Real-World Task
Copy 2 to 3 highly familiar words to complete a very simple, very short guided text about the local Indigenous nation closest to you.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- Letter formation including capital and lowercase letters
- Some sound-symbol correspondence
Context:
- Indigenous cultures are an important part of Canadian culture.
- There are many different Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
- Indigenous Peoples include First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.
- 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:
- Canada
- name of own province / territory
- name of own community / town / city
- name of local Indigenous People
- people
- culture
- live
- near
Sample Grammar:
- Simple present: They live near me.
- Capital letters for names and place names
Knowledge and Strategies
Textual and Functional Knowledge:
- You can use your finger to space words.
Sociolinguistic Knowledge:
- Indigenous cultures are an important part of Canadian culture, and learning about Indigenous Peoples is an important part of learning about Canada.
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- Look at a large map of Canada. Elicit from learners which province / territory you live in and find it on the map. Find your community / town / city on the map.
- Learn a short dialogue: Where do you live?
I live in… Practice with learners using their own community and province/territory. - Discuss as a class: who are Indigenous Peoples? Learn that the Indigenous Peoples in Canada are the first people. Teach there are many different Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and that different Peoples have different languages and cultures.
- Look at Native Land or Whose Land to find the names of Indigenous Peoples close to your community.
- Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
- Copy the name of an Indigenous People near you.
- Interview a classmate: Where do you live? Have classmate respond with name of country, province / territory, and / or community.
- Copy Canada and name of own
province / territory. - Copy name of own community.
- Copy words to complete a text: I live in Ontario. The ___________ (Indigenous People) live in Ontario.
- Watch a video about Indigenous cultures such as Evan’s Drum to learn more about Indigenous people. This film does not have
a lot of dialogue, but the dialogue is at a higher level, so stop the film and discuss what you see frequently.
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Copy the name of an Indigenous People near you.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Copy 2 to 3 highly familiar words to complete a very simple, very short guided text about the local Indigenous nation closest to you, such as I live in Alberta.
The Tsuut’ina live here.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- Indigenous cultures are an important part of Canadian culture, and learning about Indigenous cultures is part of learning about Canadian culture. Some learners come from countries with Indigenous Peoples, like learners from South America. Other learners may not be aware of Indigenous Peoples.
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:
- Teach learners that there are many different Indigenous cultures in Canada, and that Indigenous cultures are part of Canadian culture.
- 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 persecuted or discriminated against because of their culture or tribe may be triggered by discussions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
- 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:
- Teach learners that Canada is an inclusive, multicultural country, and that all people have equal rights in Canada.
- 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
- Allow learners choice:
- 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:
- Invite an Elder to visit the class.
- Visit an Indigenous cultural event like a powwow.
- Work with a small group to colour a large map of Canada and label your province / territory, community, and a local Indigenous People.
Realia:
- Maps
- Provincial / territorial flags
- Pictures depicting local Indigenous People if available
Units and Modules:
- Tutela (CCLB): Greetings and Introductions: CLB 1L/2L
- Tutela (ISANS): Canada Theme: CLB FL/1L
Lessons and Activities:
- Tutela: Gawiin Bimikawesiwin: Assimilative Policies CLB 1L/2L
- Tutela: Kichi-Asotamatowin: Land and Treaties CLB 1L/2L
- The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Canadian Indigenous Content
- Tutela (ISANS): Bookfolds for Canada Theme: CLB FL/1L
- Tutela (RODS): My Canada Book
- 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:
Detailed Sample Task
This exemplar is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and is designed to guide and inform your lesson and module planning. Consult the Canadian Language Benchmarks English as a Second Language for Adults for detailed performance descriptors at this benchmark and skill.
The information in this document is not exhaustive and can be expanded on. As well, you can use more learner-friendly language in your materials and assessments.
This is NOT a lesson or module plan.
