Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 1 - Reading
Interacting with Others

Canada

Real-World Task

Read a very short, very simple message from a Francophone Canadian friend saying where they are from in Canada.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Some basic vocabulary related to community such as language, food,
music and so on.
Knowledge of how communities connect and celebrate.

Context:

Canada is built on a diverse network of communities which include a range of linguistic, cultural, ethnic, and regional communities. Many people identify strongly with both their local neighborhood and their cultural or language group.
Francophone communities exist in every province and territory, not just Quebec. They play a vital role in maintaining French language and culture across Canada.
Other heritage language communities, such as Filipino (Tagalog), Mandarin, Punjabi, Arabic, Spanish, and many others are part of Canada’s multilingual identity.
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:

language
French / Francophone
English
from
Quebec / New Brunswick / Ontario / Alberta
Local: very simple place / community names

Sample Grammar:

Simple present: I am from…
capital letters for names and place names

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Beginning recognition of main ideas.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Beginning recognition of textual clues to interpret the purposes of a text.

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: What languages do people speak in Canada? Elicit English and French from the learners. Also elicit many other languages, including their own languages and one or two local Indigenous languages. Ask learners how many people in Canada speak each of these languages. You don’t need to use numbers or percentages. Communicate that lots of people in Canada speak English as a first language (approximately 56%), and many people speak French as a first language (approximately 22%).
Watch a very simple video of a Francophone Canadian speaking about their culture or look at images which represent Francophone culture in Canada.
Look at a large map of Canada. Elicit from learners which province / territory you live in and find it on the map. Ask learners where Francophone people live in Canada. Teach learners they live everywhere, but especially in Quebec and New Brunswick.
Discuss as a class: What community / communities are you a part of? What are one or two things you would like to share about your community? What activities do you do with your community? Is this the same or different from the community in your home country? How is it the same or different? Why is community an important part of life?
Listen to your instructor read the vocabulary words aloud. Hold up the matching image when you hear each word. Next listen to the list of vocabulary words again and this time hold up the correct word card. Now copy the list of vocabulary words into a vocabulary notebook or digital document.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
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 Halifax. 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…
Read a very simple story about five people in Canada that follows the repeated format:” _____ is from _____.”” _____ speaks _____.” As best as possible, use your community or very familiar communities, e.g. David is from Calgary. David speaks English. Jean is from Quebec. Jean speaks French. Elise is from Quebec. Elise speaks French.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read a very short, very simple message from a Newcomer friend saying the community / town / city they came to Canada from, such as, I am from Mexico City. Circle the matching place name.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read a very short, very simple message from a Francophone Canadian friend saying where they are from in Canada.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Canada is officially bilingual: English and French have equal status
at the federal level.
Francophone communities exist across the country, not only in Quebec but also in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and the North. Some Newcomers may be surprised that French is used outside Quebec.
Francophone communities often center around language, culture, and shared traditions (e.g., Francophonie Week, French media, local schools). This reflects a broader Canadian value: belonging to a community while being part of a multicultural society.
In Canada, we tend to focus on language, culture, and events when describing community rather than politics or religious issues.

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.
Read information from a screen.
Send and receive text messages and messages on other texting apps.
Send and receive email messages.

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).

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Use diverse representations of people in all your learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQIA+, 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.
Recognize and teach learners that Canada is a diverse place and
has people from many different cultures. Canadian communities represent the different cultures of the different people in Canada.
Refugee learners may not have had a choice in leaving their countries and coming to Canada; recognize that some learners may have mixed feelings about being in Canada. Allow learners to have their own opinions and feelings about Canada.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma triggers:

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.
Learners who have experienced discrimination or persecution may find this topic triggering.
Learners may have experienced discrimination, racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny or gender-based violence. Discussions of community may be triggering: be aware that there may be learners who need help, but it may also provide some comfort and support.

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:

Take a field trip to a local Francophone school or community centre to see the language used and services and events hosted there.
Visit local multicultural events that may be held throughout the year.
Have a mini-multicultural day to allow learners to showcase their culture.
Learn a few words in French such as hello, goodbye or “My name is ____”.

Realia:

Authentic bilingual signs or images of such signs
Food packaging with French and English labels
Maps highlighting French communities in your province or across Canada.

Units and Modules:

Tutela: CLB 1 Module Plan – Canadian Culture
Tutela: CLB 1 Understanding Canada’s Peoples Module
Tutela (ISANS): Canada Theme: CLB FL/1L
(For literacy, but may be appropriate for CLB 1)

Lessons and Activities:

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: