Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 1L - Reading
Interacting with Others

Canada

Real-World Task

Read a very short, very simple message from a Francophone Canadian friend saying where they are from in Canada.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Identifying letters, including uppercase and lowercase
Some letter-sound correspondence
Sight words: Hi, I, am, from

Context:

There are many Francophone people in Canada (approximately 22% of the Canadian population speaks French as a first language).
Francophone culture is an important part of Canadian culture.
Francophone people can live anywhere
in Canada, but there are certain provinces / communities that have a larger Francophone population, such as Quebec, New Brunswick, and St. Boniface in Manitoba.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

language
French / Francophone
English
from
Quebec
New Brunswick
Local: very simple place / community names

Sample Grammar:

Simple present: I am from…
capital letters for names and place names

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Sentences are made up of words.
There is a space between each word.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Friends will tell you information about themselves.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Learn a short dialogue: Where are you from? I am from… Practice with learners using their own information.
Discuss as a class: What languages do people speak in Canada? Elicit English and French from the learners. Also elicit many other languages, including their own languages and one or two local Indigenous languages. Ask learners how many people in Canada speak each of these languages. You don’t need to use numbers or percentages. Communicate that lots of people in Canada speak English as a first language (approximately 56%), and many people speak French as a first language (approximately 22%).
Watch a very simple video of a Francophone Canadian speaking about their culture.
Look at a large map of Canada. Elicit from learners which province / territory you live in and find it on the map. Ask learners where Francophone people live in Canada. Teach learners they live everywhere, but especially in Quebec and New Brunswick.
Practice making capital letters like Q, F, N, and B. Trace the letters, write the letters in a sand tray, and write the letters independently.
Give learners cards with Q, F, N, and B. Make one of the four sounds and have learners hold up the card that corresponds with that sound. Practice this for a while, and then have learners take turns making the sounds.
Give learners cards with short, familiar words that begin with Q and F. You may need to teach some of the q-words first. Have learners work with a partner to sort the cards based on the first letter.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Work with learners to read a short message from a friend saying where they are from. Write the message on the board. Use your own city / community name, e.g. Hi. I am from Halifax. Practice different reading approaches, such as choral reading and echo reading. Give learners large sticky notes with words from the sentence and have them match their sticky note to the correct word.
Have learners interview each other: Where are you from? I am from…
Read a very simple story about five people in Canada that follows the repeated format:” _____ is from _____.”” _____ speaks _____.” As best as possible, use your community or very familiar communities, e.g. David is from Calgary. David speaks English. Jean is from Quebec. Jean speaks French. Elise is from Quebec. Elise speaks French.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read a very short, very simple message from a Francophone Canadian friend saying where they are from in Canada. Circle the matching place name. (Skill-using task matches the assessment task. Use different people and place names.)

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read a very short, very simple message from a Francophone Canadian friend saying where they are from in Canada. Circle the matching place name.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Canada is a multicultural country, and Canadian culture includes the cultures of all the people who live in Canada. Canadians can have different first languages, including English, French, Indigenous languages, and many others.

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.
Teach learners that Canada is an inclusive, multicultural country.
Teach learners that Francophone culture is an important part of Canadian culture.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced trauma or discrimination based on their own culture may be triggered by discussions of culture and multiculturalism.
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:

Teach learners that Canada is an inclusive, multicultural country, and that all people have equal rights in Canada.
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:

Invite a guest speaker from a Francophone cultural association to speak about their culture and local activities.
Talk about French language schools in your local community.
Try a few French words such as greetings or “My name is______”
Try French-Canadian food, such as poutine or tourtière.

Realia:

Maps
Quebec flag

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Greetings and Introductions: CLB 1L/2L
Tutela (ISANS): Canada Theme: CLB FL/1L

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela (ISANS): Bookfolds for Canada Theme: CLB FL/1L
Tutela (RODS): My Canada Book
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

YouTube: The Canada Song by Nancy Kopman