Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 4 - Writing
Sharing Information

Community and Recreation

Real-World Task

Write a letter or email to a friend to describe what you are doing in your free time.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Vocabulary related to leisure activities such as the names of activities or ways
to spend your free time.
Knowledge of how to email friends and family, including openings and closings for emails as well as different formatted aspects such as the subject line.

Context:

In Canada, many people spend their free time doing activities that help them relax, stay active, or socialize with friends and family. Common activities include going for walks in parks, exercising, reading, watching movies, and meeting friends
for coffee.
As Canada has four seasons, people often choose different activities depending on the weather, such as
hiking and biking in the summer or skating and skiing in the winter.
Communities also offer many free
or low-cost activities through public libraries, recreation centres, and community events.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

read books / watch TV / movies
/ listen to music
go for a walk / exercise / play sports
cook / spend time with friends / go shopping / play games
in my free time
after work / after class /
in the evening /on weekends
these days / lately

Sample Grammar:

Simple present and present progressive verbs to describe everyday activities
Prepositions of time and place

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Appropriate phrases and expressions
to invite a friend or family member.
Basic email writing conventions, including subject lines and opening / closing conventions.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Canadian social conventions of invitations.

Strategic Competence:

Beginning ability to use resources
such as spell checkers.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What do you like to
do in your free time? What do you usually do after work or after school? What do you like to do on weekends? Do you like to spend your free time indoors or outdoors? Why? What activities do you do with your friends or family? Is free time important for you? Is free time in Canada similar or different from free time in other countries where you have lived?
Match picture flashcards to vocabulary wordlists. Then in pairs match words
and images to a third set of cards with definitions of the terms. Add the vocabulary items to a vocabulary journal or personal dictionary.
Create word maps of different categories
of related words from the list such as nouns, adjectives and verbs.
On an instructor-made gap fill handout complete the sentences with missing vocabulary words. Check your answers
with a partner and then take turns to read the sentences aloud.
Read and analyze a model email with one main paragraph about how one Newcomer spends their free time during the winter months. In small groups, learners respond
to questions with a discussion about what the main ideas of the paragraph are, and where those ideas appear in the order of the paragraph; what details are included in the paragraph; what examples are used in the paragraph; how the paragraph is ended.
Outline specific conventions for paragraph structure such as topic sentence, appropriate number of main ideas to include and ways to end a paragraph. Review the model paragraph above again and learners highlight the topic sentence, circle each main idea and underline the concluding sentence.
Review the use of common words and phrases to describe time such as these days, usually, on the weekend, and so on. Discuss how these words can help to organize ideas in a paragraph and to make it easier for the reader to follow the writing. In pairs, write 3-4 simple sentences about how you spend your free time using time phrases / adverbials.
Copy a short paragraph about a free learn to skate program in your community into
a digital document. As a class, look at one example of the copied text and discuss the presence of red or blue underlining to indicate an error. Share how to correct the error with help from the application. Review your own document and attempt to use the spellcheck function.
Review the grammar rules for use and
form of the simple present and present continuous verb tenses. Discuss the ways we can use these verb tenses to describe our habits (simple present) and the activities we are doing these days (present progressive). Read example sentences using these verb tenses and reflect on the use of each verb tense in the sentences. Practice making sentences using the correct verb tense about local activities in your community.
Complete exercises to practice the simple present and present continuous verb tenses.
As a class, discuss the value of using editing checklists when writing. Using a model paragraph about the benefits of talking a walk in nature, review the paragraph with an editing checklist to to consider aspects of the writing such as:
- Did the writer write about 3–4 things?
- Did the writer use capital letters and periods?
- Did the writer use phrases related to time such as lately, usually, often, and so on?
Using the vocabulary words, practice writing sentences about a free time activity that learners have done. Learners describe the activity and why they enjoyed it. Share with a partner.
Look at a sample email as a class. Identify the parts of the email: subject line, opening, paragraph structure / body and a closing. Discuss how to write a subject line. Identify several different ways of opening and closing an email.
In pairs or groups and using several different templates, fill in the missing content of the emails, whether it’s the subject line, opening, body or closing.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Write an email to a family member to describe how you stay active in the winter in Canada.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Write a letter or email to a friend to describe what you are doing in your free time.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Local community centres often have informal classes, sports or activities that are open to the public and are relatively inexpensive.

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.
Type information to appear on screen
Send and receive text messages and messages on other texting apps.
Send and receive email messages
Complete formatted texts online, such as forms
Navigate and use online learning management systems (LMS) such as Avenue.
Use a search engine 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.
Use digital tools such as translation or pronunciation tools to support language learning and foster autonomous learning.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Refugee learners may not have had a choice in leaving their countries and coming to Canada; recognize that some learners may have mixed feelings about being in Canada. Allow learners to have their own opinions and feelings about Canada.
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:

Discussions of families and family time may be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma, violence and war.
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 field trip to the local community recreation centre. Pick up brochures about events and speak with a customer service representative about policies for subsidized and no-cost classes.
Invite a guest speaker from the local library to share information about a range of free community activities, including policies for paying for classes and the refund policy.
Complete a scavenger hunt where pairs of learners search for information about free local activities available in the community.

Realia:

Authentic calendars and schedules of local community activities
Images from the local community centre to show the diversity of offerings and the people who participate.
Websites with local events and free activities
Various emails on a variety of topics.

Units and Modules:

Tutela (OCDSB): Family and Community CLB 3-4
Tutela: Healthy Communities Curriculum CLB 2-4

Lessons and Activities:

Multimedia: