Real-World Task
Complete up to 20 items on a form to apply for a tax credit in Canada.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- Basic personal information
- Format of addresses and phone numbers
Context:
- People in Canada must complete tax returns each year to make sure they have paid the correct amount of income tax.
- Completing your tax return also allows you to claim tax credits and, when possible, to access low-income resources.
- You need to apply for some tax credits before you can claim them.
Vocabulary and Grammar
Sample Vocabulary:
- tax
- income
- return
- apply
- disability
- tax credit
- document
- form
Sample Grammar:
- Modal verbs to describe ability and requirements: can, need
Knowledge and Strategies
Textual and Functional Knowledge:
- You must keep your writing on a form to the space provided.
- It’s often possible to complete a form on a computer, by editing a PDF file, rather than hand-writing a form. Some people complete as much information as they can on the computer, and then print the form to sign it.
Sociolinguistic Knowledge:
- There are different ways that the government of Canada supports people in Canada. Tax credits are one way to support people for different reasons.
- You cannot access tax credits such as child tax credits or disability tax credits
if you do not file your taxes.
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- As a class, discuss taxes in Canada. Ask learners what they know about taxes. Elicit different kinds of taxes, such as PST / HST / GST and income tax. Ask learners: What is income tax? What is an income tax return? Use images to support your discussion when needed.
- Write words to complete a mini-dictionary of task vocabulary.
- Review the task vocabulary. Use vocabulary cards with words, pictures, and very simple definitions. Practice the vocabulary by completing activities such as matching, filling in the blanks, crossword puzzles, and word searches.
- Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
- Read sentences about tax returns and circle yes or no based on your own experiences,
e.g. I have worked in Canada / I have received a pay stub / I have completed a tax return. - Read a simple instructor-made text about income tax and tax credits in Canada. Read the text several times to the class, and then have learners read the text again with a partner.
- Complete activities with the tax text such as matching vocabulary cards to words in the text, writing words to fill in the blanks in sentences about taxes, and answering simple comprehension questions.
- Discuss as a class: What is a tax credit? Teach learners that some tax credits must be applied for in advance. Give the example of the Disability Tax Credit. Explain that it is a way for the Government of Canada to help people with disabilities or who have children with disabilities.
- Review personal information. Use example information from a fictional person to fill in a form.
- Review modal verbs can and need and write sentences about yourself and things you can do and things you need help with, e.g. I can copy addresses and phone numbers. I need help with spelling new words in English.
- Read a simple instructor-made story about a family with a child who has a disability,
e.g. Jason is in a wheelchair. He can’t walk. He needs help with eating. - Have learners complete sentences with either can or need to write about Jason.
- Practice completing fictional online forms using a program such as Google Forms.
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Complete up to 15 items on a form with your own information.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Complete up to 20 items on a form to apply for a tax credit
in Canada. Use information from a fictional family to complete the form.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- Income tax may be a new idea for some learners depending on where they are from. Learners may not know about tax credits. Help learners to understand their rights and responsibilities in Canada.
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.
- Read information from a screen.
- Navigate camera and microphone.
- Adjust volume on device.
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.
- Teach reading strategies such as skimming and scanning to find information on websites.
- Introduce tools and apps that can aid learners in coping with communication. barriers, such as translation, pronunciation, text to speech, speech to text tools and so on.
- 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 2SLGBTQIA+, 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.
- Many literacy learners are low-income. Help learners understand that completing their tax returns can help them claim low-income support such as low-income transit passes.
- Teach learners that there is support available for completing income tax returns. Many communities have income tax clinics that will help Newcomers with income tax returns.
Trauma-informed Strategies:
Possible Trauma Triggers:
- Learners who have experienced trauma may be triggered by official forms (such as tax forms). They may also be triggered by authority, such as government. Help learners understand that everything you do in class is fictional and that filing their tax returns helps them. Learners may also feel empowered to learn the Government of Canada has tax credits to help people. Watch out for learners who are feeling triggered.
- 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
- Allow learners choice:
- 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:
- Learn about different kinds of tax credits.
- Partner with a student from a different literacy class and teach them what you have learned about taxes.
- Invite a guest speaker to talk about first tax returns.
Realia:
- Sample forms
- Sample online forms
Units and Modules:
- Tutela: Following Instructions: Canadian Citizenship: CLB 3/4 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
- Tutela (Norquest): First Day of Work: CLB 3 (Not literacy and not the right level but can be adapted)
Lessons and Activities:
- LINC 4 Classroom Activities Canada (p. 85-140) (Not literacy but can be adapted)
- Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 4L
- A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.
Multimedia:
Detailed Sample Task
This exemplar is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and is designed to guide and inform your lesson and module planning. Consult the Canadian Language Benchmarks English as a Second Language for Adults for detailed performance descriptors at this benchmark and skill.
The information in this document is not exhaustive and can be expanded on. As well, you can use more learner-friendly language in your materials and assessments.
This is NOT a lesson or module plan.
