Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 1L - Listening
Comprehending Information

Canada

Real-World Task

Listen to 2-3 words about inclusion in your classroom like equal, respect, and inclusion.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Classroom vocabulary: teacher, student, class
There are people of different genders, cultures, faiths, etc.

Context:

Canada is an inclusive country.
Canada has the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guarantees the rights of all.
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:

Simple present: I am from…He/she is from…

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Different words can have the same meaning, like equal and same.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Canada is an inclusive country. Everyone has the same rights.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Learn a short dialogue: Where are you from? I am from… Practice with learners using their own information.
Discuss as a class: Who lives in Canada? Elicit from learners that there are people from many different countries and cultural backgrounds in Canada. Look at inclusive images of Canadians, and elicit from learners that there are many differences in people in Canada.
Work with learners to read a short message from a friend saying where they are from. Write the message on the board. Use your own city / community name, e.g. Hi. I am from Hamilton. Practice different reading approaches, such as choral reading and echo reading. Give learners large sticky notes with words from the sentence and have them match their sticky note to the correct word.
Have learners interview each other: Where are you from? I am from… Report back to the class where your partner is from: He is from… / She is from…
Teach vocabulary words using synonyms; gestures, signs, or actions; clear photographs; or through translation.
Practice the vocabulary using vocabulary cards with words and clear photographs. Use TPR (Total Physical Response). Call out the vocabulary word and have learners respond by pointing to the correct card or giving a sign or gesture.
Read a short, simple instructor-made story about inclusion in Canada. Read the story to learners and then choral read and echo read.
Have learners match vocabulary words to words in the story.
Listen to 1-2 short sentences about inclusion in Canada.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Listen to 2-3 words about inclusion in your classroom like equal, respect, and inclusion. Show comprehension by indicating a familiar picture that represents the word or responding with a familiar gesture or sign to represent the word. (Skill-using task matches the assessment task.)

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Listen to 2-3 words about inclusion in your classroom like equal, respect, and inclusion. Show comprehension by indicating a familiar picture that represents the word or responding with a familiar gesture or sign to represent the word.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Canada is a multicultural country, and Canadian culture includes the cultures of all the people who live in Canada. Discuss with learners, as best as you can in learner-friendly language and using visuals, what it means to live in a multicultural country.

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:

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.
Teach learners that Canada is an inclusive, multicultural country.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced trauma or discrimination based on their own culture may be triggered by discussions of culture and multiculturalism.
Learners who have come to Canada as refugees may not have chosen Canada so much as they chose to flee a place where they were unsafe. Be sensitive when discussing Canada that not all learners will feel equally enthusiastic about being in a new country.
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
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:

Celebrate all the cultures in your class by sharing traditions with each other.
Work together to colour the flags of all the cultures represented in the class.
If possible, visit a multicultural event.
Create a class calendar of cultural holidays and celebration of the learners in the class.

Realia:

Maps
Flags

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Greetings and Introductions: CLB 1L/2L
Tutela (ISANS): Canada Theme: CLB FL/1L

Lessons and Activities:

LINC 1 Classroom Activities: Canada (p. 85-120)
(Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (ISANS): Bookfolds for Canada Theme: CLB FL/1L
Tutela (RODS): My Canada Book
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 1L
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: