Detailed Sample Task: Stage II
CLB 8 - Writing Sharing Information
Global Citizenship
Real-World Task
Write a detailed proposal for a cross-cultural arts and music festival as a part of a community grant application.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- Some knowledge of community cultural events.
- Some knowledge of the concept of public or private funding for community events.
- Some knowledge of formal writing.
- Knowledge of filling out forms or providing requested/ required information.
Context:
- Money from the government, community organizations or corporations is available to help organize community events and make them successful. This money is usually called a grant. Because many different groups want these grants, you need to write a grant application to show how you will use the money and why the event is important or necessary.
Vocabulary and Grammar
Sample Vocabulary:
- proposal
- funding
- obtain
- community impact
- benefit
- represent/ underrepresented
- variety
- measurable
- seek
- access/ accessible
- culture
- music / visual arts / dance
- tradition/ traditional
- multicultural
Sample Grammar:
- Conditional sentences to express possible outcomes of obtaining funding, for example, “If we obtain this funding, we will deliver a varied program of multicultural arts.” and so on.
- Phrases to give examples of what will be included or funded, such as “namely’, “for instance”, “as a result”, “such as”, “particularly”, and so on.
- Phrases to introduce reasons or citations for the requested funding, such as “according to our studies/ research”, “we have found”, “as documented”, and so on.
- Persuasive language, such as positive adjectives.
Knowledge and Strategies
Textual and Functional Knowledge:
- Use effective and conventional formats for grant proposal writing, such as a cover letter.
- Use opening/ introduction, development/ body and conclusion/ closing in a paragraph or narrative.
- Include examples and citations to support details in a proposal.
Sociolinguistic Knowledge:
- Knowledge of appropriate directness and formality when writing a grant application.
- Knowledge of different cultures in Canada and the importance of representation.
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- In groups, brainstorm local cultural events, festivals and so on that you have heard of or attended. Use the Internet to research details about these events, such as how long they are, how many artists take part, what kind of cultures are represented and so on.
- In groups, brainstorm benefits of cross-cultural events and the groups that are positively affected by them. Use the Internet to research local artists who represent different cultures or different art forms. Discuss in groups which artists you would like to see at a festival and why.
- Learn what grants are and how you apply for them.
- Review application-related vocabulary and concepts, such as “deadline”, “submit”, “attach” and so on.
- Review instructions and instructional vocabulary for application steps, such as “you must submit by…”, “applications must include…” and so on.
- Look at examples of grant application websites and identify the requirements they list for grant proposals.
- Look at examples of grant proposals and identify common features, such as outlining how they will use money, community impact, breakdown of expenses and so on.
- Review the meaning of the first conditional and how to form it. Read examples of grant proposals and identify where they use conditional sentences to express possible outcomes of obtaining funding.
- Learn common collocations and phrases to give examples and reasons in a grant proposal.
- Read examples of grant proposals and identify where they use these collocation and phrases to give examples and reasons. Learn about how community groups might do research or surveys to discover how to use funding.
- Practice writing grant proposals using conditional sentences and collocations and phrases to give examples and reasons.
- Learn about the persuasive aspect of grant proposal writing. Look at examples of grant proposals and identify persuasive features, such as positive vocabulary like “to benefit”, “to transform”, “envision”, “impact”, “empower” and so on.
- Read sample grant proposals and work in pairs or groups to add more persuasive features.
- Review the importance of cohesion and accuracy in a grant proposal. Learn some strategies for proofreading on paper and in word formatting programs. Read sample grant proposals and work in pairs or groups to proofread them and correct mistakes.
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Write a detailed proposal for a local music festival as a part of a community grant application. Give and listen to/ read peer feedback.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Write a detailed proposal for a cross-cultural arts and music festival as a part of a community grant application.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- Have learners compare and contrast different music, visual arts and dance from their own countries and Canada to develop intercultural awareness.
- Include examples of elements from many different cultures (Indigenous cultures and cultures from groups in your area or city) in samples and examples.
Digital Literacy Strategies:
Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline digital knowledge and skills.
Learners may need to:
- Have keyboarding and typing skills.
- Scan online resources to find information.
- Use digital tools for the workplace, such as Excel or Adobe.
- Evaluate online research results.
- Interpret information from online sources, such as statistics, graphs or charts.
Instructors can:
- 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.
- 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 2SLGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Francophone and of other cultures, and people who have disabilities or who are neurodivergent.
- 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.
- Recognize the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion as a part of global citizenship. Themes of EDI can be woven into this module.
Trauma-informed Strategies:
Possible Trauma Triggers:
- Themes of global citizenship can be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma or oppression. Always follow trauma-informed practice and watch out for learners who may need extra support.
Strategies:
- Learners have the right to choose if, when and what they share about themselves.
- Make space for learners to feel safe and recover from the experience of sharing their experiences.
- Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.
Resources
Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:
- Invite an organizer of a local cultural event or organization to present to learners about the event/ organization and the process of applying for grants.
- Visit or take part in a local cross cultural or multicultural event.
- Hold a multicultural mini-festival at your school/ organization. Learners can present an element of their culture to other learners and instructors.
- Plan a small community project or event and apply for a neighbourhood or community grant to fund it.
- Explore other types of proposal writing for the community or workplace.
Realia:
Units and Modules:
(Adapt for the CLB level you teach)
Lessons and Activities:
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.
