Effective Date: April 9, 2001
Responsibility: Superintendent of Program and Schools - Elementary
1.0 Rationale
The Ministry of Education has designed and mandated the implementation of The Ontario Curriculum French As Second Language - Core French. The program outlines the expectations for delivery to Grades 4 - 8 program students in English-language elementary schools. The Ministry requires French instruction for each of these grade levels. The expected accumulation of instruction by the end of Grade 8 is 600 hours. School boards have the authority to introduce Core French before Grade 4 with the provision that once the instructional sequence has begun, the program must continue uninterrupted to Grade 8. Students are to be provided with an organized sequence of learning experiences that permit a steady growth of knowledge and skills.
In February 1999 the Near North District School Board approved the delivery of French As Second Language - Core French from Senior Kindergarten to Grade 8.
2.0 Program Delivery
In the elementary schools of the Near North District School Board, French as Second Language – Core French Program shall be delivered in accordance with the following model:
2.1 Senior Kindergarten - 50 minutes per week structured to ensure that all students receive instruction in as consistent manner as possible.
2.2 Grades 1 to 3 - 100 minutes per week organized in blocks of 20 minutes per day or any workable variation thereof.
2.3 Grades 4 to 8 - 150 minutes per week organized in blocks of 30 minutes per day or any workable variation thereof.
3.0 Accumulated Hours
Annual accumulations of French as Second Language – Core French instruction:
3.1 Senior Kindergarten – 30 hours
3.2 Grades 1 to 3 – 60 hours
3.3 Grades 4 to 8 – 90 hours
Total accumulation of hours of instruction by the end of Grade 8 will be 660 hours.
4.0 Program Content
The program is designed to meet all of the expectations of the Ontario Curriculum by the end of Grade 8. Under the leadership of the French As Second Language - Core French Curriculum Working Group, expectations Senior Kindergarten to Grade 3 have been developed and implemented to tie into the Ontario Curriculum.
5.0 Teacher Qualifications
Additional Qualifications French as Second Language – Part 1 is the minimum qualifications to teach French as Second Language – Core French.
