Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB FL - Reading

Health and Wellness

Real-World Task

Read own name and number of pills to take on a highly simplified prescription label.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Letters
Numbers 1-10

Context:

Prescriptions contain information about how many pills to take and when to take them. It is very important for your health to follow the directions on a prescription.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Spacing between letters

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

A number tells you how many.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Prescriptions are for one specific person. They are only given by doctors. You can’t give or share your medicine with anyone else.
A pharmacist, doctor, or nurse can help you understand how to take medication.
It is okay to ask any of those people for help.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: what does sick mean? Elicit the meaning from learners.
If necessary, mime various forms of being sick, by putting your hands up to your head for a headache, placing your hand on your forehead for a fever, placing your hand on your stomach for any kind of nausea, and so on. Ask learners what does healthy mean? What do you do when you are sick?
Show clear photographs of doctor, nurse, and pharmacist. Show the professions in context, a doctor and nurse in a hospital or clinic, and a pharmacist at the pharmacy. Use photographs of actual hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies in your community. Elicit the words from learners.
Use vocabulary cards with clear words and pictures to practice vocabulary.
Play games such as Bingo and Matching.
Practice counting to 10. Count as a class, and then sit in a circle and count in turn. Have each learner stand up and stay standing when they say a number.
Trace and copy the numbers from 1-10.
Do a counting worksheet. Count clear, simple objects and write the number next
to the group.
Copy your own name.
Discuss as a class: what is medicine? Where do you get medicine? Prepare an empty prescription bottle with a highly simplified “prescription” that says your name and 3 pills on it. Read the bottle label as a class. Discuss what it means. If you think it will help with understanding, you can fill the bottle with mints and count out three “pills” to show what it means. Teach learners that medicine bottles are ONLY for one person (the person whose name is on the label).
Read a very simple instructor-made story to the class about a patient taking medicine.
Role-play an interaction between a doctor, a patient, and a pharmacist. Discuss with the class the role of each of these people. Have the learner playing the doctor tell the patient, you are sick. You need medicine. They give the patient a “prescription” (a piece of paper with a name and a number of pills on it). Then the patient takes the paper to the pharmacist, who takes the paper and gives them a pill bottle. Practice until all learners understand. Have learners work in groups of three and perform their role-plays for the class.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read own name and number of pills to take on a highly simplified prescription label. (Same as assessment task, but only one can be put in the portfolio.)

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read own name and number of pills to take on a highly simplified prescription label.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Learners may not be aware of how they can access healthcare in their new community. Teach learners that healthcare is free but medicine is not always free (depending on whether they’re eligible for provincial drug programs). Teach learners what their options are for healthcare in your local community.

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.
Type information to appear on screen.

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 that the size of an image on the screen can be adjusted.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Note that women (all women, including transwomen) may not have had access to independent, confidential healthcare and may not know that they can access healthcare in Canada without the permission of anyone else. Make sure that all learners understand their rights in Canada.
Teach learners that if they have any problems they don’t feel like they can talk about, or if they are experiencing violence at home, they can always speak with a nurse or doctor.
Teach learners that interpreters are available for most health services.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced trauma, violence, or gender-based violence may not have had positive experiences with healthcare and may be triggered by this topic.
Learners who have not had access to, have been denied medical care, or have lost loved ones may be triggered by this topic.
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 local pharmacy. Show learners where the “over-the-counter” medication is and where the prescription medication is (behind the counter). Arrange in advance and introduce the learners to a pharmacist. Return to the class and elicit an LEA (Language Experience Approach) story.

Realia:

Empty prescription bottles
Items to help with role-play, such as a stethoscope for the doctor

Units and Modules:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Visiting the Doctor: CLB FL/1L
Tutela (CCLB): Dealing with Emergencies: CLB 1L/2L
(Not the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela: At the Pharmacy: CLB 1/2 (Not literacy and not the right level, but some elements can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB FL
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Health