Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 1L-Reading
Interacting with Others

Global Citizenship

Real-World Task

Read a very short message from a friend wishing you well on a special occasion.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Lowercase and capital letters
Some basic phonics
Forming numbers

Context:

It is common to send messages to friends on special occasions such as their birthday, anniversary, or a holiday.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Capital letters for names and other proper nouns

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

A text message or a message on a messaging app usually doesn’t have Dear… or a signature.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

It is very common to send a message to a friend on a special occasion.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Always greet each learner as they come into class, using a variety of greetings and building over time: hi, hello, good morning/afternoon/evening, it’s nice to see you, and so on.
Begin each class by going around the room and having a simple conversation with each learner: Hi, how are you? I’m fine, thanks. It’s nice to see you today. Have learners repeat the conversation with a partner.
Discuss as a class: what is a holiday? Write down names of common holidays celebrated by learners in the class, such as New Year, Eid, and Christmas.
Ask learners: what is a birthday? Use clear photographs to explain what a birthday is.
Sing the 12 Months of the Year Song.
Write down the months of the year on large chart paper and add holidays and, if learners are willing, class birthdays for each month.
Copy own birthday.
Practice asking “When is your birthday” and “My birthday is ____”.
Sing the Phonics Alphabet Song.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Learn the greetings for three different occasions. Use vocabulary cards with clear photographs or very clear symbols and the greeting for each event, e.g. Happy Birthday, Happy New Year, Eid Mubarak, or Merry Christmas.
Call out one of the greetings and have learners respond by holding up the correct card. After several rounds, invite a learner to take over calling out the greetings. Practice in small groups.
Copy a greeting directly underneath the source text, illustrated by the same clear picture.
Read a very short simple instructor-made story about a birthday party. Read the story to learners, and then choral read and echo read the story. Have learners find 1-2 vocabulary words in the story. Read and practice the story multiple times over the course of the lessons.
Listen to a short dialogue about a birthday party. Practice the dialogue as a class until learners are comfortable with it. Then practice with a partner and perform for the class.
Using greeting cards printed from the internet or from the dollar store, write a message to a classmate and give them the greeting card. Read the card you receive.
Using multiple cards for different occasions, learners read the greetings on the card and place in a group with other cards with the same greeting.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read a very short message from a friend wishing you well on your birthday. Demonstrate understanding by reading the message aloud to the instructor.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read a very short message from a friend wishing you well on a special occasion. Demonstrate understanding by reading the message aloud to the instructor.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Canada is a multicultural country, and many holidays are celebrated in Canada. Some holidays are statutory public holidays while many more are not.
Not all cultures celebrate a birthday, and many cultures have different ways of celebrating birthdays. Some learners may come from cultures where they do not know their birthday; in these cases, they are usually “assigned” a birthday during immigration to Canada (and it is often January 1.)

Digital Literacy Strategies:

Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline knowledge and digital skills.

Learners may need to:

Have keyboarding and typing skills.
Locate, navigate and use websites.
Type information to appear on screen.

Instructors can:

Dedicate time to improve digital literacy for learners.
Make and/or adapt digital materials.
Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites.
Show learners that the size of an image on the screen can be adjusted.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Use diverse representations of people in all your learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQ+, Indigenous, Francophone and of other cultures, and people who have disabilities or who are neurodivergent. Consider this diversity as you choose names for characters in stories you create as well.
Include examples of holidays from many different cultures.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have been discriminated against or persecuted based on their faith or culture may find this topic triggering. Allow learners the choice of which occasions to work with and offer the choice of working with a Canadian secular holiday, such as Thanksgiving.
Learners who have experienced trauma may find balloons (and the possibility of a small burst or the sound of popping) triggering. Use with caution or discretion, or don’t use at all.
When teaching about Canada, you may teach about things that are triggering to learners who have experienced trauma. We can’t know what the triggers might be and what seems commonplace to us may have a triggering component for learners. Be aware of this and be prepared to support learners as needed.

Strategies:

Give learners advance warning of this topic and be aware that there may be learners who require support.
Learners who have experienced trauma often benefit from having routine. Create a safe and supportive classroom environment by establishing familiar routines, repeated activities, and model friendly and non-evaluative interactions.
Learners will benefit from positive relationships established in the classroom with the instructor and peers.
Learners who have experienced trauma benefit from having choices.
- Allow learners choice:
  - the choice to work on a different topic
  - the choice to share or not share their own experiences
  - the choice to work alone or to work with others
  - the choice to take care of themselves
  - the choice to step out of the learning environment
When learners have shared personal distressing or traumatic experiences, make space for learners to feel safe and recover from the experience of sharing their experiences. Follow the activities which may make learners feel vulnerable with routine, predictable and comforting activities.
Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.

Resources

Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:

Celebrate with a class birthday party for all learners who are having birthdays during the semester/term. Write birthday invitations, decorate with common birthday decorations, and if possible have a birthday cake or cupcakes. Sing Happy Birthday. Create a birthday card signed by everyone in the class.
Give each learner a “mailbox” (e.g. a file folder stapled on the sides). Have learners decorate their folders with stickers and write their name on the folder. Give learners cards or a short template to fill in to write to each other and deliver their “mail” to the right “mailbox.”

Realia:

Holiday decorations
Birthday decorations
Greeting cards for several occasions.

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Greetings and Introductions: CLB 1L/2L
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Starting a New English Class: CLB FL/1L

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Numeric Focus: CLB 1L/2L
Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Alphabetic Focus: CLB 1L/2L
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 1L
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

YouTube: Phonics Alphabet Song

YouTube: Count by 1s to 10