I Pick - en français

Thanks to Jamie on twitter (you can find her at @fiteach) I dug up an acronym for "I Pick" in French.  Five simple words to remind students how to pick "just right" books to read during Daily 5 (or any time).  Thanks to Madame Richards who posted the acronym CRICC.

Here's my visual and labels to help students remember.  (More Daily Five posts on this blog can be found here.)

What do you use?  Do you have something better?  I'd love to hear about it!

Click on the image below for this one from the blog Dix Mois:

This English version is on the teacher wife's blog:

mots usuels - 1ière, 2ième, 3ième

Whether or not the use of grade level word groups or families for teaching reading and spelling is pedagogically sound is something I continue to consider.  For now here they are, we use them.  They are useful for remediation.  Grades 2 and 3 are not yet in sound families or any logical groupings (which kind of seems strange but these are the district lists we have).  I have ordered the grade 1 list into a sequence and into sound groupings that make sense to me.

Does your school district suggest a list of benchmark words for reading and spelling in French Immersion?

Grade 1 list

Grade 1 flashcards

Grade 2 flashcards

Grade 3 flashcards

The coolest part is that the size of the flashcards is perfect for sliding into the library checkout envelopes that I stuck onto our 'Work With Words' kits posted here.

évaluation - l'écriture et la lecture

reading and writing continuum student evaluation
reading and writing continuum teacher evaluation (black and white)
reading and writing continuum (colour)
speaking and listening continuum student evaluation
(my edited version is here, we need something more specific to our provincial learning outcomes)
speaking and listening continuum teacher evaluation
speaking and listening continuum (colour)

The speaking and listening versions are for students learning English as a second language.  We are teaching students French as a second language, the sequence of acquiring the skill is the same (well it isn't great - I will look for something more specific to FI).

Six reasons why you will need few other reading and writing assessment tools if you adopt this or any other continuum similar in quality, scope, and sequence to use with students.

1. Most important feature - you can only level up.  Anyone can glance at the continuum and see progress and next steps - grade 1 students, their next teacher, their parents who want to provide support, anyone.
2. There is a student self-evaluative and teacher evaluative version.  They mirror one another, the student version is couched in clear target terms.  I only use the student self-evaluation version.  We all appreciate the clear language, why not assess students in simple, student-centered language?  Plus the student version does not assign an age range to each skill  - better for student self-esteem.
3. The continuum tracks reading and writing skills from pre-school to high school.  Your students and their parents can see where they were in their learning, where they are, and where they will progress to next in reading and writing.
4. The continuum should, must, ought to be included in each term report, a copy for the student and parents, a copy for the student's file.  Use a different coloured highlighter each term.
5. This continuum will hold you accountable to differentiate your teaching.  When you highlight a student's continuum and see that so-an-so has mastered a particular writing skill there is no way your conscience will allow you to distribute mundane worksheets, one size fits all spelling tests, or watch-and-copy, uninspiring, whole-class writing.
6. Listen up people - I guarantee that using this tool will make your report card writing easier, faster, more meaningful, and more accurate.