BC Learning Progressions: A Phonics Shift We Actually Need.
Recently, the BC Government released a draft of the ELA Foundational (k-4) Learning Progressions. For those of us longing for a structured phonics scope and sequence, it was a momentous day. While the progressions aren’t finalized, they’ve sparked some lively discussions.
One sentiment that I have heard has been that the phonics progression is too fast and that it should be spread out over more grades.
I don’t like to be particularly controversial…but I guess today is my day so here goes nothing.
Let’s take a big step back and look at what the research is telling us about when to teach phonics and then let’s build our BC phonics approach.
When Should We Teach Phonics?
Phonics is a hairy beast of a topic to bring up. So much has been made of it around the ‘Reading Wars’…too much has been made of it. But, it is still an important bedrock of literacy instruction. The Reading Panel’s review (NICHD, 2000) on the topic found that systematic phonics instruction is an effective instructional practice for the growth of Kindergarten and grade 1 aged learners as readers. Other evidence supports this finding also, not least John Hattie’s (2019) meta-analysis of meta-analysis’ which found that phonics instruction has a healthy effect size.
So if all can agree that phonics instruction is important, the next questions are when and how much?
In BC, teacher training is largely influenced by Balanced Literacy, meaning there’s some unlearning to do for those shifting to the Science of Reading. This is why discussions about phonics timing can feel so loaded—many educators are viewing it through a lens that never really prioritized it.
When should we teach phonics?
The National Reading Panel found that phonics is best taught to learners who are just learning to read. If you wait until they’ve started learning to read and then go back and teach phonics, it’s less effective probably because the kids are having to unlearn and change their thinking.
The panel couldn’t comment on teaching phonics to older learners beyond that because the data wasn’t available. The only studies on phonics instruction for Grades 2-6 used struggling readers.
That’s fine.
We know that we want to start phonics instruction as soon as possible. Kindergarten if possible….that is a shift from what we think of currently in Kindergarten in BC, but it’s important to know there have been no ill effects found from starting kids on reading instruction in Kindergarten. Tim Shannahan says that as English is so complicated, the earlier we start the better (Shanahan, 2019). When I look at the scope and sequence of instruction across multiple programs and countries, we see that reading instruction starting as early as 5 is fairly common. It’s possible to maintain a play-based environment in Kindergarten and still have beginning reading instruction. I promise we can do this in BC without selling our souls to the devil.
How Much Phonics is Enough?
The next question is how much phonics is appropriate. One concern raised is that BC’s phonics expectations in Grades 1 & 2 are too demanding and should be spread out through Grades 3 & 4.
Phonics is like a plate of fresh calamari at a Greek buffet. You want to get in and out early. The longer you linger, the worse the experience gets.
Developmentally, phonics fits right at the beginning of reading instruction when kids are learning to decode words (NICHD, 2000). If we drag it out too long, students develop bad habits as they encounter words they can’t decode, making phonics instruction less effective.
The point is, that when we look at developmental frameworks for teaching reading such as Chall’s (1996), in K-2 phonics is where we are spending a large chunk of our time. It is the priority, not the element that fits around the priority. Shanahan recommends 30-45 minutes per day on explicit phonics instruction K-2 for typical readers. In the context of two to three hours per day of reading and writing practice (Shanahan, 2019). So, for clarity, we aren’t only doing phonics, but we are investing a good chunk of time into it daily.
From what I’ve seen, most scopes take about 3 years to teach the fundamental code of English, usually spanning K-2. By Grade 2, children need to be learning complex vowel patterns, digraphs & multisyllabic decoding. Could we push this back to Grades 1-3 instead? Sure. But according to Chall’s framework (1996) Grade 3 brains would be better spent on morphology, fluency, and comprehension.
A Necessary Mindshift
BC has long embraced the belief that kids will bloom into reading naturally through storytime and play-based learning. challenge this by introducing systematic, explicit phonics instruction—because we know it works. Unlike spoken language, reading isn’t biologically hardwired (Dehaene & Cohen, 2011; Seidenberg et al., 2020) It’s a skill that must be taught.
So, can we do this? Can we make this shift over to something structured like the Learning Progressions? Yes we can.
Will it require a mindset shift? Absolutely.
Will it harm kids? No.
But delaying phonics? That might.
References:
Chall, J. S. (1996). Stages of reading development (2nd ed). Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Dehaene, S., & Cohen, L. (2011). The unique role of the visual word form area in reading. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(6), 254–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2011.04.003
Hattie, J., & Anderman, E. M. (2019). Visible Learning Guide to Student Achievement (1st ed.). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781351257848/visible-learning-guide-student-achievement-john-hattie-eric-anderman
NICHD. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Seidenberg, M. S., Cooper Borkenhagen, M., & Kearns, D. M. (2020). Lost in Translation? Challenges in Connecting Reading Science and Educational Practice. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1). https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.341
Shanahan, T. (2019). When should reading instruction begin? [Blog]. Shanahan on Literacy. https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/when-should-reading-instruction-begin