Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 3 - Writing
Getting Things Done

Education and Learning

Real-World Task

Complete up to 15 items on a form to register a family member for an Indigenous dancing event.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Basic vocabulary related to Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Recognize basic Canadian address and phone format.
Understand the purpose of forms.
Clearly print basic information.
Be able to state personal information like name spelling and phone number.

Context:

In Canada, Indigenous dance events are important cultural celebrations that share traditions, music, and community values of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples in Canada.
Forms may ask for details such as name, age, contact information, emergency contact, and permission for participation. When completing a form to register someone for an Indigenous dancing event, learners may also see culturally specific words such as Powwow, traditional dance, or community gathering.
This task reflects the intention to include all people in Canada in the themes. The language skills in this task could be applied to other contexts.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

first / last name
email address
phone number
date of birth
address
optional
check / checkbox
required*
emergency contact
parent / guardian
extended personal information words: area code, postal code, email address, register
attend
Indigenous
dancing
community centre
other vocabulary that could be used for classes to register for such as painting, basketball or a language class

Sample Grammar:

Capitalization of proper nouns.
Correct date format.

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Begin to recognize the layout and different parts of standard forms
(such as heading, instructions, and areas to complete).
Begin to recognize how to complete a checkbox or circle option on a form.
Recognize the importance of writing legibly.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Begin to recognize Canadian conventions for sharing personal information.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: Where are you from? Who were the first people to live in your country? Is there knowledge and information that has been passed down many generations in your culture? What traditional beliefs did you learn about as a child from your own cultural background? What are some important traditions or customs of your culture?
Explain that the Indigenous Peoples, including the Metis and Inuit, were the first people and caretakers of Canada. Discuss as a class: Have you visited any Indigenous museums or attended any Indigenous cultural events? Have you met any Indigenous people or heard any presentations from Indigenous Elders or community leaders?
Look at a picture of a person. Listen to an audio of them giving their basic personal information. Complete five sentences with missing words to describe the person’s information.
Match vocabulary words about personal information to pictures.
In pairs, practice asking your partner about a child, family member, or friend. What is their first name? What is their date of birth? What is their phone number? Who is their emergency contact? Who is their parent / guardian (if they are under 18).
As a class, discuss the difference between required and optional information on a form. Include in the discussion that most likely the form will not move forward or submit if required information is missing. Look at a simple blank online form. Find all the required sections. On a printed version of the form, highlight each information field that is “required”.
In pairs, look at an instructor-created resource of several simple forms that have been filled in, with one mistake in each form. Find each mistake and circle it.
Listen to your instructor read five important dates in the LINC term such as the first day of class, the last day of class, days when class is cancelled and so on. Write down the dates using the correct date format on a handout next to the relevant event.
In pairs or groups, look at webpage screenshots of different Indigenous and cultural events taking place over the upcoming year in your community. Choose one event which you are particularly interested in and present the event to the rest of the class specifying the name, date, time and cost (if any) of the event. Also give one reason why you would like to attend this event.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Look at an instructor-created simple form for a community dance class. On the form, there are 12 pieces of personal information. Each piece of information has a mistake in either the place it has been entered, the capitalization, or where the required information is blank. Using a blank form beneath, enter the information into the form correctly.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Complete up to 15 items on a form to register a family member for an Indigenous dancing event.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

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, including Indigenous Peoples.
In Canada, “Indigenous” means the first Peoples who lived here before settlers came. However, Indigenous does not mean one identical group. There are many different Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Each one has its own language, culture, traditions, and teachings. Indigenous Peoples in the forest, mountains, prairies, or North have different foods, homes, stories and ceremonies. So we say there are many Indigenous Nations, not just one way of being Indigenous.
Some learners may experience changes to gender roles when they come to Canada. Perhaps gender roles have previously determined who completes forms and shares personal information. Address that in Canada, either parent can complete their children’s forms. For some, this may be a welcome change, but for others it may be challenging. Address their concerns with sensitivity but teach that Canada is equitable and inclusive to people of all genders.

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.
Use familiar apps, social media platforms and web pages.
Type information to appear on screen
Complete formatted texts online, such as forms
Use a search engine to find information

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.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.

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.
Some learners may have different views. You can be sensitive to their differing opinions, but all learners benefit from EDI, and all learners have the right to an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
Ensure that the images and cultural representations of Indigenous Peoples are free from stereotypes and biases.
Raise learner awareness of the need for using appropriate language when discussing and addressing Indigenous Peoples.
Acknowledge that you are learning too, and avoid speaking for Indigenous Peoples.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma triggers:

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:

Role play registering a child or other family member in person for a community program with a partner. Practice giving the personal information needed to fill in the registration form.
Create a poster with information about how to register children in a summer camp which includes all the necessary information such as time, dates, cost, and so on.
Complete simplified online forms to extend writing skills to include digital formats.
Visit a local Indigenous cultural centre or museum to learn about aspects of Indigenous culture.
Invite a guest speaker from the local library to present simple information about cultural heritage events.

Realia:

Authentic posters for Orange Shirt Day, Truth & Reconciliation Day, National Indigenous Peoples Day events and other community heritage events.
Images of Indigenous cultural practices such as land-based learning, Medicine Wheel, smudging, Powwows, and so on.
Other objects from other cultures representing other cultural groups in the class.
Simplified forms for local community centres or schools.
Simplified information about different programs at local community centres.

Units and Modules:

Tutela: CLB: 1/2 Module Theme Introductions Sub-Topics: Personal information (Not the correct level but can be adapted.)

Lessons and Activities:

Multimedia: