English · Lycée général (C1 to C2), Bac pro (B1 to B2)
Marking grid for dys students
For the teacher. Use this sheet to mark the work of dyslexic and dys students. The assessment is still out of 20, with the same questions and the same expected answers. Mark the content: what the student has understood, their ideas and how they use the documents. Spelling, handwriting and presentation are never penalised unless they stop you from understanding the answer.
Marking principles
- Read the meaning, not the form. Read the answer quietly as it sounds: if the idea is right, give the points.
- Do not penalise spelling, handwriting, crossings out or layout, unless they really block meaning.
- Reward content, ideas, understanding and use of the documents (a quotation, an example, a date, a name).
- Accept short answers, bullet points or keywords when they show understanding. Full sentences are not required in Parts A and B.
- If in doubt, ask the student to read or explain the answer orally, then mark what they say.
Questions in Parts A and B
For these questions. The expected answers are the same as in the standard grid. A correct keyword, a list or an oral answer earns the points. An answer spelt phonetically but correct earns full marks.
| No. | Expected answer | Points | Mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part A · Understanding the documents | |||
| 1 | A harvest celebration in 1621 with Massasoit and about ninety Wampanoag men, which lasted three days (1). It is the only eyewitness account of 1621 (1). | 2 points | / 2 |
| 2 | The Wampanoag leader (“their greatest king”); his presence with ninety men suggests a diplomatic event, an alliance, not only a meal. | 1 point | / 1 |
| 3 | Because the organisers of the 350th anniversary did not allow him to deliver his speech as written (1); he spoke on Thanksgiving Day and the first National Day of Mourning was held (1). | 2 points | / 2 |
| 4 | “we the Wampanoags still walk the lands of Massachusetts”. | 1 point | / 1 |
| Part B · Language and key facts | |||
| 5 | Jamestown was founded (by the settlers) in 1607 on the land of the Powhatan. | 1 point | / 1 |
| 6 | The Pilgrims are said to have eaten turkey in 1621. | 1 point | / 1 |
| 7 | a) 1619, twenty-two burgesses met at Jamestown; b) 1620, forty-one men agreed to form a civil body politic; c) 1737, John and Thomas Penn took perhaps over one million acres of Lenape land; d) 1863, Lincoln set apart the last Thursday of November (1 point each: 0.5 for the year, 0.5 for the explanation). | 4 points | / 4 |
Part C: writing criteria
For the writing task. A shorter text, organised in lists or built on sequence keywords, can get full marks if the ideas and evidence are there. Only the clarity criterion deals with language, and it assesses meaning, not spelling or grammar accuracy.
| Criterion | Full marks | Half marks | No marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use of the documents (2 points) | Both documents used, with one short quotation. (2) | One document used. (1) | Documents not used. (0) |
| Historical accuracy (2 points) | Dated facts that are correct (1621, 1863, 1970) and Native nations named. (2) | Some correct facts, some vague. (1) | Wrong or invented facts. (0) |
| Two points of view and nuance (2 points) | Two points of view, then a nuanced conclusion (on balance, however). (2) | Two points of view, no real conclusion. (1) | One point of view only. (0) |
| Clear message (2 points) | The message can be understood all the way through; sequence vocabulary used, even if misspelt. (2) | The message can be understood with some rereading; little sequence vocabulary. (1) | The meaning cannot be found, even when read aloud or explained orally. (0) |
| Part | Points | Mark |
|---|---|---|
| Part A · Understanding the documents | 6 points | / 6 |
| Part B · Language and key facts | 6 points | / 6 |
| Part C · Writing: Whose story? | 8 points | / 8 |
| Total | 20 points | / 20 |
Typical dyslexic errors: how to read them
- Phonetic spelling: “becos” for “because”, “wos” for “was”, “sed” for “said”. The word is recognisable when read aloud: accept it.
- Letter inversions: b and d, p and q, “form” for “from”, “waht” for “what”. Accept them.
- Missing or doubled letters or syllables, words joined or split: read the intention.
- Homophones (there, their, they’re; to, too; your, you’re): no marks taken off.
- Missing punctuation, irregular capitals, crossings out, skipped lines: no marks taken off.
- Only take marks off when, even read aloud, you cannot tell what the student means.
Reminder of accommodations
- Extra time: one third more time, or a shortened assessment.
- Oral answers: the student may dictate or say an answer; mark it like a written one.
- Enlarged documents, a suitable font, wide line spacing, a single column.
- Instructions read aloud by the teacher or a classmate, and rephrased if needed.
- Reduced copying: answers written on the question paper, tick boxes, gap fills, no copying out of questions.
- Check the student’s PAP, PPS or PAI: it takes priority over this list.
The teaching assistant’s role
Many dys students work with a teaching assistant (AESH).
- During the assessment, the teaching assistant reads the instructions aloud and may reread them as often as needed.
- They write down what the student dictates, word for word, when this is in the student’s support plan.
- They help organise the page: finding the question, the box or the line to answer on.
- During the correction, they go over the chosen goals with the student and help them fill in the active correction sheet.
- The teaching assistant never gives the answers, never rephrases the student’s ideas and never corrects the paper.
Assessment done with teaching assistant help:
Type of help: :
Type of help: :
The role of the AESH (teaching assistant)
In France, the AESH (accompagnant d’élèves en situation de handicap) helps a student with special needs access learning. This help comes on top of the teacher’s own adaptations. It can take five forms:
- Rephrasing and simplifying instructions.
- Helping the student focus and get back on task.
- Helping with organisation, planning and note-taking.
- Using adapted materials and reducing help step by step, towards independence.
- Supporting communication and interaction with the class.
- During the test, the AESH may read the instructions aloud, write down what the student dictates word for word when the support plan allows it, and help the student find where to answer.
- During correction, the AESH goes over the chosen targets with the student and helps them fill in the active correction sheet.
- The AESH never gives the answers, never rewrites the student’s ideas and never marks the paper.
Test taken with an AESH:
Type of help: : ____________
Type of help: : ____________
How to give feedback
- Start with one precise success: a correct idea, a document well used.
- Choose one or two goals only for next time, never a list of every mistake.
- Keep them simple: “Quote one date from the document.”, “Read your conclusion aloud.”
- Write clearly in large letters, or give the feedback orally.
- On the active correction sheet, the student only corrects the errors linked to the chosen goals.
Common mistakes to watch for
- Saying the colonies were founded on empty land: they were founded on the homelands of Native nations.
- Dating the first national Thanksgiving in 1621: Lincoln proclaimed it in 1863.
- Writing is said to eat instead of is said to have eaten for a past event.
- Using the word Indians outside a quotation: write Native nations, or name the nation (Wampanoag, Powhatan, Lenape).
Model answer
Every November, millions of Americans sit down to a family dinner. The holiday recalls a harvest gathering of 1621 between English settlers and the Wampanoag. But whose story does it tell?
For many families, Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful and to be together. Its origin is documented: Edward Winslow, the only eyewitness, describes three days of feasting with Massasoit and some ninety men. The celebration was later turned into a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln in 1863.
However, the story is said to have been simplified. The gathering was a diplomatic alliance, and the colonies were built on Native homelands. In 1970, Wamsutta Frank James was not allowed to give his speech, so he spoke on Cole's Hill, and a National Day of Mourning has been held every year since. As he said, “we the Wampanoags still walk the lands of Massachusetts.”
On balance, the holiday can be kept, but its history should be told in full, with the Wampanoag voices that the national myth has left out.