Editing Phonics (section)

===Canada===

In [[Canada]], public education is the responsibility of the Provincial and Territorial governments. As in other countries there has been much debate on the value of phonics in teaching reading in English; however, phonemic awareness and phonics appears to be receiving some attention. The curriculum of all of the Canadian provinces include some of the following: phonics, phonological awareness, segmenting and blending, decoding, phonemic awareness, graphophonic cues, and letter-sound relationships.{{refn|Sources:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/english-language-arts/1/core|title=BC English Language Arts 1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://education.alberta.ca/literacy-and-numeracy/about-literacy-and-numeracy/everyone/support-documents/|title=Alberta Department of Education, curriculum}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://education.alberta.ca/media/160360/ela-pos-k-9.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://education.alberta.ca/media/160360/ela-pos-k-9.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title= Alberta ELA curriculum K-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.edonline.sk.ca/webapps/moe-curriculum-BB5f208b6da4613/index.jsp|title=Saskatchewan Department of Education}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/ela/docs/outcomes/index.html|title=Manitoba Department of Education}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/ela/docs/litlearn3.html|title=Language Cueing Systems, Department of Education, Manitoba}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language.html|title=Ontario Department of Education}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/PFEQ/educprg2001-051.pdf|title=Quebec Department of Education}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/education/k12/content/anglophone_sector/curriculum_anglophone.html|title=New Brunswick Department of Education|date=30 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/education-early-learning-and-culture/language-arts-curriculum|title=Prince Edward Island Department of Education|date=18 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ednet.ns.ca/files/curriculum/AYRP-3-RAR.pdf|title=Nova Scotia Department of Education}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.nl.ca/education/k12/curriculum/guides/english/|title=Nova Scotia ELA curriculum P-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/curriculum/guides/index.html|title=ELA, Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Education|access-date=2018-04-30|archive-date=2018-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430115327/http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/curriculum/guides/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} In addition, [[#Systematic phonics|systematic phonics]] and [[synthetic phonics]] receive attention in some publications.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bccpac.bc.ca/upload/2016/05/reading_breaking_through_barriers.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://bccpac.bc.ca/upload/2016/05/reading_breaking_through_barriers.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Reading: Breaking Through the Barriers, A Discussion Guide, Catherine Abraham and Joyce Gram, BC, Canada, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oafccd.com/documents/educationforall.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.oafccd.com/documents/educationforall.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live  |title=Early Reading Strategy – The Report of the Expert Panel on early Reading in Ontario, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/ww_Supporting_Learning_Through_Play.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/ww_Supporting_Learning_Through_Play.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Supporting Early Literacy Learning Through Play, By Dr. Jeffrey Wood, Laurentian University, April 2017}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_Early_Language.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_Early_Language.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Supporting Early Language and Literacy, What works? Research into practice, Dr. Janette Pelletier OISE, University of Toronto, October 2011}}</ref>

However, some of the practices of [[whole language]] are evident, such as:
* British Columbia – "consistently using three cueing systems, meaning, structure, and visual" and "using illustrations and prior knowledge to predict meaning",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/english-language-arts/1/core#;|title=B.C. English Language Arts 1|access-date=2021-03-13}}</ref>
* Alberta – "using cues such as pictures, context, phonics, grammatical awareness and background knowledge" and "use a variety of strategies, such as making predictions, rereading and reading on",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msa.bm/all-resources/21-grade-2-curriculum-overview/file|title=Alberta grade 2 curriculum overview, ELA, Education Alberta|date=2006}}</ref>
* Saskatchewan – "using the cueing systems to construct meaning from the text",<ref>{{cite journal|title=Saskatchewan, English Language Arts 2 Curricula|journal= Saskatchewan Ministry of Education|date=2010|isbn=9781926841076}}</ref>
* Manitoba – "use syntactic, semantic, and graphophonic cues to construct and confirm meaning in context",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/ela/docs/outcomes/grade2.doc|title=Manitoba English Language Arts, Grade 2|access-date=2021-03-13}}</ref>
* Ontario – "predict the meaning of and solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues, including: semantic (meaning) cues, syntactic (language structure) cues, and graphophonic (phonological and graphic) cues,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8|page=40|date=2006}}</ref>
* Quebec – "use of pictures and other graphic representations to interpret texts",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/PFEQ/educprg2001-051.pdf|title=Quebec ELA|page=77|access-date=2021-03-13}}</ref>
* Nova Scotia – "cueing systems (context, meaning, structure and visual)";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ednet.ns.ca/files/curriculum/AYRP-3-RAR.pdf|title=P3 Literacy Learning, Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development|date=2020|page=17}}</ref> "predict on the basis of what makes sense, what sounds right, and what the print suggests";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/curriculum-files/English%20Language%20Arts%20guide%201%20%282019%29.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/curriculum-files/English%20Language%20Arts%20guide%201%20%282019%29.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Nova Scotia English Language Arts Guide, grade 1|date=2019}}</ref> "balanced literacy program" and "search for and use meaning and structure and/or visual information (MSV)",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/resource-files/Reading%20Continuum%20P-6_9.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/resource-files/Reading%20Continuum%20P-6_9.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Nova Scotia, Using the Developmental Reading Continuum P-6 in a Balanced Literacy Program|page=3|date=2019}}</ref> and
* Newfoundland and Labrador – "use and integrate, with support, the various cueing systems (pragmatic, semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.nl.ca/education/files/k12_curriculum_guides_english_primary_ela_1_curriculum_guide_june_2017.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.gov.nl.ca/education/files/k12_curriculum_guides_english_primary_ela_1_curriculum_guide_june_2017.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Newfoundland and Labrador, Curriculum Guide 2017, ELA 1|page=20|date=2017}}</ref>

Consequentially, with the exception of those indicated below, there appears to be no evidence of a comprehensive or systematic practice of phonics in most of Canada's public schools.

In 2016, amongst 50 countries, Canada ranked 23rd in the [[PIRLS]] reading achievement for students in their fourth year of school.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/international-results/pirls/student-achievement/pirls-achievement-results/|title=PIRLS reading achievement 2016}}</ref>

In 2018, Canada ranked 6th out of 78 countries in the [[PISA]] reading scores for 15-year-old students.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm|title=PISA 2018 Results|date=2019-12-03|website=OECD|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203141933/https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm|archive-date=2019-12-03|access-date=2019-12-03}}</ref> However, critics say PISA is fundamentally flawed, and in 2014 more than 100 academics from around the world called for a moratorium on PISA.<ref name="Zhao, Y. 245–266">{{cite journal|author=Zhao, Y.|title=Two decades of havoc: A synthesis of criticism against PISA|journal=J Educ Change |doi=10.1007/s10833-019-09367-x|date=January 22, 2020|volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=245–266 |s2cid=213889847 }}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/12/03/expert-how-pisa-created-an-illusion-education-quality-marketed-it-world|title=Expert: How PISA created an illusion of education quality and marketed it to the world, The Washington Post|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=December 3, 2019}}</ref><ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/06/oecd-pisa-tests-damaging-education-academics|title=OECD and Pisa tests are damaging education worldwide - academics, The Guardian|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=May 6, 2014}}</ref>

In 2021, the province of New Brunswick introduced a new English Language Arts curriculum that includes phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/education/k12/content/anglophone_sector/curriculum_anglophone.html|title=Curriculum Development (Anglophone Sector), New Brunswick|date=2021}}</ref> Notably, the teaching of alphabetic skills based on the [[Reading#Science of reading|science of reading]] has replaced the use of various cueing systems and a variety of strategies to construct meaning from text.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/K12/curric/English/reading-and-viewing-k-2-gco.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/K12/curric/English/reading-and-viewing-k-2-gco.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=GCO Amendment Rationale, NB curriculum}}</ref>

On January 27, 2022, the [[Ontario Human Rights Commission]] (OHRC) released a report on its public inquiry into the right to read.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report|title=Right to Read inquiry report|date=January 27, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://educhatter.wordpress.com/2022/03/18/right-to-read-whats-standing-in-the-way-of-fixing-early-reading/|title=Right to read, what's standing in the way of fixing early reading|date=March 18, 2022}}</ref> It followed the unanimous decision of the [[Supreme Court of Canada]], on November 9, 2012, recognizing that learning to read is not a privilege, but a basic and essential human right.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/12680/index.do|title=Moore v. British Columbia (Education)|date=November 9, 2012}},</ref>

The OHRC's report deals with all students, not just those with learning disabilities.<ref name="ohrc.on.ca"/> The inquiry found that Ontario is not fulfilling its obligations to meet students' right to read. Specifically, foundational word-reading skills are not effectively targeted in Ontario's education system. With science-based approaches to reading instruction, early screening, and intervention, we should see only about 5% of students reading below grade level. However, in 2018–2019, 26% of all Ontario Grade 3 students and 53% of Grade 3 students with special education needs (students who have an Individual Education Plan), were not meeting the provincial EQAO standard. The results improved only slightly for Grade 6 students, where 19% of all students and 47% of students with special education needs did not meet the provincial standard.

The Ontario curriculum encourages the use of the [[Reading#Three cueing system (Searchlights model)|three-cueing system]] and [[balanced literacy]], which are ineffective because they teach children to "guess" the meaning of a word rather than sound it out. What is required is a) [[Evidence-based education|evidence-based curriculum and instruction]] (including explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics), b) evidence-based screening assessments, c) evidence-based reading interventions, d) accommodations that are not used as a substitute for teaching students to read, and e) professional assessments (yet, not required for interventions or accommodations).

[[Ministry of Education (Ontario)|The Minister of Education for Ontario]] responded to this report by saying the government is taking immediate action to improve student literacy and making longer-term reforms to modernize the way reading is taught and assessed in schools, with a focus on phonics. Their plan includes "revising the elementary Language curriculum and the Grade 9 English course with scientific, evidence-based approaches that emphasize direct, explicit and [[#Teaching reading with phonics|systematic instruction]] and removing references to unscientific discovery and inquiry-based learning, including the three-cueing system, by 2023."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/Right%20to%20Read%20Min%20of%20Ed%20%20Response%20ENG.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/Right%20to%20Read%20Min%20of%20Ed%20%20Response%20ENG.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=The Ministry of Education thanks the Ontario Human Rights Commission for its Right to Read Inquiry report|date=March 11, 2022}}</ref> In January 2024, the province unveiled a back-to-basics kindergarten curriculum. It will provide evidence-based clear and direct instruction in literacy, including understanding sound-letter relationships, developing phonics knowledge, and using specific vocabulary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1004097/ontario-unveils-a-back-to-basics-kindergarten-curriculum|title=Ontario unveils a back-to-basics kindergarten curriculum|date=January 23, 2024}}</ref>