Chasing a Unicorn?
Fostering a Reading Culture in French for Grades 5 to 8
My initial idea was to come up with an infographic to help
students choose a good fit book in French. Upon reflection, I realized that
most students in grades 5 to 8 can choose a good fit book, they just don’t want
to read it. Why is it so hard to get kids in to “buy into” reading in French?
Before I can get to the heart of the idea, I want to address
a few obstacles that are unique to a French Immersion school.
1. There is less choice when book buying.
We have few options for buying French books.
- We can buy Quebec published materials. While it is great that they are Canadian, the vocabulary is almost always too challenging for our students who are learning a second language.
- We can buy books published in France, but we encounter the same problem. Cost is usually a deciding factor.
- We can buy books translated from English to French. Scholastic translates almost all of their books and is a good source of appropriate reading material for French Immersion students.
2. It is more challenging (and therefore less fun) to read in
French.
In a general sense, after grade 3 or so, students (those without reading difficulties), move from learning to read to reading for fun. They begin to choose books because they love the genre, topic or author, etc. This is not the case for most French Immersion students. After grade 3, they are still learning to read in French. The level of the books they can read in French don’t match up to the books they can read in English. Am I chasing a unicorn? Are there high/low books in French that kids will read?
3. We can’t forget the COVID caveat, we don’t have access to
the library.
It’s important to be able to look at the vocabulary when choosing a book in French. Could I use Destiny Discover to my advantage?
4. There aren’t many cool book trailers in French!
Yet…
My solutions to these obstacles? Stay tuned!
Bibliography
(2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from https://dref.mb.ca/clubs-de-lecture
(2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from https://animoto.com/blog/guides/how-to-make-a-book-trailer
How to Create a QR Code | QR Code Generator. (2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from https://www.qr-code-generator.com/guides/how-to-create-a-qr-code/
Wilson, C., Wilson, C., Hiatt, K., Mario, M., & Mario, M. (2020). Ten ways to create a reading culture in your school. Retrieved 13 November 2020, from https://blog.pearsoninternationalschools.com/ten-ways-to-create-a-reading-culture-in-your-school/
Schoolwide Strategies for Promoting a Love of Reading. (2020). Retrieved 13 November 2020, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/schoolwide-strategies-promoting-love-reading
Thank you for sharing this Jennifer! I never even considered how reading in French would effect the buy-in and engagement of students, but it would be SO HARD to enjoy reading and get into stories when you don't understand what is going on, have to look up words non-stop or read something that is way below your interest level because it is at your reading level. huh. That would be hard to overcome! I am excited to hear your thoughts and solutions to these problems!
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be such an interesting project. I work in a French Immersion school, and while my husband is Quebecois my French is passable. I feel the struggle in buying French language books, and I know that our French collection is quite tragic. The cost of replacing these books is outrageous. However, my husband would say that it is so important to buy books that have not been translated, and even more important to purchase books that represent French Canadian culture. But, you make a very valid point about the level of materials vs the age of the reader in FI. The books that the students can read are far to young for the age that they are. How do you find a balance between the two?
I really look forward to seeing what you come up with. You also have me thinking about how I can integrate FI into my own project.
Look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Alison.
Thank you for sharing this important information about the difficulties in choosing books in French for students and for librarians. I think you have identified an important issue here and I look forward to seeing how you work to support it with your final project.
ReplyDelete