Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 1L - Writing
Getting Things Done

Canada

Real-World Task

Complete up to 5 items on a very simple form to register for a utilities provider.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Letter formation including capital and lowercase letters
Digit formation 0-9
Some sound-symbol correspondence
Oral knowledge of basic personal information (name, address, telephone number, etc.)

Context:

You need to register for utilities such as heat, water, electricity, or telephone.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

utilities: heat, water, electricity, telephone
first name
last name
address
telephone number
city

Sample Grammar:

Capital letters for names and place names

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

You must fit your writing to the space on the form.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

You can ask a friend or family member for help with filling out a form.
You can keep all your personal information written on a card to make it easier to fill in a form.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Begin each class by greeting each learner personally and practicing a very short dialogue: What is your name? Expand to include What is your first name? What is your last name?
Sing and workout to Count by 1s to 10.
Give each learner a set of cards with 1-5 written on them. Have learners spread the cards out in front of them. Call out a number, and have learners respond by holding up the correct card. When learners are comfortable, after several sessions, switch to cards with 6-10 written on them.
Practice copying numbers 0-10.
Write a very simple fictional address on the board, such as 150 Main Street. Read the address to learners. Choral read the address. Talk about the different parts of the address. Ask learners to point to the number and street name.
Go on a community walk around the school or organization and spot street signs with the name of the street / avenue. Stop to read the signs together. Take photographs of the signs and learners (with their permission). Return to class and elicit an LEA (Language Experience Approach) story from the learners.
Help each learner to create a personal identification card (laminated if possible) that includes first name, last name, address, city, and telephone number, in a large, literacy-friendly font.
Practice copying items of personal information.
Practice reading the headings for items of personal information such as first name, last name, address and phone number.
Do matching activities with headings on forms and own persona information.
Look at clear photographs of different utilities. Elicit the names from learners, e.g. heat, water, electricity, and telephone.
Do matching activities (word / picture) and copying activities to practice utilities.
Use TPR (Total Physical Response) to practice the names of the utilities. Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Listen to a very short, simple dialogue about registering for a utility in a new home. Answer some simple yes / no questions orally.
Using instructor-made simplified forms, practice writing personal information into the form, and being mindful of the space for writing.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Complete a form with up to 5 items to register for a telephone. (This is similar to the assessment task; only one of the two tasks can be used in the portfolio.)

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Complete up to 5 items on a very simple form to register for a utilities provider.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Learners may not be familiar with paying for utilities separate from rent, and learners may be in different living situations requiring different arrangements for utilities. For example, some might be living in a house and must pay all utilities themselves; others in an apartment may have some utilities covered in their rent. Learners who are sharing a home may pay a flat rate to cover all utilities.

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:

In examples of homes, use examples as best as possible from your own community, and include many examples from lower-income housing. Make sure that learners see examples of housing that look like their housing.
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.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have lost their homes may be triggered by discussions of home.
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:

As a class, look at a large-scale, simple map and practice identifying common elements of a map, such as streets, parks, and rivers.
As a class, look at a highly simplified utility bill and practice finding personal information.

Realia:

Maps
Simplified examples of utility bills

Units and Modules:

Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Numeric Focus: CLB 1L/2L
Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Alphabetic Focus: CLB 1L/2L

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Personal Information Form: CLB 1 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
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: Count by 1s to 10