Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 2 -Reading
Getting Things Done

Canada

Real-World Task

Find the name of a province or territory, its capital city and find an important tourist attraction in an instructor made or adapted travel brochure.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Some basic vocabulary related to geography and tourism such as visit, local, vacation, and so on.
Some basic knowledge of Canada, including the 10 provinces and 3 territories. Also, some basic awareness of the capital cities of individual provinces.

Context:

In Canada, there are ten provinces and three territories. Each province has its own government, geography, and unique travel attractions. The government of each province / territory is located in the capital city of the province or territory.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Basic word order of statements
Basic grammar structures of the simple present tense
Capital letters for names of provinces, capital cities and tourist attractions with “names”.

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Beginning recognition of common written formats, such as travel brochures.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Cultural references

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What province do we live in? Have you been to any other provinces in Canada? What is the capital city of our province? What are the capital cities of other provinces in Canada? What are some fun places to visit in our city / town / community / province Have you been to the local museum / beach / lake / park? Where would you take family or friends in this city / town / community / province if they visited you?
On a simplified map of your province, attach labels with vocabulary words to various locations.
Listen to a short simplified (possibly instructor-made) audio describing a visit
to a local tourist attraction. Using the simplified map, with a partner circle all of the places mentioned in the audio.
Match flash cards with vocabulary words to cards depicting corresponding images. Copy the words into a vocabulary notebook or an online vocabulary journal to use in later activities.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Teach learners how to skim a text to get an idea what it is about. First look at the title and headings, then look at the first sentence, and also look at images to give clues. Show the whole class two texts,
one about Alberta and one about Newfoundland and ask them to quickly decide which text is which by using skimming strategies.
Review the grammar rules for the syntax of sentences to describe places using the simple present tense, such as “Halifax Public Gardens is a beautiful place.”
Take short, simple jumbled sentences about local attractions in your province and in pairs put the words into the correct order.
Copy the sentences into a notebook or into a digital document.
Teach learners how to scan the text for key words to find one small piece of information. Capital letters can show a place name, numbers can show an address or a date and images can help find information. Look at a website about a local tourist attraction and ask learners to scan for one piece of information from the page.
Read an instructor-made simple description of the capital city of the province. Answer a set of simple true / false statements about the reading. Repeat this activity with other instructor-made pamphlets of some major attractions in your city, province or Canada.
Ask your partner, their favourite place to visit on the weekend in summer. How about in winter? Change partners and share your ideas with a new partner.
Have a show and tell where each learner names a favourite tourist location in Canada or another country and one thing they like about this place.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read a simplified description of a visit
to a local tourist attraction and show understanding of the main idea and 1-2 details by circling true / false statements.
Look at a simplified map of your region of Canada, such as the Maritimes. Circle the names of the provinces and their capital cities.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Find the name of a province or territory, its capital city and find an important tourist attraction in an instructor made or adapted travel brochure. Identify 1-2 key details by matching questions and answers on a simple handout.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Some learners may know little or nothing about Canada’s geography. Others may be more familiar but still struggle with place names, pronunciation, or the idea of provinces / territories. Support teaching with visuals such as labeled maps, real brochures and avoid assuming prior knowledge.

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.
Scan online resources to find information.

Instructors can:

Make and/ or adapt digital materials.
Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
Teach reading strategies such as skimming and scanning to find information on websites.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Travel brochures and websites often show white, wealthy, outdoorsy tourists, which might not reflect learners’ lived realities. 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.
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.
For newcomers, talking about places in Canada can help build a sense of place and identity, but it may be triggering as a reminder that they are still new to the place and are still adjusting. Some may feel overwhelmed or disconnected.

Strategies:

Give learners advance warning of this topic and be aware that there may be learners who require support.
Promote belonging and engagement by encouraging cultural sharing of lived experience. This can be as simple as including the option to share about another country in the world rather than just focussing on Canada.
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 visitor centre to collect brochures
and see local tourist attraction promotions.
Visit a local museum or other attraction to explore the site.
Create very simple posters / infographics naming the province,
the capital city and one must-visit tourist attraction in the local area.
Create a Canada wall poster. Each learner prints one label for a province, city or attractions to add to the poster.
Create travel brochures for places / attractions that may be important
to the learner. Images can usually be found online.

Realia:

Maps of Canada
Travel brochures from various local tourist attractions
Tourism websites and social media pages

Units and Modules:

Tutela: Canada: Its Provinces and Territories. Listen and Read. Find.
Tutela: Low Literacy – My Canada Book (May need to be adapted for your level).

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Assessment Task CLB 2 Canada’s Provinces
Tutela: Assessment Task CLB 1-2 Canada-City and Province
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: