Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 2L - Reading
Getting Things Done

Getting Around and Transportation

Real-World Task

Read a simplified bus schedule to see how often the bus will arrive at the school.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Days of the week
Expressions for time such as “ ___ o’clock” and “in ______ minutes”.
Times

Context:

Public transportation works on a predictable schedule (though it may be late). There are usually brochures, websites, or apps to tell you the schedule for your bus so that you can plan your trip.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Simple present for scheduled events
There is, there are
Prepositions: on for days and dates,
at for times

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Schedules are usually arranged in tables with rows and columns.
Times are usually given as a 24-hour clock.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Public transportation can often let you get around to the places you need to go, giving you independence and the chance to connect with other people.
There are usually more buses on weekdays, especially during the daytime, and fewer buses in the evenings and on the weekends.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: How do you get to class? Do you drive, walk, take the bus or use other public transportation? Ask learners how many take the bus on a regular basis. How do they plan their trips? Do they use the bus or other public transportation to go to other places in their cities / towns / communities?
Look at a simplified bus schedule and identify vocabulary words: schedule, arrive, depart, weekday, weekend, row, column.
Practice the vocabulary using vocabulary cards with words and clear pictures. Have learners work in groups and take turns drawing a card and explaining it (without saying the word). The rest of the learners guess which word it is, and whoever guesses first gets a point.
Discuss times in the 12-hour and 24-hour clock. Practice switching from the 12-hour to the 24-hour clock and back.
Talk about the times learners do routine activities. What time do you go to bed? What time do you get up? What time do you eat dinner and so on.
Fill in the blanks with arrives or departs / leaves to practice the simple present for scheduled events, e.g. The bus departs / leaves at 3:55.
Fill in the blanks with at or on to complete sentences with times, days, and dates, e.g. The bus departs on Saturdays at 8:30.
As a class, look at the website or app for your local public transportation. Elicit from learners how the website / app works, if any are familiar with it. Plan a sample trip from a familiar location to your school or organization. Determine different arrival times to practice.
Read a simple instructor-made story about taking the bus. Work with a partner and use simple sentence strips to sequence the events of the story.
Read several scenarios of people who need to go different places in their cities / towns / communities with predetermined arrival times. Using a map including departure and arrival locations and several simplified bus schedules, plan the trips.
Listen to an instructor-made dialogue between a passenger and a bus driver discussing when the bus arrives at the school.
Divide the class into teams of 3-4 learners. Give each team a simplified bus schedule. Ask each team in turn a question about the schedule. Every team that answers a question correctly gets a point.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read a simplified bus schedule and answer comprehension questions about how often the buses run.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read a simplified bus schedule to see
how often the bus will arrive at the school. Answer comprehension questions to demonstrate understanding.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Recognize that people who identify as women may not have had free access to public transit. Make sure these learners are aware of their rights in Canada and the resources that are available to them.
Learners should be aware that they can learn about public transit routes and schedules in multiple ways: online, printed schedules, and by phone / text.
- They can plan routes and learn about bus / train frequency and times.
- Most transit routes offer different service during the week and on the weekends.
- Using public transit can cut down on travel times and save on costs such as parking.
Have learners compare and discuss public transit options and transportation preferences and access in Canada and other countries around the world.
Depending on where you live, there may be a variety of public transportation, such as buses, trains, subway, or ferries. There may also be very little public transportation. Adapt the task to fit the community you live in. If you live in a rural area with little public transportation, choose a regional bus if there is one instead.

Digital Literacy Strategies:

Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline knowledge and digital skills.

Learners may need to:

Navigate and use webpages to get information about local transit schedules.
Use text / mobile phones to get up to the minute schedule information.
Have keyboarding and typing skills.
Locate, navigate and use websites.
Use familiar apps, social media platforms and web pages.
Read information from a screen.
Scan online resources to find information.

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.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure transit safety.

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.
Recognize that some learners may not feel safe on public transportation, including women and learners who are 2SLGBTQIA+. Discuss strategies for safer use of public transportation, including riding with a friend and avoiding riding after dark, and for other options for transportation, such as ride shares.
Recognize that issues related to economic disadvantage are often stigmatized. Instructors can work to reduce the stigma.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced trauma may not feel safe on public transportation. Acknowledge this concern and discuss strategies for safer use of public transportation or alternatives to 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:

Have learners in small groups plan transit journeys around the city to attend different community events.
Set up a class project to make short, simple videos stating one benefit of taking transit to school.
Conduct a survey into the transportation habits of classmates or another LINC class.
Take a field trip using public transportation and elicit an LEA (Language Experience Approach) story when you return to class. Have learners use your local website or app to plan the trip together.

Realia:

Authentic bus schedules and websites (may need to be simplified for the level)
Authentic bus route maps

Units and Modules:

Tutela: CLB 3-4 Getting around a city (Not literacy or the correct level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Bus Schedules – Reading CLB 1-2 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: Checking How Many Bus Stops – CLB 1-2 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: Lesson plans: Taking the bus (adapt for the level you teach).
Tutela (OCDSB): Assessment Task: Finding the Right Bus or Train or Subway – CLB 2 (Speaking) (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela:(OCDSB): Skill -Using Task: Finding the Right Bus or Train or Subway – CLB 2 (Speaking) (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (OCDSB): Assessment Task: Interacting with Riders and Driver on the Bus – CLB 2 (Listening) (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: (OCDSB): Skill -Using Task: Interacting with Riders and Driver on the Bus – CLB 2 (Listening) (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 2L
LINC 2 Classroom Activities (Not literacy but can be adapted)
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) can provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: