Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 2L-Speaking
Getting Things Done

Indigenization

Real-World Task

Ask an instructor about plans for observing Truth and Reconciliation Day like the date and time.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Days of the week
Numbers 1-12
Months of the year
Basic times
Present simple for statements

Context:

Indigenous Peoples were the first peoples in Canada and live everywhere in Canada.
There are three groups of Indigenous Peoples in Canada: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.
September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day across Canada. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day to honour the victims, survivors, and intergenerational survivors of the residential school system.
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:

Questions with what date and what time
Capital letters for days of the week and months of the year

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Questions about days, dates, and times can be asked with what

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day to honour the victims, survivors, and intergenerational survivors of the residential school system. This can be taught as an introductory concept at this level that it is a day to honour and respect Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: Who are Indigenous Peoples? Where do they live? What languages do they speak (some speak English, French, and Indigenous languages)?
Discuss as a class that Indigenous Peoples were in Canada first and have been in Canada since time immemorial. Discuss: When did European people first arrive in Canada? When did other groups of people arrive in Canada?
As a class, explore the website: Whose Land. Look up whose territory you are in.
Practice saying the name(s) of the Indigenous Peoples whose traditional land you are on. Focus on one Nation at first.
Practice saying where each learner is from. Ask if there are Indigenous peoples.
Teach learners that September 30 is a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is a day in Canada to remember the history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Practice the days of the week by singing Days of the Week Song or Days of the Week Song (Addams Family Tune).
Review the months of the year and sing the 12 Months of the Year Song.
Every day, copy today’s day and date.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Teach asking questions with what. Practice as a class: What time is it? What day is it? What date is it?
Have learners work in pairs. Give one learner in each pair a prompt card with a time, day, and date. Have the other partner ask questions about the time, day, and date using What time is it? What day is it? What date is it?
Practice answering questions about the date, day and time of upcoming events such as holidays, special events in class or community events.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Have learners ask questions about an upcoming event or party using What time is it? What day is it? What date is it? Use cards that have event information printed on them.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Ask an instructor about plans for observing Truth and Reconciliation Day like the date and time.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Indigenous Peoples have traditional territory in different parts of Canada. Indigenous cultures are an important part of Canadian culture.

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.
Show learners how to zoom in and zoom out on a digital map.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Ensure that the images and cultural representations of Indigenous peoples are diverse and free from stereotypes and biases.
Raise learner awareness of the need for using appropriate language when discussing and addressing Indigenous peoples.
Use authentic Indigenous content, sources, and materials whenever possible to support discussion and learning.
Celebrate Indigenous cultures.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have been forced to flee from their own land may be triggered by discussions of traditional territory and home.
Newcomers who come from Indigenous groups in their home countries may be triggered by considerations of the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Teaching an Indigenization theme will result in some difficult conversations and may revisit past trauma, oppression, and discrimination your learners have experienced.
When teaching about Canada, you may teach about things that are triggering to learners who have experienced trauma, such as the treatment of Indigenous people in residential schools. Be aware of this and be prepared to support learners as needed. However, it is important for all learners, including learners who have experienced trauma, to learn as complete a story of Canada as possible, and it may be helpful to learners to know that the Canadian government has issued an official apology and made a commitment to work towards reconciliation. Knowing that a government can recognize when it has been wrong and can work towards reconciliation can help learners who have experienced trauma to begin to regain a sense of trust.
If you are not Indigenous, acknowledge that you are learning too, and avoid speaking for Indigenous peoples.
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:

Watch a video of Indigenous singers, dancers, or drummers.
Attend a local Indigenous event if possible.
Invite an Elder to visit the class.
Learn a few words of a local Indigenous language.
Reinforce upcoming events by putting them on the class calendar. Ask learners the day, date, and time at different times prior to the event.

Realia:

Images of Indigenous Peoples and cultural objects
Maps
Calendars
Posters of different events to practice date, day and time.

Units and Modules:

Lessons and Activities:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Canadian Indigenous Content
The Granddaughter Who was Eaten by a Big Fish (Not literacy but can be adapted)
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 2L
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: