Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 2 - Writing
Interacting with Others

Education & Learning

Real-World Task

Complete a simple sympathy card for a teacher.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Capital letters for proper nouns
Canadians often send greeting cards.

Context:

Greeting cards can be for a variety of reasons such as birthdays, holidays, new babies and when someone dies.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Spacing between words and lines
Planning writing to the space available

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Appropriate phrases and expressions for salutations

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Beginning ability to understand Canadian social conventions related to specific occasions (such as births, marriages and losses) and the significance of written messages or cards for these occasions

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: Have you ever received a greeting card? What was it for? Have you ever given or sent a greeting card? What was it for? Explain that Canadians send cards for many different reasons. Elicit what other occasions greeting cards may be used for. Elicit words such as birthday, new baby, weddings and holidays.
Introduce the concept of sympathy cards. Explain that Canadians send sympathy cards when someone close to them, such as a family member or friend, dies. Explain that a gentle way of saying “dies” is to use “passes away” and that they will hear both in Canada.
Use vocabulary cards with words and clear pictures to practice some basic vocabulary around deaths such as sympathy card, wake, and funeral.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Read a very simple, instructor-made story about a death in the family such as “ Mary’s mother passed away. She was 93 years old. The wake is on Tuesday. The funeral is on Wednesday. Mary will take a leave from work for two weeks.Mary gets many sympathy cards.”
Using the story, answer some basic comprehension questions. Underline the vocabulary words.
Discuss as a class: What do you say to people when you celebrate certain holidays and special occasions? Practice various greetings orally.
Introduce some simple expressions for expression sympathy such as “I’m sorry for your loss, Thinking of You, or With Sympathy”.
Match different greetings to the appropriate occasion.
Copy some sample greetings onto various greeting cards using a word box.
Look at a sample sympathy card or any greeting card. Note the expression of sympathy or other expressions. Indicate that we should write the name of the person we are sending the card to at the top and sign our name at the bottom. Circle the name of the person who sent the card and underline the name of the person who will get the card. Repeat with other cards.
Practice sending greeting cards to classmates for different occasions such as recent or upcoming holidays, birthdays, or congratulations. Practice writing classmates names (ask for spelling) and signing the cards.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Copy appropriate expressions into corresponding greeting cards, “Send” the card to a family member. Sign the card.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Complete a sympathy card for your teacher. Write their name at the top, write an appropriate greeting and sign the card. Use a word box with names and expressions to choose from.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Cultural traditions around death vary greatly. It is important to respect the different cultures and traditions.

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.
Acknowledge that many people in Canada have different traditions specific to their culture.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Recognize that learners that have experienced death in their families may be triggered by this topic. While knowledge of the custom of expressing sympathy to those around us who have lost loved ones is important, the greeting card can be changed to one more generic and happy.
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:

Have learners work on their own or together with a partner to give a very short presentation on a cultural tradition.
Read very simple stories about cultural traditions around the world.
Visit a local store and take a look at the greeting card section. Identify the different occasions that Canadians celebrate with greeting cards.
As a class, prepare some simple greeting cards for a learner/classmate who may be absent due to illness, a new baby
and so on. Cards could also be made to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, or graduating to the next level.

Realia:

Sympathy cards and greeting cards for a variety of cultural holidays, either sourced from shops or printed from the internet

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Greetings and Introductions CLB 1/2
Tutela: Friendships and Events Module – CLB 2/3

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Completing a Greeting Card- Assessment Task CLB 2
LINC 2 Classroom Activities: Fall Festivals (p. 117-156)

Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 2L ( Not CLB 2 but can be adapted)
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: