Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 4 - Reading
Getting Things Done

Banking & Numeracy

Real-World Task

Read a utility bill to find out how much the late payment penalty charge is and calculate the total amount that will be due.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Basic utility bill vocabulary: bill, electricity / hydro, telephone, water
Numbers to 1000
Amounts with decimals (dollars and cents)

Context:

Most bills have a due date; beyond that date, there is usually a penalty charge and / or interest.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Format of charts with rows and columns
Future with will: The payment will be…

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Recognition of text types and formats, such as utility bills.
Recognition of the context clues to interpret the purpose of a text.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Formal and informal language.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What are utilities? Brainstorm utilities in your area, using the local names, e.g. electricity / hydro or the names of specific companies or providers. What utilities did you pay in countries where you have lived previously?
Discuss as a class: What is the difference between owning and renting? What are the different kinds of homes you can rent? Brainstorm types of housing such as house, basement apartment, apartment in an apartment block, townhouse / row house, and so on. Discuss as a class: the utility bills you pay may depend on your type of housing and whether you own or rent. What is a due date? What are late penalties?
Use vocabulary cards with words, pictures, and very simple definitions to practice the vocabulary. Do activities such as matching, filling in the blanks, and crosswords.
Project a simplified instructor-made utility bill on the board. Elicit from learners what they already know about reading utility bills. Elicit as much information as you can, such as the name of the company, the type of utility, the amount due, the due date, and so on. Make a list of new vocabulary on the board: utility, amount, total, due date, late penalty, and charge.
Match the words from the vocabulary list to simple definitions. Complete a set of sentences with key words missing using the words from the list.
Create a class word bank for banking and bill payment vocabulary to use throughout the skill building activities and module. Copy the words into a vocabulary notebook or digital vocabulary journal.
Listen to a conversation, likely instructor-created, between two friends discussing their household bills. Complete a table listing each person’s bills each month. Using a transcript of the conversation, underline all the vocabulary words in the text. Practice reading the dialogue aloud with a partner. Practice multiple times over the course of several lessons to match the instructor for pronunciation, intonation and fluency.
Review the future tense with will. Practice the future tense in a variety of ways including filling in the blanks, completing sentence stems, and writing sentences.
Read instructor-made utility bills and identify key information: name of company, type of utility, total amount, due date, and total amount with late penalty. Share your findings with a classmate and compare answers.
Work with a partner to complete a jigsaw activity with utility bills. Partner A has a bill with some missing information and Partner B has the same bill with other missing information. Ask your partner questions to complete your bill and respond to your partner’s questions.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read an instructor-made utility bill. Follow instructions to circle / underline / draw a box around different information on the bill (or use different coloured pens to circle in blue, circle in red, and so on).

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read a utility bill to find out how much
the late payment penalty charge is and find the total amount that will be due after that date. Demonstrate understanding by answering comprehension questions.
Use an instructor-made utility bill that has the same format as other bills from the
skill-building activities.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Recognize that issues related to economic disadvantage are often stigmatized. Instructors can work to reduce the stigma.
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. A bank may only communicate directly with an account holder rather than allowing family members to complete transactions on their behalf.
Instructors can encourage discussion about gender roles with finances, but address concerns with sensitivity but teach that Canada is equitable and inclusive to people of all genders.
Some learners, including women and young learners, may not be in control of their family finances and may not have access to information, including which bills they pay. Whether or not learners can speak to their own situation, it is helpful and empowering for all learners to understand how utility bills work.

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.
Scan online resources to find information.
Send and receive text messages and messages on other texting apps.
Send and receive email messages
Read formatted texts online, such as forms
Navigate and use online learning management systems (LMS) such as Avenue.
Recognize a phishing attempt of a scam message.
Evaluate online search results.
Open and read PDF attachments to email.

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.
Teach reading strategies such as skimming and scanning to find information on websites.
Use digital tools such as translation or pronunciation tools to support language learning and foster autonomous learning.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.

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.
Learners who are women may not have had access to their own finances. Make sure that all learners are aware of their rights in Canada and are aware of services and resources that can help them.
There are often programs available to help learners with financial literacy and basic financial planning. Research programs in your area and share this information with the learners.

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 lived or are living in poverty and learners who have lost their homes and possessions may find discussions of banking, money, or finance triggering.

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:

Invite someone who specializes in financial literacy to speak to the class.
Have learners read due dates from utility bills and add them to a calendar.

Realia:

Sample bills
Utility websites
Play money

Units and Modules:

Tutela: Money and Banking
Settlementatwork.org: English for Financial Literacy CLB 1-8

Lessons and Activities:

Multimedia:

YouTube (Ellii): Going to the bank – Everyday English dialogues
YouTube (RightStart Newcomer Services): Going to the Bank
Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Banking and Finance