Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 4L - Speaking
Getting Things Done

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Real-World Task

Ask for support in school for a neurodivergent friend or family member and explain what help they need.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Present simple
Modal verbs: can, could
Knowledge of pronouns for describing others such as he / she, her / his, they
and so on.

Context:

Many people are neurodivergent. Their brains work differently from neurotypical people. Some people who are neurodivergent need support or accommodations in the workplace, community, and educational settings.
All learners in Canada have a right to appropriate accommodations.
Common forms of neurodivergence include ADHD and autism. Approximately 1 in 50 people in Canada have autism and 1 in 21 have ADHD. Some people have both autism and ADHD.
Neurodiversity refers to a group of people, e.g. This is a neurodiverse classroom with learners with different needs. Neurodivergent refers to one person, e.g. My daughter is neurodivergent; she is autistic. Note that there is variation in how neurodivergent people refer to themselves; e.g. some neurodivergent people prefer “a person with autism” while others prefer “an autistic person.”
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:

Sample Grammar:

Need plus infinitive: needs to sit somewhere quiet…

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

A speaker usually gives a general statement followed by specific examples.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

All learners have the right to an education in Canada and the right to accommodations. Schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations often offer Learner Support services.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What does neurodivergent mean? Does anyone know anyone who is neurodivergent, or if learners are willing to discuss themselves, is anyone in the class neurodivergent? Teach learners that many people are neurodivergent, whether or not they have a formal diagnosis, and that neurodivergence is a different variety of how the human brain works. Many people are neurotypical. Some people are neurodivergent, and that means their brains work a little differently.
Discuss as a class: What is autism? What are traits generally associated with autism? Use resources such as Government of Canada: Autism Spectrum Disorder or Autism Canada to help your learners gain a basic understanding of autism.
Discuss as a class: What does ADHD mean? What are traits generally associated with ADHD? Use resources such as Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada to help your learners gain a basic understanding of ADHD.
Discuss as a class: How do you learn best? What do you need to learn? Discuss common preferences and accommodations including a quiet environment, the ability to see and hear the instructor, the ability to get your questions answered, and so on.
Copy vocabulary words to complete a mini-dictionary of task vocabulary. Cut out picture cards with clear photographs or clear symbols and tape or glue them in a space next to the word and definition in your mini-dictionary.
Practice vocabulary by completing sentences, matching words with simple definitions, and completing activities such as crossword puzzles or word searches.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Review need + infinitive. Discuss how you can need something or you can need to do something and give examples of both, e.g. Simon needs headphones so he can focus. Simon needs to sit somewhere quiet when he is working.
Complete sentence stems with need to write about how you learn best, e.g. I need to…sit close to the board so I can see.
Listen to several short, instructor-made dialogues between a parent and a teacher discussing a neurodivergent child and the support/accommodations they need in class. Create dialogues that highlight different children with different needs. Discuss each dialogue. Match vocabulary words to words in the script. Practice one of the dialogues with a partner and perform for the class.
Read a short, instructor-made story about neurodivergence and accommodations in the classroom. Complete comprehension activities such as filling in the blanks with words from the story, answering comprehension questions, and retelling the main ideas in the story to a partner. Read the story multiple times over the course of several lessons to focus on pronunciation, intonation and fluency.
Using cards with various supports and accommodations, move around the classroom telling others what you need. Share a partner’s needs with the class. Be sure to use personal pronouns.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Ask the instructor for help and explain what you need to be able to learn best.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Ask for support in school for a neurodivergent friend or family member
and explain what help they need.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Learners may come from cultures where there is little awareness or understanding of neurodivergence or many come from cultures where there is a stigma towards being neurodivergent. Many people in Canada also do not understand neurodivergence. Help learners to understand that neurodivergence is a common, normal human brain variation, and that neurodivergent people are valuable members of society.

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.
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.
Teach learners that all people in Canada have the right to no discrimination.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who are neurodivergent or who have family members or friends who are neurodivergent and who have experienced discrimination or hatred may be triggered by this topic. They may also feel empowered to learn about rights in Canada.
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:

Invite a guest speaker with an understanding of neurodivergence to speak to the class.
Work in a small group to make a poster about common accommodations for learning such as headphones, a quiet place to sit, routine, and so on.

Realia:

Common learning supports such as headphones

Units and Modules:

Tutela (ATESL): Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism: a 3/4 Module (Not literacy but can be adapted)
LINC 4 Classroom Activities Education (p. 351-384) (Not literacy but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Diversity and Inclusion Materials for the EAL Classroom CLB 3-6 (Not literacy and not the right level 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: