Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades
Instructional Materials
Instead of using mandated reading textbooks, teachers in Ontario use different types of learning resources to support their instructional practice and meet the needs of the students learning the provincial curriculum. Textbooks undergo a stringent evaluation process to determine whether they meet government requirements. Approved textbooks are added to the Trillium List, a compilation of titles that have been approved by the Ministry of Education for school board acquisition. Textbooks must support at least 85 percent of the curriculum in addition to the philosophy and intent of the curriculum.
Use of Technology
Ontario schools have placed an increasing emphasis on integrating Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as part of the teaching and learning process. Teachers use a range of ICT to extend and enrich instructional strategies and support students’ learning in language. ICT applications help students collect, organize, and sort the data they gather. Students use ICT to write, edit, and present reports on their findings. ICT tools also are used to connect students to other schools, at home and abroad, and to bring the global community into the local classroom. Students are encouraged to use ICT to support, extend, and communicate their learning. For example, students working individually or in groups use ICT applications and the Internet to gain access to museums and archives in Canada and around the world. Students also use digital cameras and projectors to design and present the results of their research to their classmates. Although the Internet is a powerful learning tool, students are made aware of issues of privacy, copyright, safety, responsible use, and the ways it can be used to promote hatred and bullying.
ICT tools are used in schools not only for class instruction but for the design of curriculum units containing varied approaches to learning in order to meet the diverse needs of students. Based on a survey of teachers, the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) reported that 70 percent of Grade 3 teachers and 91 percent of Grade 6 teachers indicated that they sometimes or frequently used computer software for language instruction during the 2015–2016 school year. Since 2012, more frequent use of adaptive technologies has reduced the number of students with special education needs being exempted from provincial testing. District school boards and schools additionally have improved their data collection and analytic capacity through technology use.
In 2014, the provincial government launched a Technology and Learning Fund with an investment of 150 million Canadian dollars to transform learning and teaching. The fund provides allocations to: 21st century innovation research projects to scale innovations in learning and teaching practice enhanced by technology, digital tools and other learning resources (e.g., tablets, laptops, software); professional learning for educators; and a Technology Enabled Learning and Teaching contact on all English school boards and a Personne responsible de l’environnement d’apprentissage virtuel on all French school boards.
Role of Reading Specialists
Developed in 2004 to improve student learning and achievement, the Ontario Literacy and Numeracy Strategy uses evidence‑based practices such as differentiated instruction, student inquiry, sustained time for reading and writing in integrated contexts, emphasis on higher order thinking skills, and metacognition. Nested within this strategy is a multi‑tiered system of reading specialists.
The Ministry of Education’s Student Achievement Division employs highly skilled and experienced educators known as student achievement officers. These officers work directly with schools and school boards across the province on the planning, implementation, and monitoring of school and board improvement plans. They also work to build capacity and implement strategies that improve students’ achievement in reading and other subject areas. Literacy coaches, consultants, and specialists work with teachers to further support students’ reading.
Collaborative inquiry is emerging within Ontario education as a promising approach to professional learning.11 Collaborative inquiry involves bringing educators to work together to “improve their understanding of what learning is (or could be), generate evidence of what’s working (and what’s not), make decisions about next steps, and take action to introduce improvements and innovations.”12 New questions and approaches to improving student learning and achievement emerge through collaborative dialogue in schools, school districts, and across the province. Examples of collaborative inquiries conducted within Ontario include the Early Primary Collaborative Inquiry and the Collaborative Inquiry for Learning.13
Second Language Instruction
In the English language publicly funded school system, more than 22 percent of Ontario elementary students have a first language other than English. Ontario has a policy for English language learners (ELLs) and two programs to support them.14 The English as a Second Language program provides support to students in kindergarten to Grade 12, and the English Literacy Development program is for students in Grades 3 to 12 with limited prior schooling. The Ontario Ministry of Education also has developed three research‑based resources to support ELLs: Supporting English Language Learners in Kindergarten: A Practical Guide for Ontario Educators, and Supporting English Language Learners: A Practical Guide for Ontario Educators, Grades 1–8, and, for students requiring an English Literacy Development program, Supporting English Language Learners with Limited Prior Schooling: A Practical Guide for Ontario Educators, Grades 3–12.15 These guides assist educators in understanding ELL needs. Additionally, a guide called Steps to English Proficiency is a framework for assessing and monitoring ELL language acquisition and literacy development across the Ontario curriculum.16 This research‑based resource supports educators in assessing students, making appropriate decisions regarding student placement, and adapting the Ontario curriculum expectations in response to students’ learning progress. The entire school team has a role in helping ELL students learn the language of instruction in addition to the curriculum.
Similarly, a set of documents and resources support French language learners in French language schools. The kindergarten program, formed in 2016, has specific expectations to support differentiated instruction for French language students.17 Two additional curriculum policy documents, Actualisation linguistique en français and Programme d’appui aux nouveaux arrivants, pertain to French language students in Grades 1 to 12.18,19
Accommodation Policies for Instruction and Testing
Some students may have specific learning needs in reading that cannot be met through regular instructional and assessment practices. These needs instead may be met through environmental, instructional, and assessment accommodations. Instructional accommodations include changes in teaching strategies, including styles of presentation, methods of organization, and use of technology and multimedia. Environmental accommodations are made if the student needs preferential seating or special lighting. Assessment accommodations enabling students to demonstrate their learning may include allowing additional time to complete tests or assignments or permitting oral responses to test questions.
Students with special education needs that require accommodations have relevant information recorded in an Individual Education Plan. If students require accommodations only (and not modifications) in language, assessment and evaluation of their achievement will be based on the curriculum expectations for the appropriate grade level and the achievement levels outlined in the applicable language curriculum policy document.
Responsibility for the English language development of learners whose first language is not English or is a variation of English is shared by the classroom teacher, the English as a Second Language or English Literacy Development teacher (where available), and other school staff members. Volunteers and peers also may help support these students in language classrooms. Teachers adapt the instructional program to facilitate the success of ELL students in their classrooms by modifying some or all of the subject expectations using a variety of instructional strategies and learning resources and implementing appropriate assessment accommodations.
Students with Individual Education Plans undergoing testing by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) are eligible to receive the permitted accommodations as described in the Guide for Accommodations, Special Provisions, and Exemptions.20 These accommodations must be consistent with regular assessment practices as outlined in their respective plans. Allowable adjustments to the environment include prompts that draw the students’ attention back to the assessment through a nonverbal signal that redirects the students’ attention (e.g., a tap on the desk or verbal signals). Actions that are not allowed include clarification, explanation, or translation of any part of the assessment; encouragement; instructing students to change or add to their response; and directing students’ attention to a specific part of the assessment.
Administration formats of the EQAO assessments include American Sign Language and Quebec Sign Language (Langues des signes québécoise) or an oral interpreter, Braille versions, large print booklets, colored paper versions, MP3 audio files with regular or large print booklets, and assistive technology. Students are permitted to make responses with the assistance of a computer, word processor, or assistive devices and technology including audio recording and transcription.