Detailed Sample Task: Stage I
CLB 4 - Reading
Comprehending Instructions
Global Citizenship
Real-World Task
Read and follow simple directions to the local recycling center for larger household items like appliances.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- Vocabulary related to recycling
and safe disposal of household items. - Knowledge of the strength of
suggestions / requirements in modal verbs (should, could, must).
Context:
- In Canada, you can recycle or safely dispose of more than just your beverage containers and paper products. Household items such as appliances, paint cans, batteries and tires should all be taken to the correct municipal site for disposal.
- Most cities and local municipalities have information on their websites about safe disposal of such items.
Vocabulary and Grammar
Sample Vocabulary:
- recycle
- dispose / disposal
- Eco station
- transfer station
- appliances
- scrap
- schedule,
- bulky items
- dump
- illegal dumping
- environment
- North / South / East / West
- turn left / right
- go straight ahead
- across from
Sample Grammar:
- must
- can
- should
- need to
- could
- may
Knowledge and Strategies
Textual and Functional Knowledge:
- Beginning to recognize connective words that indicate sequence, examples or additions (and, also, such) as, then, when reading.
- Beginning to recognize commonly formatted information, such as instructions, when reading.
Sociolinguistic Knowledge:
- Beginning to recognize formal recommendations and requirements when reading.
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- Discuss garbage disposal in learners’ countries of origin and in Canada
- Elicit and identify how many learners recycle items or have visited different recycling sites around the area.
- Using a simplified map with key places shown (school, recycling center, bottle depot, community centre, and so on.), review phrases for giving directions.
- Read a simplified text explaining why recycling / safe disposal of items no longer needed is important and share ideas about protecting the environment.
- Practice giving directions with several steps, such as “Start at the school. Go straight South for three blocks. Turn right at Centre Street. Which building is on your right?”
- Match pictures to words, using flashcards, to identify which items are recycled, which must be safely disposed of, which go in the garbage, goes to recycling vs. trash).
- Take part in role-playing: Learners use the simplified maps to give each other directions to locations in the area, perhaps
a favourite coffee shop, the library or park. - Read a simplified chart indicating which items are recycled in different ways. Using different modal verbs practice giving recommendations and requirements to a partner about different items from a set of illustrated flashcards.
- Read a simplified web page with information about using a recycling centre or eco station and answer questions related to the schedule, fees and other requirements such as, bringing ID.
- Listen to directions from the school to a location in the area and fill in the gaps in
the transcript, which are the verbs related
to giving directions.
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Read directions on how to get from point A to point B in the school and follow the directions.
- Looking at a map showing two locations, point A and B, put sentence strips about the directions to follow in sequential order or number the steps on a single page.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Read a short set of directions for how to get from a location, point A, to the local eco station to safely dispose of your household appliance. On a simplified map, draw the route you would take to go from point A
to the eco station.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- Recycling and safe disposal of household items is organized by local, municipal governments in Canada.
- Learners should be aware that they cannot dispose of household items in an unsafe or informal manner. Many items have specific rules about disposal.
- They need to find out where they can recycle or take household items that they are finished with.
- Most municipalities provide information on their website or have a number to call for information.
- It is illegal to simply dump unwanted items and can lead to a fine.
- Have learners compare how household items are disposed of in Canada with other countries.
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.
- Read formatted texts online, such as forms
- Navigate and use online learning management systems (LMS) such as Avenue.
- Evaluate online search results.
Instructors can:
- Dedicate time to improve digital literacy for learners.
- Make and/ or adapt digital materials.
- Introduce websites that are relevant to the task such as those found on your local government website that feature information about recycling/safe disposal of household items to residents.
- 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:
- Instructors can: Use diverse representations of people in all your learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQ+, 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:
- 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
- Allow learners choice:
- 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 recycling centre.
- Invite a guest speaker from the local municipality to provide an overview of recycling / safe disposal options.
- Set up a class project to set up recycling centres for the classroom.
- Create class posters to promote safe disposal of household items for other LINC students.
- Conduct a survey into the recycling habits of classmates or another LINC class.
Realia:
- Local information about recycling and safe disposal of household items
https://www.edmonton.ca/programs_services/garbage_waste/recycling - Local information about Items accepted at Drop-Off Depots
https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/recycling-organics-garbage/drop-off-depots/accepted-items/
Units and Modules:
Lessons and Activities:
- Tutela: Assessment Task, Reading about Recycling CLB 4 (adapt for the CLB level you teach).
- A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.
Multimedia:
Detailed Sample Task
This exemplar is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and is designed to guide and inform your lesson and module planning. Consult the Canadian Language Benchmarks English as a Second Language for Adults for detailed performance descriptors at this benchmark and skill.
The information in this document is not exhaustive and can be expanded on. As well, you can use more learner-friendly language in your materials and assessments.
This is NOT a lesson or module plan.
