Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades
Instructional Materials
French language teachers must use instructional materials that have been approved by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (Ministry of Education and Higher Education, or MEES). To be approved, materials must comply with the direction of the program of study, including those related to reading instruction. However, teachers may choose which texts they use to supplement instructional materials and how to use them without being limited to a single pedagogical approach. For example, they may choose to teach reading using authentic texts such as youth literature (e.g., novels, comic books, nonfiction).
English Language Arts teachers must use a variety of resources that includes literary and informative texts. In the classroom and the library, students have access to computers and other resources such as books, comic books, magazines, and newspapers. Teachers of English and French as a second language often use authentic texts in their instruction.
Use of Technology
MEES recognizes that the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is essential for students in the 21st century. Depending on the decisions made by schools and teachers, students may work with technology such as computers, audiovisual tools, digital tablets, and SMART Boards (interactive whiteboards).
Role of Reading Specialists
Classrooms in Québec are not supported by reading specialists; rather, homeroom teachers are responsible for teaching reading and all other subjects except music and physical education and health. Students who are having reading difficulties may use the services of a resource teacher individually or in small groups. Services vary depending on the school’s resources.
Welcoming Services and French Learning Support Services
Some students who attend French elementary schools speak another language at home. Because all immigrant students whose parents did not study in English in Canada must attend school in French, welcoming services are offered to help these students learn French and integrate into regular classrooms. These services (e.g., welcoming classes, individualized instruction with a specialist) may include support in students’ first language. Some multiethnic schools offer courses in students’ first language as part of a local program or an extracurricular activity to emphasize the transfer of reading skills.
Accommodation Policies for Instruction and Teaching
Students with disabilities, social maladjustments, or learning difficulties often are integrated into regular classes in accordance with the Policy on Special Education and the Action Plan to Promote Success for Students with Handicaps, Social Maladjustments, or Learning Difficulties.9,10 Differentiated instruction is the best way of fostering the success of all students, including those with special needs.11 The basic goal of the Policy on Special Education is “to help students with handicaps or social maladjustments or learning disabilities succeed in terms of knowledge, social development, and qualifications by accepting that educational success has different meanings depending on the abilities and needs of different students.”12
For some students with disabilities, social maladjustments, or learning difficulties, adaptive measures can be adopted as part of their individualized education plan.13 These measures provide all students in a class with access to the same opportunities to learn and demonstrate their learning. The individualized education plan committee of educators, parents, and the student is responsible for implementing these measures and monitoring their suitability and efficacy.
For other students, it is possible to apply in certain subjects an individualized progression of learning approach or an approach that differs from the one presented in the Québec Education Program. This exceptional measure is applied jointly by the members of the student’s individualized education plan committee, who decide to modify the requirements of the Québec Education Program based on the student’s abilities and needs. The objective of this support measure is to ensure the continuous progression of learning and the student’s optimal development.
Adaptive measures to facilitate the integration of students with disabilities, social maladjustments, or learning difficulties can involve the working environment, the conditions under which activities are carried out, and support for reading, writing, or arithmetic. This assistance enables students to perform the cognitive and metacognitive actions that allow them to acquire the required learning and demonstrate their learning autonomously. Adaptive measures taken during ministerial examinations may include allowing students to:14
- Have additional time for the examination
- Receive the support of a testing attendant (e.g., interpreter, invigilator)
- Use reading aids (e.g., voice synthesizers) or writing aids (e.g., grammar and spelling software, word prediction software)
- Use a computer that meets certain criteria
- Use various writing implements
- Use a voice recording device to register their answers verbally
- Use a reading aid (e.g., monitor, magnifying glass, inclined reading stand)
- Take the examination in an isolated location with supervision