Small Talk.....
What is it?  Well, small talk is short conversation that you have with someone that is not serious.  
What do you mean?
Suppose you were in a party and you didn't know many people.... what could you say?
Start with; Hello.  How are you?
The person might answer with:  I'm good.  How about you?
Answer:  Good (other possibilities:  fine, okay, great)
What do you talk about next?  
This is where you begin the small talk.
Topics of conversation in North America that are not serious and not personal:
-sports (hockey, football, baseball) - you could talk about your favourite sport
-weather!  Yes, Canadians love to talk about the weather!  (do some research on weather vocabulary!)
-language and culture (Where are you from?  What languages do you speak? When did you come to Canada?)


What are NOT good topics for small talk?
-age
-marital status
-politics
-religion


What else could you possibly talk about?  Make some comments, let us know what you think....