The long awaited and much anticipated Summer Literacy Symposium saw its day this past August. Over one hundred participants, composed of teachers and consultants from across the province were in attendance. The driving force of the Symposium aimed to address concerns regarding the gaps in early literacy skills among our Anglophone students and the implications of an aging ELA curriculum highlighted in the Research Into Reading Report recently prepared by the Ministry.
Given the context, as promised, this year’s Symposium focused on laying down a foundational layer, hence the theme was Teacher Knowledge: YOU are the BEST resource in your class! The vision was straightforward and simultaneously complex: bring teachers of readers together in one shared space and build a common knowledge base so that we might collectively understand the learning journey of our students as readers.
As was expected, for some, much of the content confirmed their current practices, and for others it was all quite new. We were fortunate to have benefited from the extensive knowledge of literacy experts with a particular focus on metacognition, self-efficacy, word recognition, spelling, and morphology. But don’t take our word for it - here is what people had to say:
“I am so happy that this information is finally being made available to all teachers. Many of us have had to research and "teach ourselves". Thank you to everyone involved
in organizing this event. I appreciated being able to listen to experts in the field who reaffirmed much of what I worked very hard to learn on my own.”
“Thank you so much! This was a very positive experience, and I feel much better prepared to DO better with my students this year.”
“The presenters who were invited to speak this year were outstanding! I found them all to be highly knowledgeable and engaging speakers.”
“It is clear how the Steering Committee and presenters worked together to create a comprehensive program that built on each other and followed the Active View of Reading.”
“The breakouts were great to brainstorm in-class activities.”
“It has been fun to reflect on myself as a reader throughout this learning process.”
“Thank you for helping in bringing the joy (of reading) to our students.”
This was our pilot year, and the entire team, Steering Committee and presenters, wish to thank all of the participants who not only volunteered their precious time to join us and allow us to “test” it all out on them, but also for the invaluable, constructive feedback that they have provided. We are profoundly grateful for their enthusiasm and trust, not to mention the exceptional dedication to our profession and students.
It’s safe to say that the collective vision for Year 2 echoes our own: more opportunities for discussion and concrete hands-on activities, along with more time to collaborate and process all the information.
Please keep your eyes peeled for upcoming LCEEQ workshops/webinars that will serve to offer the support between now and next August. The dates for the coming summers are listed below. For the first time ever, LCEEQ has been able to secure dates for the next three summers. Please know that we have placed these dates as close to the start of the school year as possible, while respecting various constraints.
Cohort 1 & 2: August 10-15th, 2025 (details to follow)
Cohort 1, 2 & 3: August 9-14th, 2026
Cohort 2 & 3: Aug. 15-20th, 2027
Cohort 3: final year, TBD
Recruiting for Cohort 2
We are already in search of our Cohort 2 participants. How do you know if this is the right event for you?
- Are you interested in digging deep into foundational literacy skills and learning how they support the teaching of readers?
- Would you like to demystify the science of reading & establish how it supports the joy of reading?
- Are you keen to confirm existing knowledge and perhaps challenge some of your current beliefs?
- Are you motivated to meet teachers from across Québec to collaborate with them in a spirit of joyfulness?
- Do you appreciate the opportunity to study and learn while not feeling torn away from your responsibilities in the classroom?
If you answered a unanimous “yes” to these questions, then we strongly encourage you to contact your Language Arts Consultant to submit your name for the Summer Literacy Symposium. The number of spots for each School Board/Association are limited so the sooner you decide the better your chance of being selected.