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Guideline 1 Perception
Guideline 1 Perception
Checkpoint 1.1 Offer ways of customizing the display of information
Checkpoint 1.1 Offer ways of customizing the display of information
Make documents available to students in digital format through Google Classroom and in physical format. To save on paper, ask students ahead of time which format they prefer. Students can choose their preferred format or switch between formats at any time.
Tools such as zoom in/out and formatting of font, size, color and contrast in Google Docs make digital documents accessible to a range of learners.
Whenever video or audio clips are offered, students are able to change the speed using the settings available on YouTube.
Checkpoint 1.2 Offer alternatives for auditory information
Checkpoint 1.2 Offer alternatives for auditory information
Checkpoint 1.3 Offer alternatives for visual information
Checkpoint 1.3 Offer alternatives for visual information
When listening comprehension skills are not the targeted learning objective, students can access closed captioning or a transcript for videos and audio clips.
Students can pair with a partner to read text aloud, use text-to-speech tools or access an audiobook version.
All directions I give in class are presented orally and in written form - often with supporting images and gestures - to maximize student comprehension. I prepare a daily slideshow with all instructions and make it available to students.
Instructions for this classroom activity were presented orally and in writing, supported by icons, gestures and modeling.
Guideline 2 Language & Symbols
Guideline 2 Language & Symbols
Given that all my students are learning French as a second (or third, or fourth) language, the checkpoints within the Language and Symbols guideline are core to my work.
Checkpoint 2.1 Clarify vocabulary and symbols
Checkpoint 2.1 Clarify vocabulary and symbols
Essential vocabulary throughout the unit of study is captured on a class vocabulary organizer. Students are also encouraged to add their personalized vocabulary to the organizer.
Key expressions for comprehension of texts and videos are glossed, as in this example of a question embedded in a video on the educational platform EdPuzzle.
As we engage with documents and videos, we pause to create vocabulary glossaries and word walls.
EdPuzzle question with glossed vocabulary
This student-created poster defines key vocabulary from three readings.
Checkpoint 2.2 Clarify syntax and structure
Checkpoint 2.2 Clarify syntax and structure
We frequently examine passages from thematic texts to clarify structures and grammatical forms that will be new to students. Later we engage in explicit practice of the structures so that students can integrate them into their own speech and writing. This is the primary mechanism by which students acquire new structures throughout the year.
This slideshow is from a series of lessons which began with an examination of the use of the relative pronouns and conjunctions in an opinion piece about a ban on cellphone use in schools. I highlighted the structures in the article and we clarified their meanings before students engaged with the text.
In a subsequent lesson, we focused on the relative pronouns qui and que. Students read a paragraph that I prepared, highlighting qui and que in different colors. I then asked students to work together to analyze how the sentence structure and propose their rules for the use of qui and que. During the debrief I provided clarification and used probing questions to reveal misconceptions.
We followed up with explicit practice of the structures, moving from highly structured to open-ended activities.
Checkpoint 2.3 Support decoding of text, mathematical notation, and symbols
Checkpoint 2.3 Support decoding of text, mathematical notation, and symbols
I allow and encourage students to access audio recordings of texts. Some are professionally created audio books or podcast versions of texts. Others I record myself and share with students via Google Classroom. Students can also read aloud with peers or have me read aloud texts for assessments.
Ours is a bring-your-own-device school, which means that not all students are using the same hardware or web browsers. This makes it challenging to support all students in using text-to-speech apps. In districts with the funding and technology to support it, I highly recommend Read&Write for Google Chrome. It offers robust supports for text-to-speech, speech-to-text, visual vocabulary and annotated reading across multiple languages. In the meanwhile, I am piloting the free version of Speechify for text-to-speech.
Checkpoint 2.4 Promote understanding across languages
Checkpoint 2.4 Promote understanding across languages
Students have access to the bilingual online dictionary WordReference.
Key vocabulary words are defined in common vocabulary documents and illustrated classroom posters, as seen in checkpoint 2.1.
Domain-specific vocabulary such as conditionnel, prepositions and adverbes are explained and modeled in common class notes and in shared reference materials.
Visual, non-linguistic supports for vocabulary are embedded in class slideshows and documents, as seen in checkpoint 1.3.
Checkpoint 2.5 Illustrate though multiple media
Checkpoint 2.5 Illustrate though multiple media
Students had multiple means of engaging with a lesson on the formation and use of the simple future tense. An interactive whole-class lesson delivered in French was supported with skeleton notes. I recorded a video of an English version of the lesson for students to access at any time and provided the completed notes on Google Classroom. I also posted links to video lessons by other French teachers and a textbook excerpt.
Futur simple lesson.webmFor the interpretive task Intelligence Artificielle, students chose from a menu of five sources on the theme of artificial intelligence. I asked them to engage with at least three of the sources, which included a cartoon, a video for young audiences, an infographic, an article and a news video.
Guideline 3 Comprehension
Guideline 3 Comprehension
Checkpoint 3.1 Activate or supply background knowledge
Checkpoint 3.1 Activate or supply background knowledge
Daily check-in questions can preview the lesson content and activate students' background knowledge. For example, "Is it ethical in certain conditions to use artificial intelligence to prepare homework for classes?" and "Would you go to space if you were offered a free trip?"
An anticipation guide prior to watching a video about new technologies provided context for what students would see in the video and prompted them to think about what they already know about the effects of technology use.
To start a lesson about the ethical use of artificial intelligence, I asked students to discuss what they already know about ChatGPT.
Prompt asking students to discuss what they already know about ChatGPT.
Checkpoint 3.2 Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas and relationships
Checkpoint 3.2 Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas and relationships
In investigating sources about ChatGPT, a graphic organizer guided students in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the tool.
I highlighted key elements in an exemplar text to draw students' attention to the structures and high-level vocabulary that are expected at the level of our performance target.
The conditionnel form shares elements with both the futur and imparfait forms in French. I made those connections explicit by having students examine examples of the conditionnel, noticing what the futur and imparfait forms contribute to the conditionnel.
Checkpoint 3.3 Guide information processing and visualization
Checkpoint 3.3 Guide information processing and visualization
An important change I have made to my practice is in making existing scaffolds available to all students, not only those with documented learning challenges. I created a resource corner in my classroom where students can find hard copies of graphic organizers accompanied by a corresponding bank of digital organizers on Google Classroom. This includes organizers for understanding texts and videos, a checklist for speaking proficiency, a document for guiding revisions of written work, a storyboard template, a story web, and a vocabulary graphic organizer
Checkpoint 3.4 Maximize transfer and generalization
Checkpoint 3.4 Maximize transfer and generalization
The resource corner discussed in checkpoint 3.3 also includes a number of reference charts and "chat mats." Chat mats provide sentence frames and thematic vocabulary that support students to use language across a variety of situations. They also allow students to revisit previously taught expression and structures as we move through the school year. For example, we started September with a unit about vacations, focusing on the past tense. When vacations came around in December, February and April, we brought out the vacation chat mat again to support our conversations as we begin to use the future tense. Another day, we made predictions about which song would win a music content. This gave us the opportunity to combine familiar expressions for talking about music with the newly learned future verb tense.
While planning this unit, I intentionally built in opportunities for review and practice of concepts and structures from previous units and years of study.
Before introducing the futur simple form, we reviewed and used in context the futur proche form that students studied in French 2. I prompted students to use the futur proche in conversations about their weekend plans in the weeks leading up to the futur simple lesson. I also started the futur simple lesson by contrasting it with the futur proche.
By practicing "if" statements with the conditionnel, we had the opportunity to review the imparfait tense that we learned earlier in the year. Students generated their own "what if" questions, which required them to use the imparfait and conditionnel correctly in context.
As a synthesis activity at the end of the unit, I asked students to consider "How has your knowledge/understanding evolved during this unit? What connections do you see with your other classes and your life?" Students prepared posters, sketchnotes or paragraphs in which they responded to the prompt. This prompt pushed them to envision how their learning in my class connects to other areas of their lives today and in the future. The following paragraph, sketchnote and handwritten reflection are examples of student responses.
Dans le futur, il y aura meilleur transport. J’utiliserai les voitures electrique. Voitures electrique sont meilleur pour l’environment parce que ils ne emitont pas le CO2. Il y aura les voitures avec pilot automatique, aussi. Autre véhicules changeront aussi: il y aura plus rapide avions et trains. Aussi dans le futur, il y aura plus réalité virtuelle. J’utiliserai VR pour travailler et entertainement. VR est significant pour entertainement, parce que Dreamworks et les sociétés de cinéma utilisent la VT pour les films. En outre, dans le future, j’utiliserai technologies pour l’environement. Il y aura beaucoup plus technolegie pour aider l’environment. Il y aura anneaux solaires qui êtrent deguiser dans les toits, beaucoup des véhicules electriques, et nouriture que sont fait avec technolegies de terres agricoles. En fin de compte, le futur qui font beaucoup des technolegies!
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