Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 2L - Listening
Comprehending Information

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Real-World Task

Listen to a couple of sentences about simple rights in Canada
and name or point to pictures of two of your rights.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Provinces in Canada
Subject pronouns: I, you, he, she,
it, we, they

Context:

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees basic rights
and freedoms to all people in Canada.
There are protected grounds in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. People may not be discriminated against based on these protected grounds, including race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and disability.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Simple present
Preposition to: have the right to…

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Each item in a list of rights will start in
the same way, e.g. You have the right to…

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a very important document in Canada.
All people in Canada have the right
to equality and no discrimination.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: Has anyone heard of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? What is a right? What is the Charter of Rights? What does it guarantee? Are there rights in your country of origin?
Use word and picture cards to practice the vocabulary.
There are seven categories of rights and freedoms under the Charter: fundamental freedoms (the freedom to practice your religion and to speak your mind, including to protest against the government), democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights, official language rights, and minority education rights. Write these on the board in clear, simple language, and illustrate with large, easy-to-understand clear photographs. Use the same photographs for each right throughout the module. e.g. You have the right to your religion. All citizens have the right to vote. You have the right to move to another province. The police and courts must be fair. You have the right to equality (everyone is the same). Depending on your class, you may choose to focus on a few of these rights. Explain the rights to the class.
Elicit the rights and freedoms from the class and write them on the board. Hand out a clear photograph or symbol to go with each right and have learners tape them by the correct right on the board.
Have learners copy from their vocabulary cards to fill in the blanks in simple sentences about the rights, illustrated by the same photographs.
Read a very short, instructor-made, simple story about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Read it to the class several times before choral reading the story.
In pairs, choose one of the rights and explain to your partner what it is and why
it is important to you.
Use chants, repetition, and games to practice the simple present, especially the forms of to have. e.g. Have learners sit in a circle around a table. Place several common items on the table, such as a stapler, book, pencil, etc. Have learners take an item. Go around in the circle. The first learner says, I have _______. The next learner says, I have _______ and he/she has _______. The third learner repeats what the first two learners have, and so on.
Unscramble simple sentences about rights, e.g. have/you/right/the/move/to becomes You have the right to move.
Look at Five Things You May Not Know about the Charter as a class. Read and simplify the facts about the charter and discuss as a class.
Sing This Land is Your Land
(Canadian Version)

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Listen to a short, simple dialogue about two or three rights.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Listen to a couple of sentences about simple rights in Canada and name or point to pictures of two of your rights.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Some learners may have different views. You can be sensitive to their differing opinions, but all learners benefit from EDI, and all learners have the right to an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
Race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics and disability are all protected grounds under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Some learners may have lived in countries that do not have guaranteed human rights. These situations can be very complex,
and their feelings about Canada and their countries can also be complicated. Share the facts about rights in Canada, but avoid judgement about “good” or “bad” countries.

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.
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.

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.
This task focuses on understanding rights, including the right to no discrimination based on the protected grounds. Make sure that all learners understand their rights.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Many learners, including learners who are BIPOC, who identify as women, and who are 2SLGBTQIA+, may experience or have experienced discrimination. They may be triggered by discussions of rights and freedoms, but they may also feel empowered to know what their rights are in Canada. Make sure that all learners understand the right to no discrimination.
Learners who have experienced injustice, such as unlawful imprisonment, detainment, or torture, may find discussions of legal rights triggering. Watch out for learners who need extra support.
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:

Learn about the many different cultures in Canada, including Francophone and Indigenous cultures. Read a simple story from Francophone or Indigenous cultures and their rights in Canada,
that have been fought for.
If possible, visit the lobby of the provincial legislature in your province.
Work together to create a class poster of the rights and freedoms
in learner-friendly language.

Realia:

Images for each of the rights and freedoms
Maps

Units and Modules:

Tutela (ISANS): Canada Theme: CLB FL/1L (Not the right level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela (ISANS): Bookfolds for Canada Theme: CLB FL/1L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Canadian Indigenous Content
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 2L
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: