Real-World Task
Write 2-3 highly familiar words to match images on a list of things that can be put in the compost.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- Forming curves and lines.
- Forming letters.
- Copying from a model directly above.
Context:
- It is very common in Canada for garbage to be sorted into landfill, recycling and compost. This information is often listed on pamphlets or brochures or above public garbage / recycling/ compost bins. Guidelines for sorting and recycling vary greatly.
Vocabulary and Grammar
Sample Vocabulary:
- apple
- meat
- corn
- eggs
- tomato
Knowledge and Strategies
Textual and Functional Knowledge:
- Lists can be made of single words.
- Lists usually do not have punctuation.
Sociolinguistic Knowledge:
- It is expected to sort garbage into landfill, recycling and compost. Sorting garbage helps the environment.
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- Form lines and curves with your finger in a sand tray or rice tray.
- Work with playdough to strengthen hands for writing; forming playdough into shapes of letters.
- Trace letters with your finger and then with a pencil.
- Copy letters from a large, clear model immediately above.
- Use chants and music to learn food words.
- As a class, talk about what compost means. Discuss gardens; what kinds of things can go into compost that you can put in a garden?
- From a short, simple instructor-made story on the topic, have learners listen as the instructor reads, following with their finger. Have learners repeat after the instructor to match intonation and fluency. Finally, have learners read the story as a group, and then individually.
- Sort photographs of items into compost and not compost, using obvious examples such as meat, vegetables and grains into compost and batteries, plastic bottles and aluminium foil into not compost.
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Copy highly familiar compost words.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Write 2-3 highly familiar words to match images on a list of things that can be put into compost.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- Recycling and using compost is common throughout Canada. Most communities have recycling and/ or compost collection along with garbage collection. Many public spaces, such as shopping malls, parks, schools and libraries, have places for people to sort their garbage.
Digital Literacy Strategies:
Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline knowledge and digital skills.
Learners may need to:
- Look at a website.
- Read information from a screen.
Instructors can:
- Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:
Instructors can:
- Use diverse representations of people in all learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Francophone and of other cultures, and people who have disabilities or who are neurodivergent.
- Recognize and teach learners that Canada is a diverse place and has people from many different cultures. Canadian culture includes the cultures of all people in Canada.
Trauma-informed Strategies:
Possible Trauma Triggers:
- Learners who have been forced to leave their homes may find discussions of gardening or farming triggering.
- Give learners advance warning of this topic and be aware that there may be learners who require support.
Strategies
- Create a safe and supportive classroom environment by establishing familiar routines, repeated activities, and model friendly and non-evaluative interactions; learners who have experienced trauma often benefit from having routine.
- Recognize and respect learners’ right to choose if, when and what they share about themselves and their routines.
Resources
Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:
- Go for a walk in the community and notice different kinds of garbage bins for landfill / recycling / compost.
- Visit a recycling centre.
- Sprout sunflower seeds and plant in containers in the classroom. Monitor their growth.
Realia:
- Actual food items, such as carrots, potatoes or apples
- Containers for sorting photographs
- Sand trays
- Playdough
Units and Modules:
Lessons and Activities:
Detailed Sample Task
This exemplar is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and is designed to guide and inform your lesson and module planning. Consult the Canadian Language Benchmarks English as a Second Language for Adults for detailed performance descriptors at this benchmark and skill.
The information in this document is not exhaustive and can be expanded on. As well, you can use more learner-friendly language in your materials and assessments.
This is NOT a lesson or module plan.
