If you’re reading this, you are probably a Quebec teacher. This probably means that you feel overwhelmed and confused by the Quebec curriculum. I too am a Quebec teacher. I have been teaching elementary ELA since 2014. Today I am going to share my tips for creating a Quebec curriculum map.
Download my free QEP Competencies Handbook. I created this resource because I wanted a simplified version of the QEP that listed exactly what I needed to teach. Click here to download it now!
I have created a curriculum map template designed specifically for Quebec ELA teachers. Click here to check it out!
Step 1 to Creating a Quebec Curriculum Map-Choose Your Unit Topics, Essential Questions and Goals
The first step to creating a curriculum map is creating an overview of each unit. A unit is a general theme or topic that is explored in your class over a 4-6 week period. First, start by choosing the topic of each unit. You want these topics to be creative, relatable for students and engaging. Click here to check out my recent blog post about how to choose your unit topics.
Next, choose the essential question for each unit. This is a question that is related to your unit topic and one that students will be exploring as they learn throughout the unit. Click here to check out my bank of Essential Questions resource on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Thirdly, decide on a goal, or big idea for each unit. The goal is what you want students to know or understand by the end of the unit. Think of the goal as the answer to the Essential Question.
Click here to download my free QEP Competencies Handbook!
Step 2-Divide the skills within each competency
For the Elementary ELA portion of the QEP, there are 4 main competencies.
- 1:To read and listen to literary, popular and information-based texts
- 2:To write self-expressive, narrative, and information-based texts
- 3:To represent her/his literacy in different media
- 4:To use language to communicate and learn
Within these 4 competencies, there are skills that students have to develop and/or master. Which skills depend on your grade/ cycle. I have listed each skill and divided them by cycle in my free QEP Competencies Handbook. There is also the Progression of Learning document, however, I find the layout of this document is not as user-friendly.
Once you can access the skills you need to cover, you can start dividing these skills into your 6 units. Use my Curriculum Map Template to do this, or divide a large sheet of paper into the number of units you will be covering.
Step 3 to Creating a Quebec Curriculum Map-Assessments
Now that you know what skills you are going to teach for each unit, you can begin to plan your assessments. I recommend listing all the skills within a unit and adding a second column. This way, you can create assessments that strongly align with the skill.
Click here to check out one of my blog posts where I share the different types of assessments.
Here are a few examples:
- If the skill is to write an information-based text, a strongly aligned assessment would be to write an information-based text
- For the skill “Beginning to identify the view of the world presented in a text”, a possible assessment could be for students to present a lesson that they learned after reading a text in a presentation.
- In the skill “Previews a text”, you could create an assessment where students share their ideas and questions about a text before viewing/reading it.
Click here to check out my Quebec Curriculum Map resource!
Final Thoughts
Curriculum Mapping is an effective way to create an overview of your year. It will help you when you are planning your weekly lessons, as well as when you are in meetings related to curriculum planning and assessments.
Are you interested in learning more about navigating the QEP? Comment down below with “I’m interested!”.
PS-Don’t forget to grab your free QEP Competencies Handbook. Click here to get it now!
