Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 3 - Speaking
Sharing Information

Shopping

Real-World Task

Tell a family member how to find the best deals at the grocery store.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Vocabulary related to shopping and some basic awareness of grocery discounting practices in Canada.
Knowledge of shopping options in Canada, such as supermarkets, big box stores like Canadian Tire or Walmart, online options like Amazon.
Knowledge of how to make comparisons and how to weigh choices between items based on specific criteria such as price and quality as well as the most common discounting practices of stores.

Context:

To find the best deals at Canadian grocery stores, check the weekly flyers online or in the store to see what is on sale. Also, look for price-matching if another store has a lower price. Store brand products are usually cheaper than name brands. When possible, buy in bulk and check the unit price to save money. There are loyalty cards or apps which help to earn points and get future discounts. Lastly, there are often clearance or discounted items near the best-before date that are safe to buy and consume and can be a big cost savings.
There are apps such as Flipp that tell you where the items that you are planning to buy are the cheapest. Great for a city or larger town where there are many stores in close proximity to each other.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

(Choose between 8-10 vocabulary items for the lesson.)

grocery store / supermarket
fruit / vegetables / meat / dairy / bread / canned food / drink
price / cost
sale / special / discount / deal
flyer / catalogue
store brand / generic
size / pack / kilo / litre
loyalty card / points
check / compare / buy / save / use / plan
weekly
more / less / cheaper / expensive

Sample Grammar:

Comparative adjectives
Modals for recommendations,
such as should or can

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Connective words and phrases to signal chronology (first, then).
Cohesion links between sentences (pronoun references).
Convey intended purpose of an utterance through intonation and language.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: How is grocery shopping in Canada and other countries where you have lived different or similar? How do you find the best deals when you are grocery shopping in Canada? Which stores often have the best deals on different items? Do you check flyers? Do you check paper flyers or online flyers? Do you share the best deal with family members? Do you use coupons when you do your shopping? What is the best way to find coupons? What is price matching? How can price matching help you save money?
Match picture flashcards showing different grocery shopping vocabulary items with images. Then add an additional set of flashcards with simple definitions for each term and match these to the images and vocabulary terms.
Listen to a short instructor-made audio describing how to find good deals each week at the grocery store such as You can check the online flyer to find what is on sale. Answer a set of yes / no questions about the suggestions.
In pairs, complete a set of sentences that describe everyday ways to save money on your grocery bill. Each sentence is missing adjectives that describe the costs of different products. The store brand items usually cost less., or The items in the flyer are cheaper than other brands.
Review the grammar rules for how to use comparative adjectives and practice writing simple sentences that compare grocery items in simple terms.
Complete exercises that practice comparatives.
Take jumbled sentences which include comparative adjectives and the cost of grocery items and put the words in the correct order. Copy the sentences into an electronic document or notebook.
Have a show and tell for learners to describe one specific step they take to save money on their grocery bill, such as Each week I check the online flyer to find the best deals.
Read a simple description of saving money in grocery stores. The description might describe the steps the person takes each week to find deals such as First, I compare the prices of my most important groceries on the online flyers. Then, I see which grocery store has the best deals on specific items I need like paper towels or peanut butter. Lastly, I see if any of the stores have price matching to save me going to every different store. Answer some basic questions on ways to save money. Discuss these ideas as a class. Identify how the description uses connective words like first, then, lastly to organize the information. Read the description again and circle all of the connective words used to make sure the information is well organized and easy to follow.
In pairs, read two grocery store flyers.
As a pair, prepare a presentation on the two flyers and name which store you would recommend for grocery shopping this week and give 1-2 reasons for your recommendation.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

After comparing two grocery store flyers, role play explaining to a friend which store is the best place to buy a list of 8-10 grocery items.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Role play telling a family member how to find the best deals at the grocery store.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

People from other countries may have different options for purchasing groceries such as small markets, open-air markets, corner stores rather than large supermarkets. Also, concepts like flyers, loyalty cards, and bulk buying may be unfamiliar. Some learners may prefer local stores or culturally specific or international stores, so examples should be flexible.
Learners may eat different foods such as vegetarian, halal, kosher, and so on. When giving examples, use broad categories such as fruit, vegetables, meat alternatives so all learners can relate.
In some cultures, family members share shopping responsibilities, while in others, one person usually shops. Some learners may experience changes to gender roles when they come to Canada.
For some, this may be a welcome change, but for others it may be challenging. Instructors can encourage discussion about gender roles with grocery shopping, as well as when seeking support for your family.

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.
Use familiar apps, social media platforms and web pages.
Read information from a screen.
Navigate camera and microphone
Adjust volume on device
Use videoconferencing technology for online meetings.

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.
Introduce tools and apps that can aid learners in coping with communication barriers, such as translation, pronunciation, text to speech, speech to text tools and so on.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Learners may prioritize family needs, cultural or religious restrictions such as halal or vegan options as a priority. Instructors should create space for personal and cultural decision-making, not a right or wrong model.
Recognize that issues related to economic disadvantage are often stigmatized. Instructors can work to reduce the stigma by discussing that many Canadians seek out the best deals for grocery shopping.

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.

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:

Take a field trip to a local store, such as Canadian Tire or Walmart. Tour the various departments to look at the different goods available in the weekly flyers.
Invite a guest speaker to share information about finding discounts on groceries.
Complete an online scavenger hunt of different discounts using a grocery store flyer.
Create a classroom poster featuring tips for finding the best deals.
Practice using the app Flipp to demonstrate how to find the
deals/ sales in your local community, if applicable.

Realia:

Printed or actual online shopping websites
Email receipts for online purchases
Grocery store flyers

Units and Modules:

Lessons and Activities:

Multimedia