Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 2L - Reading
Interacting with Others

Getting Around and Transportation

Real-World Task

Read a short, simple message from a friend that says how they are going to get to work today.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Present simple
Greetings: hi, hello, good morning, how are you
Basic knowledge of modes of transportation

Context:

Commuting is an important part of the day for many people, and people often make decisions on where to live and / or where to work based on how long they’ll have to commute.
It can be very expensive to run a car
and / or to park. Many people in Canada use public transportation to get to work.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Present continuous
Preposition for direction: to

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Messages usually do not include a greeting (Dear…) or a signature (Sincerely…)

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Friends often communicate by sending messages to each other.
Friends sometimes commute or carpool together.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: how do you get to school? If you work, how do you get to work? Make a list of ways to get to school or work on the board.
Using word cards with clear photographs, practice vocabulary for means of transportation. Use TPR (Total Physical Response) to practice vocabulary. Call out a word and have learners respond by holding up the correct card. After a few rounds, have learners take turns calling out the words.
Play Bingo with the vocabulary cards.
Give learners a blank Bingo card template. Show them how to make a small ball of tape to stick their vocabulary cards to the Bingo template. This way each learner will have a different Bingo card. Call out the vocabulary and have learners place Bingo chips or other markers on their words as they’re called. The first learner to get a line wins.
Copy transportation words and draw a line to the matching photograph.
Sing The Vowel Song: Long and Short Vowel Sounds.
If learners are proficient with initial and final consonants, focus on long and short /a/ sounds. Show learners the shape of your mouth when you make the sound. Have learners practice saying train, subway, taxi, and walk. Sort the words into two categories: short a and long a.
Incorporate phonics based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Practice the present continuous with regular verbs. Practice orally first by discussing what is happening around you, e.g. The sun is shining, Ali is taking notes, Beatriz is looking at the board, Timon is drinking coffee. Have learners each say something that is happening in the class.
Write several example sentences for the present continuous on the board. Notice the pattern together with learners. Have learners complete a worksheet by writing in words in the present participle (-ing).
Listen to an instructor-made dialogue between two friends about getting to work. Practice the dialogue with a partner and perform for the class.
Discuss with your partner how you get to school, work, or shopping. Complete simple sentence prompts to write about how you get to school.
Read a short, simple instructor-made story about transportation. Match vocabulary cards to words in the story. Complete a sequencing activity using pictures.
Read several short messages between friends or family members about what they are doing such as buying some milk at the grocery store or meeting a friend for coffee. Answer comprehension questions.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read a short, very simple story about
public transportation. Demonstrate comprehension by answering very simple questions.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read a short, simple message from a friend that says how they are going to get to work today. Demonstrate comprehension by answering very simple questions.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Some learners may not have ever lived in a place where it was safe for them to walk around their neighbourhood and may still not feel safe doing so in Canada. Some learners who are women may never have been able to walk around outside their home on their own.

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.
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.

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.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Many learners who have experienced trauma, or learners who may be vulnerable such as learners who are women, learners who are 2SLGBTQIA+, or learners with disabilities, may not feel safe walking around in their neighbourhoods or in using public transportation.
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:

Take a trip on public transportation as a class. Use planning apps to plan the trip together beforehand. After the trip, elicit an LEA (Language Experience Approach) story from the learners.
Create a chart with different transportation headings and have learners place their names under the correct heading indicating how they come to school or work.

Realia:

Maps
Public transportation apps or schedules

Units and Modules:

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela (OCDSB): Assessment Task: Asking for and Giving Directions in a Neighbourhood: CLB 2 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (OCDSB): Assessment Task: Understanding Road Signs: CLB 2 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
LINC 2 Classroom Activities: Travel and Transportation (p. 425-467) (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 2L
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: