Orange Shirt Day French Reading Comprehension | Truth and Reconciliation

Teach your French students about Orange Shirt Day, Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and the history of Indigenous residential schools with this differentiated French reading comprehension activity.

With three versions of the same reading at different proficiency levels, you can choose the version that works best for your students or differentiate within the same classroom. Students learn about the residential school system in Canada, its policy of assimilation, the experiences of Indigenous children and families, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the history behind Orange Shirt Day and the message « Chaque enfant compte » (Every Child Matters).

The readings also introduce students to the story of Phyllis Webstad and how her experience at a residential school inspired the orange shirt as a symbol of remembrance.

Three differentiated reading levels are included:

• Novice High
• Intermediate Low
• Intermediate Mid

Each version presents the same essential topic with vocabulary and language structures appropriate to that proficiency level, making it easy to use this resource with different French classes or mixed-ability students.

What’s included?

✓ 3 differentiated French readings

✓ Novice High, Intermediate Low, and Intermediate Mid versions

✓ Vocabulary support with English definitions

✓ Historical photographs

✓ Residential School System infographic with key facts and timeline

✓ 10 True/False comprehension questions

✓ 5 Short Answer questions

✓ 10 Multiple Choice questions

✓ Questions in both French and English

✓ Answer key

✓ Links to additional videos, podcasts, websites, and articles for further study

The included infographic gives students an easy-to-understand visual overview of the residential-school system, including its scale, goal of assimilation, conditions experienced by children, deaths associated with the system, and a timeline from its expansion in the 1880s through the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in 2021.

The comprehension activities can be used with any of the three reading levels, so students can work with different versions of the text while completing the same questions. Both French and English versions of the questions are provided, allowing you to choose whether you want students to focus primarily on reading comprehension or demonstrate their understanding entirely in French.

Topics covered include:

Indigenous peoples in Canada • residential schools • assimilation • Indigenous languages and culture • treatment of children in residential schools • resistance by Indigenous children and families • Truth and Reconciliation Commission • 94 Calls to Action • Phyllis Webstad • Orange Shirt Day • Every Child Matters • National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

This resource is a meaningful way to incorporate Francophone culture, Canadian history, Indigenous history, and authentic cultural learning into the French classroom while providing students with reading practice at an appropriate proficiency level.

Use it for Orange Shirt Day on September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a Canada or Francophone culture unit, Indigenous history, or as an informational French reading comprehension activity at any time of year.

Please note: This resource discusses residential schools and includes references to the mistreatment and deaths of Indigenous children. Teachers should consider the needs and maturity of their students when using the material.

The resource also provides links for teachers and students who want to continue learning through the Orange Shirt Society, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Historica Canada, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.