Dictionary Assignment – Lesson Plan
ESL/ELD Part 1: Summer 2011
Wednesday, July 13th
By: Stephanie Woo, Irene Tang, Anisa Syed, Mark Wilkinson
Class:
Unit:
Lesson Title:
Duration:
Grade 10 Canadian History (ESL)
The Roaring Twenties
Culture of the 1920s – Station Rotation “Fads and Pastimes”
2-3 Class periods (150-225mins)
Curriculum Expectations:
 Students will explain how local, national, and global influences have helped shape
Canadian identity (Strand> Communities: Local, National, and Global)
 Students will assess how individual Canadians have contributed to the
development of Canada and the country’s emerging sense of identity. (Strand>
Citizenship and Heritage)
 Students will interpret and analyze information gathered through research,
employing concepts and approaches appropriate to historical inquiry (Strand>
Methods of Historical Inquiry and Communication)
Materials:
 TV / DVD Player / 1920’s movies DVD / CD Player / Music of the 1920s CD /
Slang sheet handouts / Art Books (Group of 7, Emily Carr) / Fads and Pastimes
info sheets / Fads and Pastimes handout / Dictionaries
Set-up:
 Either prior to class or with the help of students, set-up 5 separate stations in the
classroom.
o Station #1 – Movies > TV / DVD / Chairs / Movie handout
o Station #2 – Music > CD Player / CD / Chairs / Music handout
o Station #3 – Slang> Table / Chairs / Slang handout / Paper
o Station #4 – Art> Table / Chairs / Art books / Art Handout
o Station #5 – Fads & Pastimes> Table / Chairs / Info sheets / Handout
o Divide students into 5 groups
Purpose:
To expose students to various aspects of Canadian culture in the 1920s. To foster
an understanding of what it was like to live in Canada during the Roaring Twenties.
Moreover, this activity will develop the vocabulary of students with reference to this time
period.
Accommodations:
1. With mainstream students, each station can be completed in 15-20 minutes. In a
class of ELL’s the recommended time per station is 40 minutes or a full 75 minute
period. Hence, this activity can be completed over several days.
2. This activity is designed for ESL level C/D. If there are any ELL’s in the class at
level A/B, they should be paired with a level C/D student who speaks their first
language and provided with a picture dictionary if needed.
Lesson Plan
1. In groups of 4-5, students will go to each station in the 1920’s Culture Rotation.
Groups will remain at each station for approximately half the period (40mins) to
complete each task.
2. Teacher will circulate to ensure that each group is on task and will signal the class
when it is time to rotate to the next station.
3. The group completing the ‘Fads and Pastimes’ station will fill out individual
sheets using their dictionaries and the information on the cards provided.
a. Students may use their own dictionaries or those provided to complete the
vocabulary requirements in part A and part C on the handout
b. Discussion and cooperative group work is encouraged
4.
For the other stations…
a. ‘Movies’ – Students will watch a brief video of ‘Steamboat Willie’ and
‘Charlie Chaplin’, then they will discuss what they thought of movies in
the 1920s and fill out their handout as a group.
b. ‘Music’ – Students will listen to various songs from the 1920s and share
what they like and don’t like, as well as, what the music reflects about the
mood of this era.
c. ‘Art’ – Students will peruse the artwork of the Group of 7 and Emily Carr
to see what famous Canadian painters were producing in the 1920s, as a
group they will analyze the artwork and fill out the handout.
d. ‘Slang’ – At this station, students will look at a sheet highlighting the
slang of the 1920s to see how people talked. Each group will produce a
short script with a sentence for each member using 1920s slang. *this
station can be removed if the teacher only wants 4 stations
Visuals
Several stations use visuals to accommodate the learning of the ELL to help in
promoting deeper understanding. For example, the ‘Fads and Pastimes’ station provides
pictures on each card relating to the information being conveyed. The use of a DVD and
art books in other stations ensure that a variety of visuals are present to aid the ELL.
**Attachments: - “Fads and Popular Pastimes of the 1920s” answer sheet
- Airplane Races and Barnstorming Info card
- Flag Pole Sitting Info card
- Pez Info Card
- Dance Marathons Info Card
- Flappers Info Card
- Mahjong Info Card
- Sunnyside Amusement Park Info Card
*** For the purpose of this ESL AQ course, our group will present and facilitate the
‘Fads and Pastimes’ portion of this lesson with special attention to the usage of
dictionaries.