listening as your students read along. A gap-fill version of the
B. WORD SEARCH
reading is available on page 9. Help your students with vocabulary
and expressions that they are unfamiliar with. b a r b e c u e m k n s
f p a r a d e t i o n s

Comprehension i f i f e e c d i e f g
r o c e d c b t a c a c
e p c e r o a c f i t r
A. TRUE OR FALSE?
w a i f l r n k a r e c

1. F – Canada Day is on July 1. o b a c b a a r e n c a

r b r e n t s c o n a n
2. T
k e l o r i n d e c o a
3. T
s e w e n o c i r e w d
4. T
c c u i c n o f l a g a
5. F – People watch fireworks at night. k c c p a s a r a r p a

B. ASK & ANSWER C. LOOK AT THE PICTURES

1. Canada Day is celebrated on July 1. Explain the meaning of any new words
2. People celebrate Canada Day because it is the day and the different prepositions.
that four provinces became a country called Canada (in 1867).
1. d 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. a
3. You can go to concerts or parades. You can have
a picnic or a barbecue. You can watch fireworks.
4. Some people carry a Canada flag in their hands on Canada Day. (continued on the next page...)

5. Some people watch fireworks at night on Canada Day.

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 Canada Day
Holidays & Events

Answer Key cont.

Pair Activity

Student A must draw: 4 hot dogs, 2 pieces of

watermelon, 1 bowl of potato salad, and 5 cookies.

Student B must draw: 2 hamburgers,

5 apples, 3 pieces of cake, and 2 bottles of pop.

Find Someone Who...

Have the students circulate around the class asking the questions
on the sheet. When the student finds a classmate who can answer
“yes,” he/she will write the student’s name next to the question. If
you think your students can handle it, have them follow up with
one more question of his/her own for some or all of the questions.
E.g., For the question “Did you decorate your house last year for
a holiday?”, if the student answers “yes” the second question
might be: “Which holiday was it?” or “What kinds of decorations
did you use?”. Follow up by sharing some of the answers with
the whole class.

Listening

1. Canada, provinces
2. celebration, barbecue, cake
3. Canadian, flags
4. concerts, decorations
5. fireworks

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Canada and the United States celebrate their “birthdays” (on

July 1 and 4, respectively) in similar ways. Please note that our
Beginner Canada Day and US Independence Day lessons have
similar readings, tasks, and vocabulary. We do not recommend
teaching both of these lessons to the same group of students.

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