The goal of this quarterly blog post is to keep you informed of the current ALDI initiatives and the new resources available on the ALDI website.
ALDI Initiatives
ALDI Initiatives are flexible in design. They can be adapted to meet the various pedagogical needs of your team. 
Distance Learning Support
- This learning community would create emergency lesson plans in prevention and preparation of a class closure. These one-week “back pocket” lesson plans outline specific remedial or supporting teacher roles to help students online. They answer the question, “Who is doing what in the case of a class closure?” In addition to stress reduction, another advantage is that these lessons are versatile and can also be easily adapted for in-class use. You can see a sample lesson here. A rich professional development opportunity is created when a team comes together to design instructional lessons aligned with targeted support.
Literacy
- With regards to reading skills, what are remedial and supporting teachers most concerned about? This learning community would listen to podcasts, read selected articles, and watch instructional videos about the science of reading. The focus would then shift to the best way to support struggling readers. The project will end with a toolkit of research-based resources.
Differentiation
- This session is designed to understand the difference between flexible pedagogy, adaptation, and modification. The practical application of each definition will then be explored.
MEQ-Learning to be Prioritized
- This learning community will start by exploring the documents released by the MEQ. (Learning to be Prioritized and the Progressions of Learning) Together, let’s explore what needs to be taught, what can go wrong for students, and how to support learners with specific intervention practices.
New-to-Resource Teacher Handbook
- The main purpose of this handbook will be to support new teachers. This tool will enable them to answer the question, “How do I start this new school year?” The resources produced through collaboration will be useful to all remedial and supporting teachers, as the content will focus on material that is currently lacking. If you see this as a need, let’s work together!
If you are interested in any of these initiatives, contact me to collaborate.
hscott@swlauriersb.qc.ca
ALDI website
Distance Learning Resources
New additions include:
1-Elementary Cycle 1 Lesson Plan Template for distance learning. These resources were created to support teachers in the case of an abrupt transition to distance learning. The lesson plan template outlines the role of the remedial teacher within the lesson plan framework. Anticipating student difficulties and incorporating support is a key component to student success.
This virtual library offers a wealth of online books to be used in the case of a class closure. Once on the website, I recommend scrolling down to watch the short instructional video first.
Literacy
In the literacy section, you will now find the Academic Word Finder. When teaching vocabulary, it is important to select Tier 2 words. These are high-frequency in nature, are used across several subject areas, and are important for students to learn. After uploading a text, this tool enables teachers to receive a suggested list of the Tier 2 vocabulary words for word study. The Academic Word Finder is free but requires a sign-up.
Heather Scott, ALDI