Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 4 - Reading
Getting Things Done

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Real-World Task

Read a short brochure for Pride Month in your community and compare several of the events to decide which one to attend.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Format of days and dates
Yes / no and wh- questions in the simple present
Knowledge of the rights of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Canada

Context:

Pride is a celebration of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, recognizing people of all genders and sexual orientations. In Canada, Pride is important because it reflects the country’s values of inclusion, diversity, and human rights for all citizens. Pride events, such as parades, festivals, and community gatherings, bring people together to celebrate diversity and show support for equality. Pride Month is celebrated in June in Canada.
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. It is not necessary to go into the specifics of 2SLGBTQIA+ in the lesson. It is enough to say that families can be made up differently including a man and woman, two women, two men, single-parent families, blended families, and so on.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

pride / Pride Month
2SLGBTQIA+
flag
costume
event
parade
dance
concert
celebrate
other occasions that can be celebrated with events for extension activities

Sample Grammar:

Simple future tense
Prepositions of time and place
Compound sentences with coordinating conjunctions: and, or, but, so
Giving reasons using because: I am going to the parade because my friend is in it.

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Format of a brochure / poster / webpage / social media post
Textual features such as headings, subheadings, details, pictures, graphics and so on
Skimming to determine purpose
Scanning to find specific information

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Friends often attend social and cultural events, such as Pride events, together. These events are usually very inclusive and all community members are welcome to attend.
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. It is not necessary to go into the specifics of 2SLGBTQIA+ in the lesson. It is enough to say that families can be made up differently including a man and woman, two women, two men, single-parent families, blended families, and so on.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What is 2SLGBTQIA+?
It is not necessary to name each letter of the acronym but rather to teach that there are people who love their partners whether man, woman or other. Teach that there are many 2SLGBTQIA+ people in Canada, they are protected by rights and freedoms, and often spend time with others from their same community. What is Pride Month? When is Pride Month?
Look at websites for Pride events in your area. Discuss as a class the variety of events. There are often parades, dances, talks, concerts, sports events, drag shows, and so on.
Discuss as a class: How do we find out about local events? Elicit ideas about posters, “word-of-mouth”, brochures, social media, newspapers, websites and so on. Discuss: What information is included in an advertisement, like a brochure or poster?
Read a simple, instructor-made brochure to an event. Identify what is happening at the event as well as the time, day, date, and location.
Listen to an instructor-created conversation between two friends who are discussing a local Pride event. Answer a set of open-ended questions about their suggestions for where to get help and support. Read the dialogue aloud.
Review the different prepositions used
to describe when and where events will take place, such as on, at, in and so on.
Complete a simple paragraph about a community multicultural event which has missing prepositions. Practice reading the paragraph aloud with a partner taking turns to read one sentence each.
Read a simple instructor-made story about a Pride event. Match vocabulary cards to words in the story.
Re-read the story with a partner and retell the story to each other. Sequence pictures from the story. Read the story multiple times over the course of several lessons to practice pronunciation, intonation and fluency.
Review coordinating conjunctions and, or, but, so and practice combining sentences to create compound sentences.
Read a simple, instructor-made brochure to an event. Identify what is happening at the event as well as the time, day, date, and location.
Look at the website for a Pride event.
Work with a partner to write a simple brochure for the event. Use a checklist to make sure you’ve included the type of
event, time, day, date, and location.
Discuss factors that are important for deciding to attend a community event or not.
Compare information from two events
and discuss strategies for making a choice. Review two events and tell a classmate why you would prefer to attend one over
the other.
Review ways you can give reasons. Focus on: because when making a choice. These could include: “I am going to the parade because my friend is in it.” or “I am going
to the Pride concert because my favourite band is playing.”
Listen to someone talking about their experience attending a Pride event and answer questions.
As a class, explore the website for a local community event, such as Pride or another community celebration. Discuss effective strategies for reading information on a webpage. Begin by looking at the page title, menu, headings, images, buttons, and event banner to predict what information the page contains. Next, quickly scroll through the page to identify the main sections and get a general understanding of the event. Finally, scan the webpage to locate specific information without reading every word, such as the event date, time, location, cost, accessibility information, or contact details. In pairs, explore a second event webpage and use these strategies to find one or two key details, such as when and where the event takes place.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Compare 2 events for another national holiday (Canada Day, Remembrance Day) and decide which one to attend. Provide a reason based on the information from the texts.
Review 2 events and tell a classmate why you would prefer to attend one over the other.
Using information from a simplified website above, for a local community event, Pride or another celebration. Write an email to a friend to invite them to join you at the event. Include the date, time and the location of the event.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read a short brochure for Pride Month in your community and compare several of the events to decide which one to attend.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

People from different cultures may have different views on gender and sexuality. You can respect their opinions, but gently teach the class that Canada is an inclusive country, and everyone in Canada has the right to no discrimination.
Use positive, neutral, and inclusive language (e.g., partner instead of boyfriend / girlfriend ). Focus on themes of respect, equality, and human rights, rather than personal beliefs. Emphasize that Pride is about celebrating diversity and belonging for everyone.
Race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics and disability are all protected grounds under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

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.
Some learners may have different views. You can be sensitive to their differing opinions, but all learners benefit from EDI, and all learners have the right to an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
Learners who are 2SLGBTQIA+ may have faced or continue to face considerable danger in their countries, communities, or homes.
Be sensitive to this real danger. Never require learners to define their gender or sexuality.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma triggers:

Learners may have experienced discrimination, racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny or gender-based violence. Discussions of EDI may be triggering: be aware that there may be learners who need help, but it may also provide some comfort and support.
Learners who have experienced discrimination or persecution may find this topic triggering.
Learners who are 2SLGBTQIA+ may have experienced discrimination in other countries or in Canada and may not feel safe discussing Pride.
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:

If learners feel uncomfortable with this topic, it might be easier to read about fictional people. Sometimes fiction provides a separation that allows learners to engage with a topic they find challenging.
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 the local library to search the community bulletin boards for workshops and learning events. Learners can also identify specific events like Pride.
Event poster scavenger hunt: In teams, learners scan a variety of event posters and identify key facts from each one. They can then report back to the class.
Create basic posters to simply identify a fun community event with the date, time, and location.
Read a story about a 2SLGBTQIA+ ally
Invite someone from an advocacy organization for 2SLGBTQIA+ people to speak to the class about gender and sexuality. Make sure you prepare both the speaker for the level of the learners and the learners for what they will hear.

Realia:

Pride flag
Website for Pride Month in your community
Posters or pamphlets for Pride events
Authentic event flyers, posters, or brochures for local events

Units and Modules:

Lessons and Activities:

Sex, Gender, and Sexuality Lessons: CLB 5+
(Not the right level, but you can use to educate yourself or adapt)
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 4L
(For literacy but can be adapted).
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: