Tag: citizenship

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Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Discussion of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms can make for an interesting conversation class for intermediate ESL or preparation for citizenship.

Students often assume freedom of expression is the right to say anything about any person or about the government. You can let them know about libel laws and Canada’s Hate Speech Laws. Unlike the United States, the Criminal Code of Canada prevents “hate propaganda”. Is this a good thing? Why do we have those laws?

Freedom of religion is not something that exists in all of our immigrant ESL students’ home countries. Falun Gong is an example of a religion banned in China. Should all religions be allowed?

The right to be free from discrimination is a right most immigrants appreciate. What it means in practice, however, is something that often surprises students. Does it mean if you are a landlord that you cannot decide which ethnicity of people you want to rent your apartment to? What about if you are running a business? Isn’t it up to you if you prefer to hire one gender over another for a specific position? 

The following worksheet can be used as a springboard for discussion on this topic. You are welcome to download and copy it for use with an intermediate ESL class. (Click on the image below.)

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Having Fun with New Canada Jigsaws (CLB 5-6)

Over 35 field testers from all across Canada field tested Callan’s New Canada Jigsaws. Here are a couple highlights of some of the fun field testers had. 

Field tester Marianne Akune in Richmond says her class “thoroughly enjoyed” the government unit. Well no wonder! This creative teacher turned one of the follow up exercises into a smart board activity:

” I used the text to create a SmartBoard activity.  I transposed each paragraph onto one page, and the students did a “click and drag” (or touch and drag) activity with it.”

Marianne Akune’s class

Field tester Tracey Curell in Winnipeg took the punctuation and capitalization out of the Folklorama paragraph writing exercise to see what her students could do.

“They loved the activity, and it also caused lots of discussion about how to do a group project when there are differences of opinions. (As you said there are a few ways you could put it together.)  I have attached a few samples of the end results for you,  so you can enjoy seeing that you created yet another successful activity! I can’t wait for the book!”

Here below is Tetiana’s LINC 6 class in Edmonton field testing the Alberta jigsaw. 

Here below is Tracey’s LINC 4-5 class in Winnipeg field testing the PEI unit. 

Here below is Smiljka’s CLB 4-5-6 class in Sudbury field testing the New Brunswick unit. 

Here below is Steven’s CLB 5-6 class in Saskatoon proving jigsaws can work even if you don’t have groups of four. 

Here below are five students from Marianne’s class in Richmond field testing the government unit. 

And here’s the final product!

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What it Means to be Canadian

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a habit of defining who we are as a country by referring to our highest values. During the pandemic as well as the fires in Fort McMurray, he said, “I really do want to highlight that Canada is a country where we look out for our neighbours and we are there for each other in difficult times. “

Nothing better exemplifies Trudeau’s words than the actions of a group of Syrian refugees in Calgary. Such a short time in Canada themselves, these refugees donated what little money they could for the victims of Fort McMurray, understanding better than most others what they were going through. Already giving back to Canada, they are proving to be the kind of people we need in our country, on the road to becoming exemplary citizens.

If you teach a LINC 5 or higher, this article from the Calgary Herald might be a great reading exercise for your class:

From the article: 

“We understand what they’re feeling. When you lose everything, you have to start from zero. You lose your memories, your items. It’s not easy. It’s something very sad. We can totally understand their feeling,” Khanchet said.

“We are very thankful to the Canadian people and we want to be a part of this society. We will do our best to be a good part of this society. By doing that, maybe we can return a little bit of the great job that Canadian people did for us.”

Need a tissue?