Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 4 - Writing
Reproducing Information

Global Citizenship

Real-World Task

Write an email explaining how to make choices at the grocery store to reduce impact on the environment like using cloth bags when buying produce or choosing compostable disposable cups.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Vocabulary related to shopping and reusable containers and bags.
Awareness that it is common practice in Canada for stores not to provide free bags for groceries. Some coffee shops will also give you a discount for bringing a reusable cup.
Knowledge of sustainable options in grocery stores.

Context:

You can be more sustainable when grocery shopping by making small changes. Bring your own reusable bags and choose local and seasonal food because it uses less energy. Try to buy items with less packaging or use bulk stores and refill containers when possible. Plan your meals and make a list so you do not waste food. If you can, walk, bike, or use public transport to get to the store. These simple actions help protect the environment.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Common everyday English spelling and punctuation rules and conventions for simple sentences.

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Appropriate phrases and expressions for salutations and to thank.
Basic email writing conventions (such as subject lines and opening closing conventions).

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Beginning ability to use internet search skills to find reliable websites about sustainability.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What does sustainability mean? What is your experience with sustainability? What are some ways you try to be environmentally friendly when you are shopping or in other parts of life? What differences do you notice in the way people think about the environment in Canada and other countries where you have lived? How can we make small changes in our lives that help the environment? Use images to support your discussion.
Match vocabulary list words to images connected to sustainability. Now co-create definitions of each term. Learners record the words and definitions in a vocabulary notebook or digital document.
In small groups learners take 3-4 of the vocabulary words and make sentences using the words.
Listen to a teacher-made audio of a person describing how they make sustainable choices at the grocery store. Answer a set
of true / false questions about the audio.
Read the transcript of the audio above. Circle all of the vocabulary words and highlight all of the capitalization and punctuation.
Review the rules for punctuation, including some more complex punctuation such as apostrophes and semi-colons. Practice adding punctuation to a set of sentences about the environment.
In pairs, correct the spelling, punctuation and capitalization errors in a paragraph about grocery shopping. Copy the corrected paragraph into a notebook or digital document.
Discuss as a class how we can find tips for sustainable living and shopping on the internet, such as using key words as search terms. Talk about ways to find reliable information online. Learners work in pairs to search for useful and reliable websites with sustainable grocery shopping tips. Have a show and tell for learners to describe one specific sustainability tip they found and why they think it is a good idea.
Learners copy 3-4 sustainable grocery shopping tips from the websites they found to write a list about sustainability living in a notebook or digital document.
Read a sample email to a friend about sustainable shopping. Highlight key parts
of the email, including the greeting, main ideas,, and closing of the email. Answer basic 5-W questions about the text.
Review simple coordinating conjunctions to connect simple sentences, such as and, but, so. Look at an instructor-created paragraph about protecting the environment in Canada, which is made up of all simple sentences. Rewrite the sentences in a digital document with some of the sentences combined using coordinating conjunctions.
Complete an email template to write an email to a colleague / classmate to let them know about five ways to help the environment in everyday life.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Using information on a website, copy five tips for sustainable shopping to write a paragraph about sustainability.
Using information on a community flyer, copy a list of sustainable options for everyday life to write a short note to a friend.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Copy information from a website to write an email explaining how to make choices at the grocery store to reduce impact on the environment like using cloth bags when buying produce or choosing compostable disposable cups.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Not all cultures may emphasize environmentalism in the same way as Canadians do. Recognize that many countries around the world consume far fewer resources in everyday living and as such may have a lower impact on climate change.
Some learners may be new to the concept of sustainability or have different ideas about what is “eco-friendly” or responsible.

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.
Type information to appear on screen
Send and receive text messages and messages on other texting apps.
Send and receive email messages
Complete formatted texts online, such as forms
Navigate and use online learning management systems (LMS) such as Avenue.
Use a search engine to find information

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.
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:

Learners who experience food insecurity may not have the resources for taking steps to shop in a more sustainable way. Make sure you teach that there are sustainability options that can save money. This is also a good opportunity to make sure learners are aware of local food banks or food programs.
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.
Themes of global climate change can be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma or natural disasters. Always follow trauma-informed practice and watch out for learners who may need extra support.

Strategies:

Offer learners a choice of what to write about. Give any learner who is feeling triggered by writing about the environment a choice to write on a different topic, such as shopping second hand through thrift stores or online marketplaces or taking public transportation. These topics are still related to the module but may give learners a little more distance.
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 environmental organization to hear about ways to live more sustainably.
Invite a guest speaker from the waste management centre to provide an overview of how to recycle in the community.
Visit the local library around the time of Earth Day to see the books and materials related to the environment that are available.
Create posters explaining how to make sustainable choices when grocery shopping. Share the posters with another LINC class.

Realia:

Flyers / posters / websites on sustainable living
Picture books about environmental living

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): CLB 3/4 Caring for the Environment

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Speaking – CLB 3/4 – Sharing Information – Environment
Tutela: Environment Article Reading CLB 4
Tutela: Living Green Tips CLB 4 Listening
Tutela: CLB 3 speaking assessment green / recycle bins Earth Day (May need to be adjusted for your level).
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: