If you are a teacher in Quebec, chances are you are very familiar with the progression of learning elementary document. I recently did a poll on Instagram stories and found that 100% of the Quebec teachers polled will use the progression of learning document over the QEP program document.
Since this is such a popular document among Quebec teachers, today I want to share 3 takeaways from using the Progression of learning. Also, I am going to share some facts you may not already know about this document.
If you’re an elementary ELA teacher in Quebec, you need to download my free QEP Competencies Handbook. This digital document gives a bullet point overview of everything you need to teach within each cycle. I combined all of the information between the program document and the progression of learning elementary. Click here to get it now!
What is the Progression of Learning Elementary Doc? And what is it not?
I remember first reading the QEP Program document in university and thinking, “but where does it say what I have to teach?”. This document felt too wordy and did not do a good job of laying out exactly what I was meant to teach when I graduated. Then, I found the Progression of Learning Elementary ELA doc. “There it is!” I remember thinking to myself.
While the Progression of Learning is very helpful, it is NOT the curriculum. As stated on the document itself, it is “complementary” to the QEP.
It’s only now, in my 7th year of teaching that I have spent extensive time looking over both the Quebec Education Program document and the Progression of Learning that I have found some challenges.
For one, the Progression of Learning is not just a simplified version of the QEP, as many seem to believe. For one, the way they are organized is completely different. The QEP is divided into 4 competencies; Reading, Writing, Communication, and Producing Media. Think of those as the 4 branches of learning, and all of the skills are the leaves (you had to expect at least one metaphor on a blog post written by a teacher!).
The Progression of Learning is not divided into these 4 competencies. Why? Because nothing can be made too easy for us teachers!
Instead, the Progression of Learning is divided by Conventions of Written and Media Language, Language-Learning Processes, and Text Types, Structures and Features. In each category, all 4 competencies are thrown into the mix. Very confusing!
Click here to download my free digital document that gives a bullet point overview of everything you need to teach within each cycle. I combined all of the information between the program document and the progression of learning elementary. It is divided by each of the 4 competencies I listed above. Click here to get it now!
My second problem with these two documents is that the skills within them are not the same. There are skills in the QEP doc that aren’t in the Progression of Learning Elementary ELA doc and vice-versa. I could go into listing the differences but honestly, just trust me! They are not the same!
I wanted to Make My Own
For the reasons listed above, I decided to make my own version of the Progression of Learning. I wanted this resource to:
- List the skills I had to teach by competency
- Include the skills listed in the program doc and the progression of learning
- Be both digital and printable
And guess what?
I did it!
I created the QEP Competencies Handbook, a pdf resource that offers each cycle’s learning skills, divided by competency. It was important to me to take the time to make sure I included the most important information from both the progression of learning and the program doc into a bullet-point format.
Click here to download it now!
I believe this is the most easy-to-use way for elementary ELA teachers to access the QEP. For a digital version, I will open this pdf handbook on my GoodNotes app.
Click here to check out my recent blog post about the resource!
How to Use the Progression of Learning Doc to the Fullest
Do you still want to use the Progression of Learning? Awesome! I’m going to share a few tips on how to maximize this document’s use.
Step 1:Know your cycle/grade level
Step 2: Highlight what you will assess
Start off by choosing one colour to highlight all the skills with a star in the column of your particular grade. For example, if I am teaching Grade 4, I would go ahead and highlight all of the skills with a star in the grade 4 column red.
Step 3: Highlight what your cycle’s assessments
This step is if you are teaching a grade that is the first grade within a cycle (Grade 1, Grade 3 and Grade 5)! Choose a different colour highlighter.Then, highlight all of the skills with an arrow pointing right in your grade column that has a star in the next grade’s column. If you are teaching Grade 2, Grade 4 or Grade 6, you already did this in the previous step.
Step 4: Highlight the skills with an arrow in your grade column that are being assessed in a different cycle.
You will teach these skills but won’t assess them. I often like to communicate with the other grades’ teachers about these skills. I want to see what they are teaching so we can build off of each other.
Step 5: Make a list for yourself based on your level of importance.
Based on what you highlighted and the level of importance (which I used when creating these steps listed above), make a list of what you need to teach
Et Voila!
Final Thoughts
I hope this has been helpful for you! Please comment down below and let me know what you thought about this post! Whether you use my free QEP Competencies Handbook or the Progression of Learning, I love talking about planning and curriculum with other teachers!
What grade are you teaching this year? Drop a comment down below!
