Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 4 - Reading
Comprehending Information

Community and Recreation

Real-World Task

Use a weather app to plan which activities to do on different days during a week-long holiday.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Weather vocabulary
Numbers to 40
Activity vocabulary for different weather – hiking, biking, going to the beach, camping, museums, shopping, watching movies, and so on.
Navigating apps on a Smartphone

Context:

In Canada, the weather can change quickly, so people often check forecasts daily, plan indoor and outdoor activities for different conditions, and bring extra clothing.
There are apps that can be used to check the weather and temperatures everyday in any city / location in Canada.
Weather apps usually show the weather, temperature and day of the week.
Many apps show the weather on the day that you look at it but also can have a forecast for the week ahead.
This task requires some digital literacy skills but can easily be adapted using a weather forecast obtained in a different format such as an online forecast projected on a screen for the class, an audio or a paper based forecast.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Weather vocabulary: sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, snowy, stormy, hot / warm, cool / cold
temperature (°C) / humidex / wind chill
chance of rain / precipitation
Forecast words over time: today / tomorrow, this weekend,
next week, high / low temperature, hourly forecast, five-day forecast, seven-day forecast
Activities to do on holidays such as hiking, biking, camping, museums and so on.

Sample Grammar:

Present simple: Tuesday is sunny. Let’s go to the park. Saturday is warm. We can go swimming.
Simple future with will: Friday will rain, so we can visit a museum. Sunday will be hot and sunny.
Giving reasons with “because”: I will bring an umbrella because it will be rainy.

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

The weather word usually comes at
the end of the sentence, following the temperature word: Today it is cool and rainy.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Knowing the weather helps you plan your day and what to wear.
The weather is a very popular topic for small talk in Canada.
The weather can change frequently in Canada.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What is the weather like today? How was the weather this past weekend? What is your favourite season in Canada for weather? What do you find challenging about the weather in Canada? How would you compare the weather and seasons in Canada with other countries where you have lived?
In pairs, learners discuss the weather and seasons in Canada and talk about the weather and seasons in other countries where they have lived. Each pair tries to come up with one thing they really like about the weather in Canada and one thing they find challenging. Pairs share these with the whole class.
Match picture flashcards showing different weather-related 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. Copy these words and definitions into a vocabulary notebook or digital document.
Use screenshots of a Canadian weather app (like WeatherCAN or the Weather Network). Discuss and label key parts of the screenshot, such as the icons for different conditions, the high and low temperature, the hourly forecast and the longer term forecast, and so on.
In pairs, answer simple questions based on the screenshots.
Complete a weather journal for a week: Every day, complete a calendar template with a description of the weather from the previous day. Look at the forecast for next week and add on the predictions for the weather such as the temperature, conditions and so on. In a week’s time, compare the forecast with the weather and discuss how accurate the weather forecast was.
Listen to a simplified audio, instructor-made if necessary, of a weather forecast such as “On Saturday, it will be sunny and cloudy. The temperature will be 21 degrees. On Sunday, it will be rainy. The humidex will be 28 ℃.” In small groups, learners choose which day will be best for different activities such as going to the beach, visiting a museum and so on.
Review the grammar rules for how to talk about the future using “will” and practice writing simple sentences that describe what learners plan to do in the upcoming week in simple terms.
Take jumbled sentences which include “will” verbs and holiday plans and put the words in the correct order.
Discuss as a class: What activities do you like to do on vacation? Are your preferences the same or different from other countries where you have lived? Are the activities the same in the different seasons? What do you like to do in summer? winter? spring? or fall? Make a list of different activities, for different seasons, on the board.
Write simple sentences about activities they like to do in a notebook or digital document. Share with a partner.
Make sentences using because as a conjunction, and discuss how because helps us to give reasons and explanations for what we do. Give examples connected to the weather, such as we can go to the beach tomorrow because it will be sunny and warm. Give each learner one made up weather forecast for tomorrow and ask them to create a sentence using because about what they will do.
Learners read three simple descriptions of the five-day forecast. They match the different weather forecasts to an image of
a person on vacation to choose the appropriate clothing and activities shown in the image to the forecast. Learners then create simple sentences about the images and weather forecasts to explain the reasons why.
Have a show and tell for learners to describe activities they enjoy doing on vacation.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read the forecast for the next five days and match the temperatures and weather with appropriate activities and clothing.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Use a screenshot of a weather app to match appropriate activities from a list of options of holiday activities to the weather forecast for different days.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Weather plays an important part in Canadian culture. In most communities in Canada, there is a significant range of temperatures from the hottest to the coldest days. Weather impacts the clothes we wear and the activities we do. Help learners to understand how to plan for the weather and what kinds of activities are done in different seasons in Canada.

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.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma triggers:

Learners who have come to Canada as refugees may not have chosen Canada so much as they chose to flee a place where they were unsafe. Be sensitive when discussing Canada that not all learners will feel equally enthusiastic about being in a new country.
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:

Invite a former learner as a guest speaker and ask them to speak about how they got used to the climate in Canada and how they make the most of every season.
Create a calendar of the daily weather and an accompanying graph tracking the changes in temperature, Note the high and low temperatures for the week / month.
Look at winter and summer community activities and discuss ways to stay active all year round.
Explore weather in other parts of Canada and other countries, including the countries that represent the learners in the class.
Talk about the differences. Talk about the weather in other countries and compare.

Realia:

Images of different weather and seasons across Canada
Images of different activities usually done in different seasons in Canada
Thermometers
Weather apps
Weather forecasts on YouTube

Units and Modules:

Lessons and Activities:

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Community