Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 4 - Speaking
Interacting with Others

Indigenization

Real-World Task

Ask your coworkers to wear an orange shirt to honour National Truth and Reconciliation Day
and provide 2 to 3 reasons.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Some basic vocabulary related to Indigenous Peoples in Canada, First Nations, Metis and Inuit.
Indigenous Peoples were the first peoples in Canada and live everywhere in Canada.
Present simple

Context:

There are three groups of Indigenous Peoples in Canada: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, and there are many different Indigenous Peoples and cultures within those groups.
Every place in Canada is traditional Indigenous land.
We acknowledge the land we are on
as a sign of respect.
National Truth and Reconciliation Day
is September 30th.
Wearing orange on National Truth and Reconciliation Day honours survivors of residential schools. It signifies respect, remembrance and support for reconciliation.
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.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Polite request with modals: Can you…? Could you?
Reasons with “because”
Connectors such as also, and and so on.

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Simple structure of request:
greeting- request- reason- closing
Tone for making polite requests

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

National Truth and Reconciliation Day honours survivors of residential schools.
Wearing orange shows respect, remembrance and support for reconciliation.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: Who are Indigenous Peoples? Where do they live? What languages do they speak (some speak English, French, and Indigenous languages)? Do you have Indigenous Peoples in countries where you have lived previously? Are their cultures similar or different from your own? Are they respected in your country or origin?
Discuss as a class: What is special about September 30? Introduce “National Day of Truth and Reconciliation”. Does anyone know what this day represents? Has anyone seen people wearing orange shirts on a special day in Canada? Explain about the holiday on September 30th and how many people wear orange shirts on this day. The reason for the holiday can be explained in simple terms: “In Canada, many years ago, children of Indigenous Peoples were taken from their homes and families and sent to residential schools, or schools where they were forced to live. They couldn’t speak their languages or practice their cultures and many children were hurt. On this day, we honour the survivors and families and learn how to be kind, respectful and fair to Indigenous Peoples today.”
Teach the task vocabulary. Have learners copy words to complete a mini-dictionary and practice the vocabulary by doing activities such as crossword puzzles, matching, and fill in the blanks.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
As a class, look at a map of Canada. Find your province or territory on the map. Find your city, town, or community on the map.
As a class, explore the website: Whose Land. Look up whose territory you are in.
Practice saying the name(s) of the Indigenous Peoples whose traditional land you are on. Focus on one Nation at first.
Review making requests using “can” and “could” “Can you bring me some tea?”, “Could I borrow a pencil?”, “Can you cook dinner tonight” and so on.
Listen to a short conversation between two coworkers where one is asking the other to wear an orange shirt to work on National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. As a class, identify the reasons the coworker tells the other coworker to wear the orange shirt. Write the reasons on the board.
Practice giving reasons using “because”: Use easy examples such as “I use an umbrella it is rainy”, “I drink coffee in the morning because I am tired”, “I wash the dishes because they are dirty”, “I take the bus because I don’t have a car” and so on. Practice matching short statements with reasons.
In pairs, practice making simple sentences with because. Expand to making simple requests with a reason such as “Can you pick up some bananas because I need to put them in my son’s lunch?”, “Could you call my husband because we are ready to go home?”. “Could you finish this work because I have to go home early because my child is sick” and so on.
Complete a cloze exercise for a short dialogue between coworkers about having an office party, Identify the reasons in the dialogue. Underline the polite requests.
Read a short story about Orange Shirt
Day / National Truth and Reconciliation Day and identify the vocabulary words and underline the reasons for wearing an orange shirt. Practice reading as a class, echo and choral reading and then practice in pairs. Focus on intonation, pronunciation and fluency.
Watch part or all of a video about Indigenous cultures such as Evan’s Drum. Ask learners to point out Evan and his mother. Ask learners what Evan is learning. Ask them if and why / why not they think it’s important for Evan and his mother to learn to drum.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Ask your coworkers to do some extra work for you in the office and give 2 or 3 reasons.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Ask your coworkers to wear an orange shirt to honour National Truth and Reconciliation Day and provide 2 to 3 reasons.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Recognize and teach learners that Canada is a diverse place and
has people from many different cultures. Canadian culture includes the cultures of all people in Canada, including Indigenous Peoples.
In Canada, “Indigenous” means the first peoples who lived here before settlers came. However, Indigenous does not mean one identical group. There are many different Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Each one has its own language, culture, traditions, and teachings. Indigenous Peoples in the forest, mountains, prairies, or North have different foods, homes, stories and ceremonies. So we say there are many Indigenous Nations, not just one way of being Indigenous.

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.
Read information from a screen.
Navigate camera and microphone
Adjust volume on device

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.
Introduce tools and apps that can aid learners in coping with communication. barriers, such as translation, pronunciation, text to speech, speech to text tools and so on.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

It is optimal to ask an Indigenous person to share their Indigenous stories and knowledge.
Ensure that the images and cultural representations of Indigenous Peoples are free from stereotypes and biases.
Raise learner awareness of the need for using appropriate language when discussing and addressing Indigenous peoples.
Use authentic Indigenous content, sources and materials whenever possible to support discussion and learning.

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.
Newcomers who come from Indigenous groups in their home countries may be triggered by considerations of the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Teaching an Indigenization theme will result in some difficult conversations and may revisit past trauma, oppression and discrimination your learners have experienced.

Strategies:

Acknowledge that you are learning too, and avoid speaking for Indigenous peoples.
Use resources and voices from Indigenous communities when possible (e.g., guest speakers, videos, or approved materials).
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:

Visit a local Indigenous cultural centre or museum to learn about aspects of Indigenous culture.
Invite a local Indigenous leader to the class to give a short, simple presentation about their traditions.

Realia:

Images of Indigenous People
Videos of singing, dancing, and drumming

Units and Modules:

Tutela: The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES. Indigenous Voices in the Classroom: CLB 4
Tutela: The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES. (2021). Canadian Indigenous culture: CLB 2. (Not the correct level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Indigenous Studies: The Land, All is Connected CLB 2-4
Tutela: The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Canadian Indigenous Readers
Tutela: Indigenous Peoples: Vocabulary and Maps Stage 1
Tutela: LINC Curriculum with Indigenous Focus – LINC 2: Indigenous Food Sources on Vancouver Island (Not the correct level but can be adapted)
A search of NLCG ( nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: