St. Lawrence Seaway

Hello, Amir and other students of the seniors' class!

Amir is a civil engineer. He loves to study English for talking about bridges, dams, tunnels, ports, etc. This week we are talking about the importance of ports and shipping. We can integrate this information with a lesson on Canada by studying the St. Lawrence Seaway, don't you think?

Here are some resources we will be using this week, which is our last week of school until September.

What is the Saint Lawrence Seaway?

Windsor is a port city. Detroit has been a port since 1933.

What is the history of this water transportation system? Warning: this very old video uses ethnic stereotype cartoons. :(

This Seaway Map is fascinating. I love looking up information about the freighters I see on the Detroit River. There is even a Facebook group for people who love to watch the ships and look up information about them.

Vocabulary:
lock (n.)
dam (n.)
tanker (n.)
freighter (n.)
canal (n.)
cargo (n.)
steel (n.)

Can you use this learner's dictionary to look up definitions?

Discussion:

• What was the most interesting thing you learned by watching these videos and reading?
• Talk about the relationship between the big cargo ships and the car manufacturing industry that was so central to the economies of Detroit and Windsor for so many decades.
• Do you ever watch big freighters pass by when you are down by the river?

History of Black Lives in Windsor-Essex Area

I am SO happy that you voted YES to read my abridged story of Josiah Henson, drawn from his autobiography. This week we examined outdated and preferred language for talking about slavery and those who held other people as property.

We thought about the invasion of Iraq. What language is used when the U.S. government describes this event? Liberated. Spread democracy. What language do many Iraqis use? Invaded. Destroyed a civilization.

We must consider whose perspective we are reading. How are attitudes embedded in language?

Here are some links you can use in the lab on Friday or from home.

Redeeming Uncle Tom is a movie we will watch together, but Nahlah asked to have it early.

Go to my website for other ESL teachers and check out the links there under African Canadian History.

For those wanting to practice common daily English phrases, check these links out! Don't forget that you can adjust the speed and turn on closed captioning (CC).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgDhHz_2NDc

Aboriginal Peoples of Canada

Hello, students.

Sign in HERE to practice spelling and sentences.

This week we are taking a short break from the theme of law / police. We are learning about the Indigenous Peoples of this land, the people who were on this continent before the Europeans.

We are learning about the legacy of Canada's residential schools.

We heard about a child named Chanie Wenjack. This is a short film about him. It is animated.

Interactive map of Aboriginal Peoples:
https://native-land.ca/

Together we will watch Waking Up the Nakota Language. It's from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).

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On another note, some of you said you would like to have a link to the Health Unit's Supervised Injection Services (SIS) Community Consultation

Who Are Our Heroes?

Hello, students of the seniors' class!

We are gearing up to visit Jackson Park with all of its war memorials and other monuments. This is a good time for us to share with others who our heroes are.

We will start with the story of Viola Desmond and how she came to be considered a Canadian hero. Then we will create our own tributes to the heroes in our lives.

The First Europeans in Canada

Good morning, class!

If you choose to, you can watch this 30-minute documentary about L'Anse aux Meadows. Don't worry if you can't understand all the words. Just relax and watch. When you finish, ask me for the worksheet. I have five questions for you. Don't worry; I will tell you exactly where to find the answers.

Also here are some photos of the historic site as it is today.

This week we are learning about the first settlers in Canada and in this area. We know that the French settled Windsor first. This Thursday we will visit The Francois Baby House and Museum. We will study a bit about the foundation of Windsor and also a bit about the War of 1812 before we go. This may help us appreciate the historic site more.

Our Remembrance Day Guests

Hello, class!

I'm not sure who is still reading this blog now that we have given up computer lab time on Fridays, but I will continue to post as a sort of reflection journal. Okay? Also this will help our classmates who are at home to follow along.

In late October we had a visit from Ted Antaya and Gerry Becegneul. That was very special. We will never forget their stories or their service.

François Baby House and Museum

I am SO glad you, my students, talked me into more field trips. We are learning so much together!

After a day of learning a bit about the role of the François Baby property in the War of 1812 and also about its role in the founding of our city--once known at South Detroit, we headed over to see the house and museum for ourselves. What a great decision that turned out to be!

We played crokinole. We saw a very old hand-operated printing press for newspapers. We read a lot, saw many artifacts, listened to old French folk songs, and even saw Chief Tecumseh's actual FLAG. That gave me goosebumps. I was not familiar with the story of Chief Tecumseh. The movie brought tears to my eyes.

Shadd and Tecumseh

Crokinole / Croquinole

Flowers and Poetry!

It's not often that we have an excuse to study names of flowers, but that is one of the most important features of Jackson Park. It contains the Queen Elizabeth II Gardens.

So we learned the names of ten flowers (you already knew the word "rose.")

If it ever stops raining, we may finally be able to take our field trip. When we do, we are going to practice phrases such as:

• Let's...
• Do you want to...
• Would you like to...
• ...take a stroll?
• ...take a selfie?
•  ...go look at that statue?
• ...go look at that memorial?
• ...go look at that monument?
• ...go sit on that bench?
• ...play badminton?
• ...play with the Chinese yo-yo?
• Do you know the name of that...
• ...plant?
• ...tree?
• ...flower?

 When we visit the park, we may see a statue of a famous poet. Here is a poem he wrote.


A Red, Red Rose -- Robert Burns, 1794

O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!
And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!

The Battle of Vimy Ridge

Hello, students!

Well, I did not even know that I liked history! The trench image cards made this week interesting, don't you think?

Here is our class Flipgrid. Please introduce yourself. If there's time, please also tell us what you learned this week. Was it interesting? Did you learn any new useful language?

Please watch this Heritage Minute. How much could you understand?

Confederation

Hello, LINC 2 students!

This week we learned about Confederation.

Practice spelling HERE.

Unscramble the sentences.

Play a game.

GRAMMAR

Here is a quiz of basic tenses we have studied.

HISTORY

Watch a 1-minute video about Sir John A. Macdonald.

Laura Secord

Hello, LINC 2 students!

CANADA

If you want to practice spelling, click HERE.

To unscramble the sentences about Laura Secord, click HERE.

Here is the 1-minute video about Laura.

GRAMMAR

Try this QUIZ about adverbs.

Here you can practice present continuous.

Or you can practice with Mr. Bean.

Have fun!

Early History

Hello, LINC 2 students!

Here is a short video about Canada's name.

If you want to practice spelling this week's words, click HERE.

After spelling, play a game or unscramble the sentences.

Can you answer these questions? If you're not sure, click the link.

Who was John Cabot? What did he do?

Who was Jacques Cartier? What did he do?

Who was Samuel de Champlain? What did he do?

Learn and have fun!

Canada - Geography and History 1

Hello, LINC 2 students!

This week we learned some quick facts about Canada. Wednesday we began studying a little about the first people to live here.

SPELLING
Practice spelling some words from our lessons.

GRAMMAR
Here is an easy quiz on the present continuous.
This one is also not too difficult.
This quiz is a little harder.
This one is fun, too.

Present simple or present continuous? Try this quiz!

CANADA
Do you know where all the provinces and territories are? Try this quiz!
If you want, you can watch this 10-minute video about the Aboriginal Peoples.

From John Cabot to United Empire Loyalists

Hello, class! Here are some activities for you.

READING:

Do you remember all the Canadian history we have learned to date? Test yourself HERE. (Everyone)

This is a fun game to test your knowledge of the Vikings in North America. (Level 3+)

GRAMMAR:

Quiz: Someone, no one, etc. (Level 2+)

Quiz: Something, anything, nothing, everything. (Level 2+)

PRONUNCIATION:

Stress patterns in English, part 1

You may watch part 2 if you wish, but we will cover this in class soon.


LISTENING:

Here is a short video about the fur trade. Can you hear the word "exploiters" at the end? (Level 4+)

Here is an interesting video about Champlain's alliance with the First Nations on the north side of the St. Lawrence River. (Level 4+)

Our timeline is growing!