This text is part of the special section Private schools
Reading is an essential skill to develop in order to do well in school. The Federation of Private Education Establishments (FEEP) has set up a vast project on reading to support all its secondary schools in this learning.
Reading is a challenge for many high school students, especially for those whose first language is not French. “It is a difficulty mentioned everywhere in the school network, not only in the private sector”, notes France Legault, educational adviser of RÉCIT for the Federation of private educational establishments (FEEP). To support students, parents and teachers, the FEEP has set up a vast project focusing on reading skills.
“It’s documented in research: reading is one of the biggest factors in academic success. It has repercussions in all other subjects, ”adds Benjamin Lille, pedagogical adviser of RÉCIT. The question is all the more important in the private network, as these schools do not offer vocational training: these students are therefore destined for higher education, where it is important to have a good level of reading to succeed. The FEEP has therefore set up an initiative (for the moment, only at the secondary level) to support these skills and equip teachers of all subjects.
Reading strategies
RÉCIT’s pedagogical advisers accompany schools and their staff to teach them six reading strategies that can be transferred to different environments and media. “It’s good for all school subjects and all formats: paper, text, audio, image, etc. “, describes France Legault.
The model aims to simplify the teaching of reading strategies by taking reading intention and reading planning (how long, on what medium) as a starting point. The strategies in question are in no particular order, to reflect the iterative nature of reading. “Teachers will refer to strategies, for example by asking students: when you read, are you able to bring out the important words? If you don’t understand a word, where do you look for it? explains Martine Vandal, director of educational services at Collège Mont-Saint-Louis, whose school is just beginning to adopt them. The development and evaluation of the benefits of the project are done in collaboration with researchers from TELUQ University.
Interdisciplinary mobilization
As reading is not just a matter of French, student support is shared between the teachers of the different subjects, the professionals (such as the remedial teacher), the school management… In this way, the all actors use the same language and the same way of teaching strategies. “There are often several ways of operating in parallel in schools, and both students and parents can get confused. The notion of unification is important”, remarks Benjamin Lille.
The mobilization of all teachers, regardless of the subject, is a truly innovative aspect of this project. “Reading is not the responsibility of the French teacher alone, but of everyone”, sums up Benjamin Lille. Martine Vandal also reports that the request came from teachers from all walks of life. “Last year, we started providing support with the RÉCIT team for all subjects. In meetings to identify pedagogical challenges, one point that emerged from teachers of all subjects was the reading challenge for some students,” she says.
This mobilization will make it possible to make connections between the different subjects, especially since secondary school students do not always understand that reading is important, both for understanding the math exam question and the text of the history course. “We often talk about interdisciplinary projects; it’s a good way to rally around the same goal,” observes Ms.me Legault. The same text produced by the students could for example be corrected by the social universe teacher for the content, then by the French teacher for the language. “It allows for great collaboration between teachers,” says Ms.me Vandal.
Encourage reading
To instil a taste for reading, other efforts are made. “We talk a lot about the pleasure of reading”, underlines Mme Legault. Schools, for example, have developed library systems in the corridor, like the alley croque-livres. School libraries are also being transformed to become living places, including collaborative premises. Since the pandemic, teachers have also taken to going outside.
Democratizing reading also means providing access to various formats and subjects, from podcasts to digital books. “That doesn’t mean that we put aside traditional works, but we want to open up to different types of possible readings,” explains France Legault.
For now, the project is in its infancy. The implementation will be done in about fifteen secondary schools at the start of the school year, and about 25 other schools have started raising awareness. “We must first take the time to show the strategies to the students. We feel that it will pay off in the long term, ”concludes Mme Vandal.