Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB FL - Listening
Comprehending Instructions

Home and Neighbourhood

Real-World Task

Follow a single instruction to take out the garbage on the correct day.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

If you take garbage to the curb, it will be collected.

Context:

In most communities in Canada, there is garbage collection. It is often on the same day each week or every other week.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

take out
home
garbage
days of the week: Monday, Tuesday,
and so on

Sample Grammar:

Capital letters for days of the week

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Some words have capital letters.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Neighbours sometimes help each other by taking their neighbour’s garbage to the curb.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Every day at the start of class, write the day of the week on the board and say it aloud while pointing to it. Have learners repeat: Today is Monday (Tuesday/Wednesday/
and so on).
Sing along to Days of the Week Song or Days of the Week Song (Addams Family Tune).
Post a large, clear photograph of a kitchen garbage bin on the board alongside a photograph of garbage sitting at the curb and garbage being put into a garbage truck. Elicit words from learners such as garbage, house, kitchen, truck, man, woman, and so on.
Assign each task vocabulary word an action and practice the vocabulary using TPR (Total Physical Response). Call out a vocabulary word and have learners respond with the correct action.
Repeat TPR using vocabulary cards with clear photographs. Call out a word and have learners hold up the correct card.
Play Bingo with vocabulary cards taped
to a simple Bingo card.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Use air writing and sand trays to practice letter formation: lowercase and capital letters.
Trace lowercase and capital letters.
Trace and copy the day of the week.
Read a very simple instructor-made story with single words and pictures about taking out garbage, e.g. Tuesday. Garbage day! Garbage. Truck. Read the story to learners and then choral read and echo read the story.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Tell the instructor the day of the week today.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Follow a single instruction to take out the garbage on the correct day. Demonstrate understanding by telling the instructor the correct day of the week for garbage.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Depending on a learner’s living situation, they may or may not be responsible for taking out the garbage. Learners may also not be aware of recycling and composting. Try to give examples that include a variety of living situations, such as people who live in houses, townhouses, apartments, single rooms, and so on.

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.

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:

Recognize that learners who are women may not have much control in their housing situation. Be sensitive to cultural differences, but make sure that all learners are aware of the rights of people of all genders in Canada.
Some learners may experience changes to gender roles when they come to Canada. For some, this may be a welcome change, but for others it may be challenging. Address their concerns with sensitivity but teach that Canada is equitable and inclusive to people of all genders.
Recognize that housing is expensive in Canada, and that many learners may be in insecure housing situations. Try to choose images of housing that represent actual housing in your community that learners may live in.
Use diverse representations of people in all your learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQ+, 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 been forced to flee from their own land may be triggered by discussions of home and housing.
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:

Discuss garbage, recycling, and compost, and learn the name of
one thing that goes into each bin.
Identify recycling/waste sorting stations in your school or organization and practice sorting garbage appropriately.

Realia:

Garbage bin
Garbage bag
Examples of (clean) trash

Units and Modules:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Sorting Waste: CLB FL/1L
CCLB: Finding a Place to Live: CLB 1L/2L
(Not the right level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB FL
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
Tutela: Objects in the Home: CLB 1-2
(Not literacy or the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela: Teaching the Mechanics of Writing and Letter Formation
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: