ENGLISH, LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
PRESECONDARY
DISCOVERY AND CHALLENGES
(ENG P104-4)
FINDING YOUR PLACE IN THE CANADIAN MOSAIC
ONE COMMUNITY, MANY CULTURES 1 LEARNER’S ACTIVITY BOOKLET
ENGLISH MONTREAL SCHOOL BOARD LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
LEARNER’S NAME:
DATE:
ADULT CENTRE:
This LAB was created by Denise Morel and Marisa Campanella on behalf of Cosmo Della Rocca, Director of Adult Education and Vocational Services, EMSB
LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
DESCRIPTION 1
INTRODUCTION 3
Activity 1: What Is the Ethnic Composition of My Class? 5
Looking Back 13
Activity 2: What Is the Ethnic Composition of Canada? 14 Looking Back 28
Appendix: Resources 29
Front cover picture credit: Mathieu Da Costa Challenge National Writing and Artwork Contest Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/multi-report2009/part1-1a.asp
2009 Winner: 13 to 15 years of age category PHOEBE XINYI CHANG Title: Made in Canada Sir Winston Churchill High School Calgary, Alberta Pencil crayon and crayon drawing depicting three hands all reaching for a sweater. The sweater is made of colourful flags representing various countries. A tag labelled “Made in / Fabriqué au Canada” is attached to the sweater .
LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
*Mosaic: mo·sa·ics. Plural mo·sa·ics. Noun [count]: colourful tiles that are not usually particularly valuable or meaningful when taken alone, but when pushed and cemented together, they form a magnificent vision
DESCRIPTION
our classroom is a small multicultural community, composed of people with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds: it is “one community, many cultures.” Y Canada as a whole is a multicultural society: it too is “one community, many cultures,” although it is a much larger and even more diverse “community” than your classroom.
This learning situation will help you find your place both within the smaller community of your classroom and the larger Canadian society.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
In the first activity, you will explore the ethnic composition of your class.
What countries and regions of the world are represented in your classroom?
You will conduct a survey of your classmates and create a graph to display your findings.
In the second activity, you will explore the ethnic composition of Canada.
What proportion of the Canadian population is composed of immigrants and where do they come from?
How does your own country of origin fit into the Canadian mosaic?
You will examine some statistics presented in tables and diagrams, and summarize the information in a written text to accompany one of the diagrams.
he graph of the ethnic composition of your classroom, as well as the diagram and accompanying text on Canada’s ethnic diversity, can be posted on the wall of T your classroom, or on a wall in your adult education centre. It can also be used for any multicultural event or celebration that is being held at your centre.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
INTRODUCTION
“Canada has never been a melting pot; more like a tossed salad.” -- (Arnold Edinborough)
Discuss the following questions:
What does the quotation in the image mean to you? In terms of multiculturalism*, what do the images or metaphors** (a melting pot versus a tossed salad) suggest? What is the important difference between them?
If Canada is like a tossed salad, which country (according to many people) is more like a melting pot? Canada is also referred to as a mosaic. How is the image of a mosaic similar to the image of a tossed salad?
*Multiculturalism: mul·ti·cul·tur·al·ism. Noun. Singular [non-count]: relating to or including many different cultures
**Metaphor: met·a·phor. Plural met·a·phor s. Noun. [count] : a figure of speech in which a word or phrase meaning one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a similarity between them
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
In 1971, Canada was the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy. In 1988, this policy became a law known as the Canadian Multiculturalism Act.1
According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada…
By so doing, Canada affirmed the value and dignity of all Canadian citizens, regardless of their racial or ethnic origins, their language, or their religious
affiliation…
…Canadian multiculturalism is fundamental to our belief that all citizens are equal. Multiculturalism ensures that all citizens can keep their identities, can
take pride in their ancestry* and have a sense of belonging. Acceptance gives Canadians a feeling of security and self-confidence, making them more open to, and accepting of, diverse cultures.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/citizenship.asp
*Ancestry: an·ces·try. Plural an·ces·tries. Noun [non-count]: a person's ancestors: the people who were in your family in the past
1 For your own personal interest, you can access the full version of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act from the Government of Canada website at:
LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
ACTIVITY 1 WHAT IS THE ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF MY CLASS?
Step 1: Your ethnic origins here are you from? Were you born in Canada or in another country? If you were born in Canada, how about your parents? Where were they born? W Look at the world map provided on page 7. Find your country of origin (or your parents’ country of origin).
If you were born in another country but moved to Canada and then became a citizen of this country, you are a first generation Canadian. If you were born in Canada but your parents were born elsewhere, then you are a second generation Canadian. 2
If both you and your parents were born in Canada, but your grandparents were born elsewhere, then you would be a:
______
The concept of ethnic group is very broad. It includes one or more of the following aspects:
a common country/region of birth shared culture and traditions that create a sense of identity a common language a common religious tradition
2 For more information, see “Canada's Ethnocultural Mosaic, 2006 Census: Definitions:” http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-562/note-eng.cfm
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Step 2: How well do you know your classmates? Find out where your classmates were born and/or their ethnic ancestry.
Get together with three or four other students. Share information with each other about where you were born and your ethnic origins. You may share other details, such as how long you have been in Canada and your first language or language spoken at home, etc. (To help you in your discussion, review the grammar notes below.) During your group discussion, choose one member who will take notes and report to the whole class. A table for taking notes is provided after the map.
Names of countries and nationalities
Do you know the English names of the different countries that you and your classmates are from? Check the map on the next page. Do you know the names of nationalities associated with the different countries? For example, if you were born in Canada, then your nationality is Canadian. If you are not sure, you can find the English names of countries and nationalities on the Internet at one or more of the following sites:
http://www.vocabulary.cl/Basic/Nationalities.htm http://www.speakenglish.co.uk/vocab/countries_and_nationalities http://esl.about.com/od/beginnerpronunciation/a/Countries-Nationalities- Languages-In-English.htm
Remember the rule for proper nouns: When writing the name of a country (or any place name, such as a city, a province, a region, a continent), you must always capitalize the first letter (e.g. Canada, Africa, China, Poland, Europe). The same rule applies to nationalities (e.g. Canadian, African, Chinese, Polish, European)
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
MAP OF THE WORLD (from http://geology.com/world/world-map.shtm
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Notes: Ethnic composition of my group
First name Country of origin How long in First language Canada
Asking and answering questions about country of origin
Review the different ways to talk about a person’s country of origin. Grammar Questions Answers
- Where were you born? I was born in Greece. Verb be (past tense) + born She was born in - Where was Suzanne born? France. - Where are you from? I’m from Poland. Verb be (present tense) + from - Where is Peter from? He’s from England.
- Where do you come from? I come from China. Verb come (simple present tense) + from - Where does Fernando He comes from Chile. come from?
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4 Asking and answering questions about unfinished actions: The Present Perfect Tense
Remember, when talking about unfinished actions that started in the past and continue to the present, we use the present perfect tense (verb have + past participle). We use it to say how long an action has continued. How long have you lived in Montreal?
- I have lived in Montreal since 2005. - How long has Anna lived in Montreal? - She has lived in Montreal for 10 years.
In the examples above, it is understood that both Anna and I live in Montreal now. But suppose I was born in Toronto and lived there until I was 20 years old, and then moved to Montreal. I am not living in Toronto now. My life in Toronto is finished, so we need to use the simple past tense.
- How long did you live in Toronto? - I lived in Toronto for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010.
Try this short exercise. Choose either the present perfect or the simple past of the verb in parentheses:
1. I ______(be) a teacher before I retired. 2. I ______(be) a teacher for 30 years, but I’m planning to retire next year. 3. Maria is my best friend. I ______(know) her for 15 years. 4. I ______(know) Lee when I was in elementary school, but I wouldn’t recognize him today. 5. I ______(play) football when I was a teenager, but I don’t like playing sports anymore. 6. I ______(play) football since I was a teenager, and I still enjoy it. 7. We’re celebrating our wedding anniversary! We ______(be) married for 15 years. 8. We ______(be) married for 10 years before we got divorced.
For more information and additional exercises on the present perfect, visit http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present- perfect-use.html
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Step 3: Find out about your other classmates’ ethnic origins
Now it is time for groups to share their information with the whole class.
Listen carefully to the reporters as they talk about your classmates’ ethnic backgrounds. Find each person’s place of birth (or where they spent most of their lives before coming to Canada) on the map and fill out the worksheet on the next page.
(1) Write the name of the country in the first column (A). (2) Place an X in the second column (B) for every student who was born in that country (or who lived in that country for most of his/her childhood). (3) When all the groups have finished reporting, add up the total number of X’s (column B) for each country. Write the number in column C. (4) In column (D), for each country, calculate the percentage of students in the class who share that particular ethnic origin. Use this formula:
No. of students in Column (C): X 100 = ? No. of students in the class:
The example provided below uses fictitious data from the table as an illustration:
: Divide the top of the fraction by the bottom Multiply the result by 100.
i.e.: ( 4/20) = .20 X 100 = 20%
Do not forget to place the percent (%) sign after your answer.
In Step 4, you will use this information to create a graphic representation of the ethnic composition of your class.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Worksheet: Ethnic composition of my class
(A) (B) (C) (D) Place an x for Percentage of (C) Country of origin every student who Total no. of X’s relative to the was born there in column B whole class (e.g. 20 students)
Andorra XXXX 4 20%
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Step 4: Create a graph to represent the ethnic composition of your class
Use the results in either Column C (actual numbers) or Column D (percentages) to create a visual representation of the ethnic composition of your class in the form of a graph. It’s easy to do if you have a computer and access to the Internet. Go to
Here are two examples created for a class of 20 students (using actual numbers rather than percentages); one is a pie chart and the other is a bar graph. (A small size was chosen for the examples below, but you can create a larger graph to fill a full page.) Do not forget to give your graph a title.
(1) A pie chart
“tossed salad” “melting pot”
(2) A bar graph
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Think back about what you have learned from doing the first activity in this LAB. For each of the following statements, indicate whether it is true for you (T) or whether you need to review the material (R).
My Learning T R
I can explain the significance of the images of a tossed salad, a melting pot, and a mosaic when referring to Canada’s position on multiculturalism.
I can ask and answer questions about my own and others’ ethnic origins.
I can identify countries and regions on a world map.
I use the present perfect tense to talk about unfinished actions and the past tense to talk about finished actions.
I can follow instructions to create graphs that illustrate the relative proportions of parts to a whole and to each other.
For areas that need to be reviewed, you can re-read the material, ask a classmate for help, or speak to the teacher if there is something you don’t understand.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4 ACTIVITY 2 WHAT IS THE ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF CANADA?
Overview of Activity 2
n the previous activity, you found out about the ethnic composition of your classroom. What do you know about the ethnic composition of Canada? You probably know that Canada is a I multicultural society composed of people from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
But are you curious about some other details? For example:
What proportion of the total population is composed of immigrants? What are the ethnic origins of the immigrant population in Canada? What is the proportion of immigrants from your own country or region? Which area/province has the largest number of immigrants?
You may have other questions as well. Write them below, and see if you can find answers as you do your research.
1. ______
2. ______
3. ______
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
In Step 1 of this activity, you will examine some resources that contain statistics on immigrants in Canada in order to find information that will answer your questions. These statistics are presented graphically in tables, maps, and diagrams. You will have to combine information from several sources in order to answer your questions.
In Step 2, you will write a short informative text to communicate some of the important facts you discovered about the Canadian mosaic based on the answers you found to your questions. This text will accompany one of the resources (a diagram), which will then be posted on the wall of your classroom or adult education centre.
Step 1: Explore some statistics
ou will work in a group with three or four classmates from the same country or region of the world. Each group will explore some resources containing statistics on Canadian Y immigration, based on the 2006 census of the Canadian population.
what a census is? A census is an official (government) count or survey of the population of a country (citizens, immigrants, and residents). It includes facts about the population, such as age, sex, employment, first language, nationality, etc. In Canada, a census takes place every five years, and is conducted by Statistics Canada. The last Canadian census was taken in 2011, but not all the information is available yet. You will be working on the statistics compiled from the 2006 census, which is acceptable, since trends do not change significantly in five years.
In the appendix at the end of this LAB (page 29), you will find a list of the resources to look at. Three of the resources (#3, #4, #5) are reproduced in this LAB. The others will be provided to you by your teacher or you can find them on the Internet. On page 20, you will find a list of questions to discuss in your group based on these resources. The questions will help you to focus your research: you will have to scan the statistics for the specific information you are looking for. Your answers will provide you with the information you need to write your informative text.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Communicating statistical information
As you are aware, statistics are all about numbers! But they are not just numbers. The numbers have meaning: they tell you something about the population of Canada. So, you need to know a little bit of mathematics in order to read them, but your main task is to make sense of them so that you can communicate them to others using natural (non- technical) language. For example, look at these statistics:
Immigrant population (2006) Canada 6,452,305 Ontario 3,516,875 Toronto 2,320,200
What do you notice about the information in this table? Can you translate this numerical information into ordinary language, something meaningful that you can communicate verbally?
One thing you will notice about statistics is that the numbers, by themselves, are not very interesting or meaningful. Look at the second row, for example. What does it mean to say that there are 3.5 million immigrants in Ontario? Is that fact significant or interesting in any way? In order for a statistic to be interesting, you have to relate it to other statistics. For example, if you compare the number of immigrants living in Ontario (row 2) with the total number of immigrants in Canada (row 1), then you will notice something that is “hidden” in the statistics:
More than half of all immigrants in Canada live in Ontario.
Now, that’s interesting to know! Next, look at the third row, which tells you the number of immigrants living in Toronto. What can you say about that? Since Toronto is a city in Ontario, you might want to compare the two (row 3 and row 2). If you do, you will notice that:
Two-thirds of all immigrants in Ontario live in Toronto.
Now, compare the third row (Toronto) to the first row (Canada). What do you notice now?
______
That’s quite interesting, isn’t it? And, given the size of Canada, you were probably surprised to find out that more than a third of all immigrants to Canada live in Toronto!
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Reporting quantities
Sometimes, of course, you might want to report numbers. But in a discussion or a short informative text, it is not necessary to report exact figures. You can round them off to a close approximation and still be sufficiently accurate. For example, if you are referring to Resource #4, you don’t need to report Canada’s population as thirty-one million, six hundred and twelve thousand, eight hundred and ninety-seven; you can simply report Canada’s population as 31.6 million, or even simpler, about 32 million. Similarly, for Quebec, you can use 7.5 million, or for New Brunswick 800,000.
How do you say these numbers when speaking?
31.6 million = “thirty-one-point-six million” 7.5 million = “seven-point-five million” or “seven-and-a-half million” 800,000 = “eight-hundred thousand”
You can use the words about or approximately to indicate that you are not giving exact figures. You can say,
“Canada’s population is about 32 million.” OR “The population of Quebec is approximately seven-and-a-half million.”
You can also talk about quantities more generally without mentioning precise numbers, especially if you are comparing quantities. You can use fractions as we did above with Ontario and Toronto (e.g. one-half; one quarter), or percentages (e.g. 50 percent; 25 percent). You can also use other expressions of quantity. Here are some examples:
The majority of immigrants in Quebec live in Montreal. The largest proportion of Chinese immigrants reside in British Columbia. The province with the most immigrants is Ontario; the province with the fewest immigrants is Prince Edward Island. Of all the provinces, Ontario has the largest percentage of the total population of Canada. Between 2001 and 2006, the greatest number of immigrants to Canada were from China. The majority of immigrants reside in cities; a minority live in rural areas.
For more information on subject-verb agreement, see: Expressions of Quantity: Special Cases of Subject-Verb Agreement:
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Reading Graphics in Daily Life (Visual Features)
Graphics are an important part of daily life. Charts, tables, graphs, and diagrams provide necessary information that allows us to complete daily, work-related and school tasks. Think about the various graphics used every day. People read newspapers and magazines and try to make sense of the information presented to them in various graphics. Often very little calculation is needed when reading these visual aids, but you still need an understanding of the key features used by the author.
So, to get all you can out of graphics, you have to look for context clues. Some of the visual features an author uses to help you gain a better understanding are colour, size of font, shape, and size of objects, connecting lines, and even placement, where objects are placed. Often there will be a description of the diagram, chart, graph, or table in the form of a caption or a short explanatory text about what the graphic contains. Sometimes a legend is inserted that tells you the meaning of the symbols used to represent the information in the graphic. All of these features help you to figure out the different parts of the diagram, chart, graph, or table, and to find specific information you may need.
Here is an example for “explanatory text.”
Explanatory text: Why is the “explanatory text”” in the diagram written in a smaller font size than the title?
In order to get the reader’s attention, the title is written in a larger font size. The explanatory text is not smaller because it’s less important. It gives some details about the title and what I can expect to find in the diagram. Since there is more to tell, the font size is smaller.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4 It’s your turn!
Use the diagram “The Homelands and Homes of New Canadians” to complete the task below. Answer the questions about the textual features and how they are used in the diagram.
Use of colour: Why are some circles black and others coloured? What do the different colours represent? Which visual feature helps you to answer this question?
______
Size: The circles are all different sizes. Why? What do the different sizes represent?
______
Placement: What is in the center of the diagram and why?
______
Lines: What is the role of the lines connecting circles to one another?
______
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Discussion Questions
In your group, look at the statistics provided in the six resources and try to find answers to the questions below. Begin by looking at the first diagram: The Homelands and Homes of New Canadians
You will notice that the information in that diagram is not complete. For example, there is no information about specific countries, only about regions of the world. Also, there is no information about total populations, so you cannot determine the relative proportion of immigrants to the population as a whole. So, if you want answers to those questions, you will have to synthesize (combine) the information in the diagram with information from the other resources provided. Some of the discussion questions below will require you to synthesize statistical information from several resources.
GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT IMMIGRANTS IN CANADA AND QUEBEC
1. Compare the total number of immigrants in Canada to the total population of Canada. What percentage (approximate) of the Canadian population is composed of immigrants? Does this figure surprise you? ______2. Which three provinces in Canada have the largest total population, and in what order? ______3. Which three provinces in Canada have the largest number of immigrants, and in what order? ______4. What percentage of the Quebec population is composed of immigrants? ______5. What two regions of the world do the largest number of Canada’s immigrants come from? ______6. What are the top three countries of origin of recent immigrants to Canada (those who arrived between 2001 and 2006)?
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT IMMIGRANTS FROM YOUR COUNTRY*
(*Country refers to native country or country of origin)
7. According to the United Nations’ classification of countries, to what region does your country belong? ______8. How many immigrants from your country does Canada have? ______9. Which province has the largest number of immigrants from your country (or from your region)? ______10. How many immigrants from your country live in Quebec? ______
Add your own questions if they are not in the list above.
12. ______
13.______
14.______
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Step 2: Produce a short informative text about ethnic diversity in Canada
n the first activity of this LAB, you converted verbal information (information you collected by interacting with your classmates and taking written notes) into graphical information I (information displayed visually, such as the chart or graph you produced). You may be familiar with the expression: “a picture is worth a thousand words”. As you saw in the first activity, one of the best ways to present statistical information is through a picture that allows you to visualize the numbers and their relationships at a glance. However, information presented graphically (such as the diagram in Resource 1) is often very dense or does not provide “the whole picture”. For this reason, a diagram is often accompanied by a short informative text that summarizes and complements the information.
In this activity, you will do the reverse of what you did in Activity 1. You have examined a number of graphics (diagrams, maps, tables, etc.), which display a lot of detailed statistics, and you have found answers to some questions about immigrants in Canada. You will now condense this information in a short written text consisting of two paragraphs about ethnic diversity in Canada, which will accompany the first diagram (Resource 1). The diagram, along with the text, can then be posted on the classroom wall or in the adult education centre. Your display can also include your bar graph or pie chart of the ethnic composition of your classroom (from Activity 1).
Continue to work in the same groups as in Step 1. Use your answers to the questions in Step 1 as potential content for your paragraphs.
Here is the structure of your informative text:
Paragraph 1: General information about immigration to Canada and Quebec (4-6 sentences) Remember, the diagram presents a lot of detailed information. It is not necessary to repeat the same amount of detail in the written text. The purpose of the text is to give the reader an overview or summary of the main ideas or important facts about ethnic diversity in Canada. It should include any important supplementary information you obtained from the other resources.
Paragraph 2: Information about immigration from your own country/region to Canada and Quebec (3-4 sentences per country/region). Write a short paragraph focusing specifically on your own country/region. The paragraphs about specific countries will be combined in the final written text that will be posted on the wall.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
What can you do to make your text effective?
You already have all the ideas you need (and probably more): they’re in your answers to the discussion questions. But, they are not organized into a coherent text. Here are some tips to help you get started.
Select the information you want to include
Take a look at your answers to the discussion questions and decide what is the most significant or most interesting information to include. Think about your audience (the other learners in your class or in your centre), and for each piece of information, ask yourself the question, “How can I make this information interesting for my audience?”
Organize the information in each paragraph
A paragraph is not just a collection of sentences randomly put together. It has a structure, a way of organizing information that makes it easy for the reader to follow along. It has a beginning, middle, and an end. It usually begins with a topic sentence; the topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about: the main or most important idea. Then it continues with a few supporting sentences; the supporting sentences elaborate on the topic sentence by adding details to the main idea. Finally, it concludes with a closing sentence that sums up the main idea again, but in different words; or it may state the author’s final thoughts or opinions about the topic.
On the next page, you will see a diagram on language diversity in Montreal. Read the paragraph that accompanies the diagram. You will see how it embodies the usual paragraph structure.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
LANGUAGE DIVERSITY IN MONTREAL
(1) Montreal is home to a vast mix of cultural communities (1) Topic and people who have immigrated there. (2) According to sentence the 2006 census, 70 percent of individuals who were born outside of Canada but live in Quebec have made the Montreal region their home. (3) This diversity is also (2-5) reflected in terms of mother tongue (first language Supporting learned). (4) The 2006 census reported that in Montreal sentences 50.3 percent spoke French as a first language, followed by English at 16.1 percent. (5) The remaining 33.5 percent of Montreal-area residents are allophones who speak a variety of other languages. (6) As a popular destination for (6) Closing immigrants, Montreal is truly a multicultural mosaic. sentence
As you can see in the above example, the topic sentence (1) states the main idea of the paragraph: the diversity of cultural communities in Montreal. The supporting sentences (2-5) add more details on the topic, such as the percentage of immigrants in Quebec who live in Montreal and the proportion of residents whose first language is neither French nor English. The closing sentence (6) restates the main idea in different words.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
It’s your turn!
In the example below, you will find a list of sentences that make up a paragraph. The paragraph is based on the pie chart example of the ethnic composition of a classroom (see Activity 1). However, the sentences are not in the correct order. Can you reorganize them so that they make a well-organized paragraph, with a topic sentence, supporting sentences and a closing sentence?
A. The two areas that are most highly represented are Russia (five learners) and Africa four learners). B. That is why we can say that our classroom is “one community, many cultures.” C. There are 20 learners in all, from six different countries or areas of the world. D. Of the remaining five students, two are from Vietnam, two from South America and one from Italy. E. Our classroom is made up of learners from several different countries around the world. F. Next come China and the Middle East, each represented by three learners.
On the line below, write the letters of each sentence in the correct order. A good way to start is by identifying the topic sentence, followed by the closing sentence. The other four sentences will be supporting sentences, but they also have an order. What kind of order is it?
______
Language: keep it clear, concise and simple!
Your text should be written in simple language. The saying, “Keep it short and simple” (KISS) is a good rule to follow. Plain language is faster to read and gets your message across more easily and in a friendlier way.
Some tips for clear writing:
Use short sentences State one idea per sentence Break up long sentences Start each of your two paragraphs with the most important point Keep your paragraphs short Keep the writing clear
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Now you are ready to compose your paragraphs.
______
______
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Step 3: Revise and edit your texts
nce you have completed a first draft of your text, you need to revise it to make sure it is accurate, concise, clearly written, and free of errors. Consider the O following questions: 1. Does the first sentence express the main idea of the text? 2. Is the information contained in the text accurate (according to the statistics you reviewed)? 3. Does the text focus on the important facts or does it contain unnecessary details? 4. Is it sufficiently general, that is, does it condense many specific details into general statements? 5. Are the grammar, spelling, and punctuation correct? One good way to start the revision process is to get feedback from others. If you show your text to someone who has had no part in writing it, they will be able to tell you if something is not clear. And because they are taking a “fresh” look at it, they will be able to spot errors more easily. In return, you will be able to provide the same service to them.
When you receive your text back, look over the feedback and decide what changes you want to make. Step 4: Publish the final version
s a whole class, you now have several versions of the first paragraph. You will have to decide which one to use when you post it on a wall for the public to view. A You will then have to add all the “second” paragraphs written by your classmates, since they pertain to different countries/regions of the world. Your final text will therefore begin with a general paragraph about immigrants in Canada, followed by several paragraphs, each pertaining to the immigrant population from a specific country/region of the world.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Think back about what you have learned from doing the second activity in this LAB. For each of the following statements, indicate whether it is true for you (T) or whether you need to review the material (R)
My Learning T R
I can formulate questions about Canada’s ethnic composition.
I can state what a census is.
I can locate specific statistical information by scanning Internet resources.
I can relate and combine information from different sources.
I can “translate” numerical information into meaningful natural language.
I can report and compare quantities in a variety of ways.
I can identify main or important facts in a set of statistics.
I can interpret information presented graphically (e.g. in diagrams, maps and tables). I recognize how the visual features of a diagram function to condense, organize, and convey information.
I can write an effective paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting sentences and a closing sentence. I can write an informative text to condense and summarize statistical information.
I can use my knowledge of grammar, spelling, and punctuation to revise my own and others’ written work.
For areas that need to be reviewed, you can re-read the material, ask a classmate for help or speak to the teacher if there is something you don’t understand.
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Appendix: Resources
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4 List of Resources: Canadian Immigration Statistics Title of Resources & URL Description
1. The homelands and homes of new Canadians (The National Post, Feb. This diagram shows the number of immigrants living in Canada, 10, 2012) where they were born, and where they live now. However, it does http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/1- not show specific countries, only regions and areas (sub-regions). If na0211_immigration.pdf you want to know which countries are included in a region, you will need to look at the second resource. Your teacher will provide a copy to each group, or you can view it on your computer screen.
2. Classification of countries by major area and region of the world ((United This table identifies all the countries of the world and the major Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs) regions and areas (sub-regions) they belong to. Your teacher will http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/CD- provide a copy to each group, or you can view it on your computer ROM_2009/WPP2009_DEFINITION_OF_MAJOR_AREAS_AND_REGI screen. ONS.pdf
3. Place of birth of recent immigrants to Canada, 2006 (Statistics Canada, This world map shows the place of birth of recent immigrants (those 2007). (Included below.) http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census- who arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2006). The diagram also recensement/2006/as-sa/97-557/maps- identifies the top 10 places of birth of recent immigrants. This map is cartes/world/World_RecentImmig_ec.pdf reproduced on the next page.
4. Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, This table gives the total population of Canada and Quebec in 2006. 2006 and 2001 censuses (Statistics Canada, 2010). (Included below.) Excerpts from this table are reproduced on the page after the map. http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97- 550/Index.cfm?TPL=P1C&Page=RETR&LANG=Eng&T=101
This table provides information about 27 ethnic origins in Canada, 5. Demographics of Canada, Ethnicity (Wikipedia). (Included below.) the percentage of each in the total population, and the area of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Canada Canada where the largest proportion resides. This table is reproduced after Resource 4.
6. Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories
(Statistics Canada, 2010). http://www12.statcan.ca/census- Visit this site for specific information about immigration from your recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97- own country (to Canada and to Quebec in particular). 562/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=2&Data=Cou nt&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4 Resource #3: World map of place of birth of recent immigrants
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Resource #4: Population counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, 2006
(Excerpts from Statistics Canada, 2010 http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97- 550/Index.cfm?TPL=P1C&Page=RETR&LANG=Eng&T=101 This table displays the total population (including immigrants and native-born Canadians) of each territory and province, as well as of the whole of Canada.
Province / territory Population Yukon 30,372 Saskatchewan 968,157 Quebec 7,546,131 Prince Edward Island 135,851 Ontario 12,160,282 Nunavut 29,474 Nova Scotia 913,462 Northwest Territories 41,464 Newfoundland and Labrador 505,469 New Brunswick 729,997 Manitoba 1,148,401 British Columbia 4,113,487 Alberta 3,290,350 Canada 31,612,897
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Resource #5: Ethnicity in Canada, the provinces, and territories
Excerpt from Wikipedia, Demographics of Canada, 7.1 Ethnic Origin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Canada
Ethnic origin % Population Area of largest proportion
Canadian 32.22% 10,066,290 Quebec (66.2%)
English 21.03% 6,570,015 Newfoundland and Labrador (43.2%)
French 15.82% 4,941,210 Quebec (28.9%)
Scottish 15.11% 4,719,850 Prince Edward Island (40.5%)
Irish 13.94% 4,354,155 Prince Edward Island (29.2%)
German 10.18% 3,179,425 Saskatchewan (30.0%)
Italian 4.63% 1,445,335 Ontario (7.2%)
Chinese 4.31% 1,346,510 British Columbia (10.6%)
North American 4.01% 1,253,615 Northwest Territories (36.5%) Indian
Ukrainian 3.87% 1,209,085 Manitoba (14.8%)
Dutch (Netherlands) 3.32% 1,035,965 Alberta (5.3%)
Polish 3.15% 984,565 Manitoba (7.3%)
East Indian 3.08% 962,665 British Columbia (5.7%)
Russian 1.60% 500,600 Manitoba (4.3%)
Arabs 1.51% 470,580 Quebec (2.8%)
Welsh 1.41% 440,965 Yukon (3.1%)
Filipino 1.40% 436,190 Manitoba (3.5%)
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LAB: Finding Your Place in the Canadian Mosaic Discovery and Challenges ENG P104-4
Ethnic origin % Population Area of largest proportion
Norwegian 1.38% 432,515 Saskatchewan (7.2%)
Portuguese 1.32% 410,850 Ontario (2.4%)
Métis 1.31% 409,065 Northwest Territories (6.9%)
British, not included 1.29% 403,915 Yukon (2.3%) elsewhere
Swedish 1.07% 334,765 Saskatchewan (3.5%)
Spanish 1.04% 325,730 British Columbia (1.3%)
American 1.01% 316,350 Yukon (2.0%)
Hungarian (Magyar) 1.01% 315,510 Saskatchewan (2.9%)
Jewish 1.01% 315,120 Ontario (1.5%)
Greek 0.78% 242,685 Ontario (1.1%)
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