Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 2L - Writing
Sharing Information

Global Citizenship

Real-World Task

Write words to complete a short text about what you can do to help the environment at your school.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Forming lowercase and capital letters
Phonics knowledge: sounds of single consonants, some vowels, and some consonant blends
Present simple

Context:

Protecting the environment is a serious concern for many people.
There are things you can do in a school or organization to reduce waste.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Capital letters at the start of a sentence
Period at the end of a sentence

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Informative texts usually begin with the main idea, followed by examples, suggestions, or details.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Many people in Canada care about protecting the environment.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What is garbage? What do you do with garbage? Do you reduce the amount of garbage you produce? Do you recycle or compost? Do you return your cans or bottles to a depot?
Use TPR (Total Physical Response) and a set of vocabulary cards with words/pictures to practice the task vocabulary. Call out a word and have learners respond by holding up the correct card or by using an action. After a few rounds, have learners take turns calling out the words.
Use vocabulary cards with words and pictures to play games such as Bingo, Memory, and Go Fish.
Copy vocabulary words to fill in the blanks in sentences about the environment.
Look at the two sounds made by the letters <th>, as in throw (voiceless) and though (voiced). Practice making the sounds. Listen to words said by your instructor and say which sound you heard.
Post large photographs of a garbage
bin (black), a compost bin (green), a recycling bin (blue), and a bin full of drink cans and bottles on the board. Spread out photographs of different waste items on a desk. Ask learners to choose a waste item and tape it under the correct bin.
Read five sentences about the environment, such as There is too much garbage, It is important to recycle, or I care about the environment. Mark whether you agree or disagree with each sentence. Discuss as a class: Is it important to protect the environment?
If your school or organization has a sorting station, visit it as a class. Point to different containers for garbage, recycling, and so on. Ask what goes in each place.
Look into the bins in the sorting station. Without asking anyone to touch the waste, ask whether the people at the school / organization have done a good job of sorting their waste.
Discuss in small groups: What can you do to help the environment at your school? Share your ideas with the class and make a list of everyone’s suggestions.
Read a simple story about recycling. Read the story to learners and then choral read and echo read the story. Work with a partner to match vocabulary cards to words in the story. Answer simple comprehension questions.
As a class, read a list of 3-4 things you can do to reduce garbage, illustrated by clear, familiar photographs. Read the list to learners and have them explain what to do. Choral read and echo read the list.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Copy words into the blanks to complete familiar, short sentences about what you can do to reduce garbage.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Write words to complete a short text about what you can do to help the environment at your school.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Learners may not be familiar with ways to reduce garbage. Avoid being judgemental about protecting the environment. Gently teach learners what is available and expected 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.
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:

If drink containers can be returned for money in your community, teach learners how they can do that and where the nearest depots are located.
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:

Learners who have experienced trauma may not put environmentalism as a high priority. Respect this and give learners space to make their own decisions about recycling.
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:

Visit a recycling centre or depot and create an LEA (Language Experience Approach) story about it.
Work in a group to make posters for the sorting stations at your school or organization. Cut out pictures with examples of what can go into each bin.

Realia:

Recycling sorting stations
Examples of drink cans and bottles, food containers, and food waste
Pamphlets about recycling and composting

Units and Modules:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Sorting Waste: CLB FL/1L (Not the right level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela (OCDSB): Understanding Recycling Instructions: CLB 2 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (OCDSB): Taking Part in a Neighbourhood Clean Up: CLB 1 (Not literacy or the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela (OCDSB): Assessment Task: Putting Things in the Correct Recycling Bin: CLB 1L (Not literacy or the right level but can be adapted)
LINC 2 Classroom Activities (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:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Recycling and Composting