1st Grade - Gateway 1

The phonemic awareness scope and sequence in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1c. The materials contain a clear, evidence-based progression that advances from foundational phonemic awareness skills to more complex phoneme-level tasks, including blending, segmenting, and manipulation. Instruction is sequenced to support early application to phonics, with phonological awareness tasks limited to the beginning of the year and sustained emphasis on phoneme-level work thereafter. Phonemic awareness routines are aligned to the phonics scope and sequence, ensuring oral sound manipulation supports students’ decoding and encoding development.

• Materials contain a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence for teaching phonemic awareness skills. 

  • In the Fundations Teacher’s Manual, Level 1, Phonemic Awareness section, materials state that “[p]honemic awareness involves several skills that may be taught simultaneously: isolating sounds, identifying sounds, categorizing sounds, blending sounds into words, and segmenting words into sounds, all of which are considered basic phonemic awareness skills. Advanced, or more complex phonemic awareness skills include deletion and substitution (Erbeli et al., 2024)... Advanced skills are taught beginning in Level 1.” The materials continue: “Appropriate and explicit instruction in phoneme awareness benefits all students (Fielding-Barnsley, 1997; IDA, 2022) but is critical for many students because they cannot develop sufficient phonemic awareness without explicit instruction. This instruction should help students understand that words consist of a sequence of phonemes (Adams, 2001)... In Fundations Level 1, phonemic awareness instruction continues, and students learn to blend, segment, and manipulate sounds in words with up to six sounds in a syllable.” 

• Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction based on the expected hierarchy to build toward students’ immediate application of the skills.

  • According to the Fundations Level 1 Scope & Sequence, materials follow the following order:

    • Unit 1(2-3 weeks)

      • Phonological Awareness (Alliteration, Rhyme)

      • Phonemic Awareness (Sound Manipulation)

    • Unit 2 (2-4 weeks)

      • Phonemic Awareness (Sound Manipulation: Initial, Final, and Medial)

    • Unit 3 (2 weeks)

      • Phoneme Segmentation

    In Level 1, which consists of fourteen units, explicit phonemic awareness instruction is concentrated in the first three units, where students receive systematic practice with phoneme recognition, segmentation, and manipulation aligned to the initial phonics sequence,

• Materials attend to developing phonemic awareness skills and avoid spending excess time on phonological sensitivity tasks. 

  • According to the Fundations Level 1 Scope and & Sequence, phonological awareness skills are reintroduced in Unit 1. According to the Fundations Levels K-2 Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Table, some phonological awareness skills are practiced throughout the year in Level 1, such as syllable awareness and onset and rime. Other phonological sensitivity tasks, such as rhyming and alliteration, are confined to the beginning of the year. The explicit focus of instruction in phonemic and phonological awareness for Unit 2 and Unit 3, however, is in the blending, segmenting, and manipulation of phonemes. Within Unit 1, phonological and phonemic awareness tasks coincide.

    • In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 4, Which Ones Belong routine, the materials direct the teacher to ask students which of three words (zip, hit, and quit) rhyme. In that same activity, the materials direct the teacher to ask students “What sound do you hear at the beginning of zip?”

    • In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 1, Which Ones Belong, the materials briefly engage students in phonological sensitivity tasks to draw attention to sounds in spoken words. The teacher directs students to echo a set of words, such as big, bug, and mug, and asks students to identify which words begin with the same sound and which two words rhyme. The materials note that the teacher may emphasize and stretch sounds as needed to help students clearly hear the targeted sounds.

    Phonological sensitivity tasks, such as identifying rhyming words, are present in Unit 1 alongside phonemic awareness skills development, such as identifying initial, final, and medial phonemes during the Drill Sounds/Warm-Up routine, which occurs daily and lasts approximately 2-5 minutes. 

• Materials contain a phonemic awareness sequence of instruction and practice aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. 

  • In the Fundations Teacher’s Manual, Level 1, the materials state that a variety of activities incorporate phonemic awareness in alignment with the phonics scope and sequence. This instruction happens both orally and with letters.  

    • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 2, Echo/Find,  the materials include phonemic awareness practice that is intentionally aligned to the unit’s phonics focus. The teacher dictates a spoken word, such as lap, and models segmenting the word into phonemes using three taps /l/ /ă/ /p/. Students then repeat the oral segmentation after the teacher models. After students have orally segmented the sounds, the materials direct the teacher to transition to phonics application by guiding students to connect the segmented sounds to their corresponding letters using Magnetic Letter Tiles. One student may build the word using Standard Sound Cards, while other students organize their tiles. When prompted with “Spell away” or “Clear the deck,” students return their tiles to the squares in order while orally spelling the word again. Through this sequence, students first engage in oral phoneme segmentation, followed by print-based spelling and word building, demonstrating how phonemic awareness instruction is aligned with and supports the unit’s phonics focus on blending, reading, segmenting, and spelling three-sound short vowel (CVC) words.

    • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 5, Echo/Change, the materials provide phonemic awareness practice focused on oral phoneme manipulation. Students begin by tapping and saying each phoneme in the spoken word dug/d/ /ŭ/ /g/and then blending the sounds to say the word. The teacher then directs students to orally change the final sound, prompting them to tap and say the new word /d/ /ŭ/ /k/ (duck). This oral manipulation continues as students change one phoneme at a time to produce new spoken words (duck to luck, lock, and rock). Throughout the routine, students manipulate sounds orally without reference to print. This phonemic awareness practice aligns with the unit’s phonics focus on consonant digraphs by reinforcing students’ ability to isolate, substitute, and blend individual phonemes that are later represented in phonics instruction.

The phonemic awareness instruction in Wilson Fundations meets the expectations for Indicator 1d. The materials provide systematic and explicit instruction in phoneme segmentation and blending through consistent, teacher-led routines. Lessons include clear explanations of the tapping routine, followed by repeated teacher modeling that demonstrates how to say each phoneme in a spoken word and blend the sounds together. Instruction is supported by multiple, structured examples using varied spoken words to reinforce accurate segmentation and blending. The materials also include teacher guidance for corrective feedback, directing the teacher to re-model sounds and routines and guide students to repeat accurate sound production before continuing instruction. Together, these features support explicit phonemic awareness instruction through repeated modeling and guided practice across lessons.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year. 

• Materials include systematic, explicit instruction in sounds (phonemes). 

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concept, the teacher explains that students will say each sound in a word while tapping and then blend the sounds together to say the whole word. The teacher models the routine using a spoken word, such as mat, by saying each phoneme aloud /m/, /ă/, /t/ and tapping one finger to the thumb for each sound. After producing each sound in isolation, the teacher blends the sounds together by dragging the thumb across the fingers while saying the whole word. Students are then directed to repeat the routine orally, tapping once per sound and blending the sounds together. The materials call for repeating this sequence with multiple spoken words such as, sat, map, sit, fit, fig, not, set, leg, let.

  • Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concept, using the word mash, the teacher demonstrates how to tap once for each sound, including a single tap for the digraph /sh/. The teacher models saying /m/, /a/, and /sh/ while tapping one finger to the thumb for each sound. The teacher then blends the sounds together by dragging the thumb across the fingers to say the whole word. 

• Materials provide the teacher with examples for instruction in sounds (phonemes). 

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher uses a series of three-sound spoken words, beginning with mat and continuing with additional examples, to repeatedly model saying each sound aloud while tapping and then blending the sounds together. The materials direct the teacher to continue this process with 8–10 additional words, ensuring repeated, structured examples of oral segmentation and blending. These examples give the teacher explicit models for demonstrating how individual phonemes combine to form spoken words.

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher explains that students will tap out sounds to read and spell words. The teacher dictates a word aloud, such as nut, and directs students to echo the word before any print is shown. The teacher then instructs students to “tap out the sounds” in the word and models saying each phoneme aloud /n/ /ū/ /t/while tapping once per sound. Students tap and say each sound with the teacher and then blend the sounds together orally to say the whole word.

• Materials include teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, the materials include guidance for supporting students who struggle to accurately produce or blend sounds. If students have difficulty with a sound during tapping and blending, the teacher is directed to prompt students to say the sound again before re-tapping and blending the word. The teacher then re-models the tapping routine and guides students to repeat the sounds accurately before continuing. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, Introduce New Concepts, the materials include guidance for supporting students who struggle with phoneme segmentation or blending. When reteaching the tapping routine, the teacher models the sounds again, taps each phoneme with students, and repeats the oral segmentation before moving forward.

The phonemic awareness instruction in Wilson Fundations meets the expectations for Indicator 1e. The materials provide daily, sequenced phonemic awareness routines aligned to the scope and sequence, progressing from phoneme isolation and identification to blending, segmenting, and advanced phoneme manipulation, while consistently incorporating phoneme–grapheme correspondences. In addition, the Level 1 Learning Community includes a detailed Articulation Guide that provides explicit guidance on mouth formation, airflow, and sound production across phoneme types. Although articulation support is centralized within a dedicated reference resource rather than embedded within each individual lesson, the materials provide comprehensive information to support accurate phoneme modeling throughout instruction.

• Daily phonemic awareness instruction aligns to the scope and sequence, progressing from isolation, blending, and segmenting to more advanced phoneme manipulations, with phoneme-grapheme correspondences introduced to connect sounds to letters. 

  • In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 5, Echo/Find Letters, the materials provide a brief whole-group routine for reviewing letter-sound correspondences. The teacher states the phoneme /p/, and students repeat the sound. The teacher then asks, “What says /p/?” Students respond by naming the corresponding letter and pointing to the matching Letter Tile on their Letter Boards. The teacher repeats this sequence for the phoneme /j/. This routine continues with previously introduced vowel sounds as well as three to five consonant sounds. Throughout the activity, students orally produce phonemes and connect each sound to its corresponding letter through verbal responses and pointing.

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 1, Drill Sounds/Warm-Up, the materials provide a brief whole-group routine focused on phoneme segmentation and manipulation. The teacher states the word drift and directs students to tap and segment the word into its individual phonemes, /d/ /r/ /ǐ/ /f/ /t/. The teacher then repeats the word and instructs students to change the medial vowel sound to /ă/. Students respond by orally producing the new word draft and tapping each phoneme. The teacher continues the sound-change sequence by prompting students to manipulate the medial vowel sound to form the words craft and raft. Throughout the routine, students blend and segment up to five phonemes within closed syllables through repeated, teacher-guided practice. 

    Throughout the Level 1 sequence, the Echo/Find Letters routine occurs consistently throughout each unit. Daily phonemic awareness instruction guidance in the form of the Drill Sounds/Warm-Up routine focuses on phoneme isolating, blending, segmenting, and manipulating. 

• Materials include opportunities for students to practice connecting sounds to letters.

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 3, Word of the Day, the materials provide a whole-group discussion focused on the word much. The word is displayed using Standard Sound Cards. The teacher asks students, “What is this word?” and “Does anyone know the meaning of this word?” The teacher then leads students in tapping and blending the word, reminding them how to blend and tap words that include the digraph ch. Students tap each phoneme in the word with the teacher as they orally blend the sounds to read the word.

  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 3, Echo/Find Words, the materials provide a whole-group activity in which students segment and spell spoken words using Magnetic Letter Boards. The teacher states the unit word sock, and students repeat the word and tap each phoneme with the teacher. Students then independently select Magnetic Letter Tiles to spell the word on their Letter Boards. The teacher may select a student to come to the front of the class to locate and display the corresponding letters using the Standard Sound Card display. After students form the word with their tiles, one student spells the word orally, and another student uses the word in a spoken sentence. 

• Materials include some directions to the teacher for demonstrating how to pronounce each phoneme (articulation/mouth formation). 

  • In the Fundations Level 1 Learning Community, Articulation Guide, the materials provide directions to the teacher for demonstrating how to pronounce phonemes, including guidance on mouth formation and airflow. The guide includes a chart that categorizes consonant sounds by sound formation type and explains how each type is produced. Examples include, but are not limited to, 

    •  Stop Sounds are described as sounds produced when a puff of air is stopped by a full obstruction in the mouth and cannot be stretched, such as /b/ in bat.

    •  Nasal sounds are described as sounds produced when airflow is blocked in the mouth and passes through the nasal cavity, noting that the sound cannot be produced if the nose is pinched, such as /m/ in man.

    • The guide also lists the corresponding letters and letter combinations associated with each sound formation type and includes a vowel pronunciation key that identifies short and long vowels, vowel teams, diphthongs, and r-controlled vowels using phoneme-grapheme examples.

    The articulation guide provides detailed descriptions of sound formation and mouth positioning that teachers can draw upon during phonemic awareness and phonics instruction. While articulation guidance is centralized within the guide rather than embedded within each individual lesson, the resource offers comprehensive information to support accurate phoneme modeling.

The assessment opportunities for phonemic awareness in Wilson Fundations  meet the expectations for Indicator 1f. The materials provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities throughout the year to monitor student progress in phonemic awareness skills, including phoneme isolation, segmentation, and blending. Assessments are aligned to key instructional benchmarks and are administered consistently through unit tests and additional monitoring tools. The materials support the teacher with clear procedures for scoring and recording results at both the student and class level, allowing the teacher to evaluate current skill levels and identify patterns of need. Ongoing assessment opportunities, including fluency and nonsense word measures, provide additional data points to monitor student progress over time. The materials also include explicit guidance for responding to assessment results, including recommendations for extending instruction, reteaching specific skills, and providing targeted practice to support students in progressing toward mastery of phonemic awareness skills.

• Materials provide a variety of assessment opportunities throughout the year (e.g., at least three times per year or aligned to key instructional benchmarks) to monitor student progress in phonemic awareness. Assessment types may include oral tasks, encoding assessments, decoding activities requiring phoneme manipulation, and teacher observations. 

  • In the Level 1 Assessment Pathways: Phonemic Awareness table, the materials provide a variety of assessment opportunities for monitoring student progress in the phonemic awareness skills of isolating and segmenting phonemes throughout the year. 

    • In the Unit 5 Test, the teacher assesses the students as a class. Phonemic awareness skills are assessed within two subtests, described below. The Unit 5 Test has four subtests total.

      • Phoneme isolation: In this assessment, the teacher says a phoneme, the students repeat that phoneme, and then the students write all of the letter(s) that can make that sound independently. The teacher says /k/, /ks/, /am/, /ĕ/, and /an/. 

      • Phoneme segmenting: In this assessment, the teacher says a word, the students repeat that word, and then they write the word independently. The teacher says quick, man, fan, shell, and ham. 

    In Level 1, there are 14 unit tests and all the unit tests–with the exception of Unit 1 Test–follow the same structure for assessing phoneme isolating and segmenting. Word reading and spelling tasks provide reciprocal evidence of blending and segmenting skills aligned to Grade 1 expectations. 

• Assessment materials provide teachers-and, when appropriate, caregiver-with clear information about student’s current skill levels in phonemic awareness. 

  • In the Fundations Teacher’s Manual, the teacher is  directed to the Fundations Learning Community to record student outcomes using the Unit Test Tracker. The Unit Test Tracker includes explicit scoring guidance, assigning five points to the sounds section, with students earning one point for each sound correctly identified. The tracker also clearly states that the benchmark for each test is 80%.

    • The materials also include a class-level Unit Test Tracker that allows the teacher to review student performance across unit tests and identify trends in whole-class progress. Within the tracker, the “Sounds” section is scored out of five points for each unit, enabling teachers to compare performance across units and monitor growth in phonemic awareness skills over time.

• Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions or next steps based on assessment results to support student progress toward mastery. 

  • In the Fundations Teacher’s Manual, the materials direct the teacher to extend the time in the unit if 80% of the class does not demonstrate mastery (scoring 80%) on that test. Use the Reteach Learning plan to reteach the current Unit’s concept. Review the test along with other data points, looking for common errors to target instruction for 2-5 days. 

    • If only a few students do not score at least 80% on a unit test, the teacher should use the data and diagnostically plan next steps specific to that student. For example, in the Recommendations for Next Steps After the Unit Test, the materials suggest that if a student has trouble decoding phonetic words with accuracy in the Unit 3 Test, the teacher should use the standard sound cards to review challenging sounds.

The phonics scope and sequence in Wilson Fundations meets the expectations for Indicator 1g. The materials provide a clear, evidence-based explanation for the order in which phonics skills are taught, grounded in research on the development of the alphabetic principle and word reading. Instruction is intentionally designed to move beyond isolated sound–symbol knowledge and emphasizes blending sounds and syllables to support accurate decoding and spelling. The phonics sequence is systematic and cumulative, progressing from simple to more complex patterns and building intentionally on previously taught skills. Instruction is organized around common English syllable types and high-utility phonics generalizations, with students regularly applying new learning through decoding and spelling aligned words and connected text. As complexity increases across the year, instruction expands to multisyllabic words and inflectional morphology, supporting students’ development of flexible and increasingly automatic word reading.

• Materials contain a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence for teaching phonics skills. 

  • In the Prefatory materials, the Phonics and Word Study: Instruction for Decoding, Word Recognition, and Spelling section provides a rationale for the phonics sequence used in Grade 1. The materials explain that sound mastery is an essential skill for students because it lays the foundation for learning the alphabetic principle, which is fundamental for decoding and spelling words through phonics instruction (Ehri, 2014). The materials further explain that phonics instruction must extend beyond isolated sound–symbol knowledge. In Fundations, students are explicitly taught how to blend sounds and syllables into words, supporting accurate word reading and spelling. This instruction is described as systematic and is intentionally organized around the six basic syllable patterns in English. The sequence is designed so that students build on previously learned skills from Level K starting with the continuous consonant sounds associated with the letters f, m, n, l, r and progress from decoding simple CVC words to words with four and then five sounds, and eventually to more complex patterns, including multisyllabic words and expanded vowel patterns. 

• Materials provide a cohesive, intentional phonics sequence that progresses from simple to more complex skills and includes ample opportunities to apply skills through decoding in connected text. 

  • The Fundations Level 1 scope and sequence presents a coherent phonics progression that systematically increases in complexity across the year:

  • Early Units: Simple word structures

    • Units 1–2

      • Short vowel letter–sound correspondences

      • Blending, reading, segmenting, and spelling three-sound CVC words

  • Middle Units: Expanded sound structures and spelling rules

    • Unit 3

      • Consonant digraphs (wh, ch, sh, th, ck)

      • Decoding and spelling three-sound words with digraphs

    • Units 4–5

      • Bonus letter rule (ff, ll, ss, sometimes zz)

      • Glued sounds (all, am, an)

  • Later Units: Increased phonemic complexity

    • Units 6–7

      • Base words with suffix -s

      • Glued sounds with ng and nk (ang, ing, ong, ink, onk, unk)

    • Unit 8

      • Consonant blends and digraph blends

      • Blending, reading, segmenting, and spelling words with up to four sounds

      • Introduction of r-controlled vowels (ar, or, er, ir, ur)

  • Advanced Units: Syllable types and multisyllabic decoding

    • Unit 9

      • Closed syllable concept

      • Open vs. closed syllables

      • Vowel teams (al, ay, ee, ea, ey, oi, oy)

    • Unit 10

      • Segmenting and blending words with up to five sounds

      • Suffixes -s, -ed, -ing added to unchanging base words

      • Additional vowel teams (oa, oe, ow, ou, oo, ue, ew, au, aw)

    • Unit 11

      • Vowel–consonant–e syllable in one-syllable words

      • Long vowel patterns

    • Units 12–13

      • Multisyllabic word decoding and spelling

      • Syllable division rules

      • Suffixes -s, -es, -ed, -ing added to multisyllabic words

    • Unit 14

      • Review of word structure, syllable types, and spelling patterns

    Across all units, students apply newly taught phonics skills through repeated decoding and spelling of words aligned to the scope and sequence, demonstrating a progression from simple to complex phonics patterns.

• Phonics instruction is based on high utility patterns and/or specific phonics generalizations. 

  • The Fundations Level 1 phonics sequence emphasizes high-utility phonics patterns and explicit generalizations that support efficient decoding and spelling.

    • Instruction begins with short vowel CVC patterns, enabling students to decode a wide range of high-frequency words early.

    • Consonant digraphs and blends are introduced to reflect common English sound patterns that significantly expand students’ decoding capacity.

    • The sequence includes explicit spelling generalizations, such as:

      • ck used after a short vowel

      • Bonus letter rule (ff, ll, ss, sometimes zz)

    • Glued sounds (all, am, an, ang, ing, ong, ink, onk, unk) are taught as high-frequency orthographic patterns that occur in many common words.

    • R-controlled vowels (ar, or, er, ir, ur) and vowel teams are introduced as common vowel patterns students encounter in increasingly complex texts.

    • Instruction extends to vowel–consonant–e syllables, closed syllables, and open syllables, supporting generalizable decoding across word types.

    • Morphological patterns, including plural -s and suffixes -ed, -ing, and -es, are taught and applied to both single- and multisyllabic words.

    By organizing instruction around these high-utility patterns and phonics generalizations, the materials support transfer of decoding skills to an expanding range of words and prepare students for more advanced word analysis.

 The materials’ exclusion of three-cueing strategies in Wilson Fundations meets expectations for Indicator 1h. Materials do not include instructional language or routines that rely on the three-cueing system. Lessons focus on explicit instruction in phoneme-grapheme correspondences and phonics-based decoding. When students encounter unfamiliar words, instruction emphasizes attention to letter-sound relationships rather than relying on context or visual cues to guess the word. 

• Materials do not contain elements of instruction that are based on the three-cueing system for teaching decoding. 

  • The materials do not contain elements of instruction that are based on the three-cueing system for teaching decoding.

The pacing and practice opportunities of phonics instruction in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1i. Materials introduce newly taught phonics skills gradually across the school year, with each unit allocating sufficient instructional time for practice and consolidation before new concepts are introduced. Instruction progresses from review of foundational letter–sound knowledge to increasingly complex phonics and syllable patterns in a clearly delineated sequence. Lessons are designed to provide repeated, structured opportunities for students to practice newly taught skills through blending, segmenting, word building, and dictation, supporting movement from accuracy toward automaticity. Previously taught phonics skills are revisited through distributed and cumulative practice embedded across units, requiring students to apply both current and earlier sound–spelling patterns within ongoing instruction.

• Materials include reasonable pacing of newly taught phonics skills. 

  • The Fundations Level 1 unit’s introductions describe a phonics sequence that is paced intentionally across the school year, with newly taught skills introduced gradually and supported with time for practice and consolidation before new concepts are introduced.

    • Unit 1 is designed for two to three weeks and focuses on reviewing or teaching letter names, keywords, sounds, and lowercase letter formation for letters a–z, establishing foundational knowledge before introducing more complex phonics skills.

    • Unit 2 spans three to four weeks and introduces or reviews blending, reading, segmenting, and spelling three-sound short vowel words. The materials note that for many students, including those who completed the program in Kindergarten, this content serves as review. Words introduced early in the unit begin with consonants that can be sustained into the vowel sound, supporting ease of blending. The materials include guidance to move students gradually from accuracy to automaticity through word chaining and reading words without tapping once students are ready.

    • Unit 3 is planned for two weeks and reviews digraphs wh, ch, sh, th, and ck, with explicit attention to usage constraints and sound distinctions. 

    • Unit 4 spans two weeks and introduces the bonus letter rule for ff, ll, and ss. 

    • Unit 5 is planned for one week and introduces welded sounds am and an, which are taught as units due to their limited segmentability.

    • Unit 6, planned for three weeks, introduces the suffix -s in a limited and controlled manner, including both plural and verb uses. 

    • Unit 7, also planned for three weeks, introduces additional welded sounds with ng and nk and revisits the suffix -s. 

    • Unit 8 spans two weeks and distinguishes blends from digraphs while introducing r-controlled vowels for reference during reading. 

    • Unit 9, planned for two weeks, focuses on reviewing previously taught patterns while introducing the concept of closed and open syllables and introducing vowel teams for reference only.

    • Unit 10 spans three weeks and does not introduce new sounds, instead providing extended practice blending and segmenting up to five sounds in closed syllables. The materials also state, “in this unit you will introduce two more common suffixes: -ed and -ing. 

    • Unit 11, planned for three weeks, introduces the vowel-consonant-e syllable type and associated spelling generalizations. 

    • Unit 12, also planned for three weeks, shifts instruction from individual sounds to syllables, focusing on reading and spelling two-syllable words with closed syllables and combining syllable types.

• The lesson plan design allots time to include sufficient student practice to work towards automaticity. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, students practice producing and reading the digraphs wh, ch, sh, th, and ck by repeating the letter–keyword–sound sequence using both Large and Standard Sound Cards. Students then apply the digraphs in word reading by tapping and blending each sound in three-sound words that include short vowels and a single digraph. Students read and blend five to six words during the lesson, tapping once per sound and using a single tap for each digraph before blending the sounds together to read each word aloud. Students further reinforce the new skill by identifying and marking digraphs within printed words and by completing a Student Notebook activity that includes reviewing the definition of a consonant digraph and connecting it to example words. 

  • In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, the materials allot time for sustained student practice of a newly introduced phonics skill. The teacher introduces the glued sounds ang, ing, ong, and ung using Large Sound Cards and models naming the letters, saying the keyword, and producing each sound. Students repeat each glued sound aloud after the teacher and practice reading the corresponding Standard Sound Cards. The materials provide repeated, structured practice by directing the teacher to model and have students tap and blend multiple words for each glued sound. Students practice blending previously taught consonants with the glued sounds, using one tap for the consonant and a single, combined tap for the glued sound, and then blend the sounds together to read each word. The lesson includes generating and practicing several words with each glued sound, allowing students multiple opportunities to accurately produce and apply the new phonics pattern within the same lesson.

• Materials contain distributed, cumulative, and intervleaved opportunities for students to practice and review all previously learned grade-level phonics. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 1, Word Play, the materials provide cumulative and interleaved phonics practice that revisits previously taught CVC word patterns. Without using sound cards, the teacher slowly says each sound in a word, such as /f/ /ĭ/ /t/, and students blend the sounds together to identify the word fit. Students repeat this process with additional review words, including sit and sat, tapping and blending each word aloud. The materials explicitly reference prior instruction by directing the teacher to review tapping routines introduced in Week 1, when students practiced reading words beginning with consonants f, l, m, n, r, and s. In Week 2, students extend this practice by forming four to six additional words and changing initial consonants, final consonants, and vowel sounds within CVC words. Students tap and blend each new word with the teacher as the word chain progresses, such as mat to cat to cut to cup.

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 2, Dictation, Dry Erase, the materials provide cumulative and interleaved opportunities for students to practice previously taught phonics skills through encoding and decoding. Students repeat each dictated word, tap the sounds, and orally spell the word before writing. One student writes each word on the large dictation grid while all students write the words on individual dry erase writing tablets. Students are directed to mark up the words as part of the dictation routine. The materials include a mix of current unit words and review words, including high-frequency words with regular spelling patterns and words containing previously taught phonics features such as short vowels, consonant digraphs, and final blends. Review words include job, map, rock, such, not, much, ten, bed, red, but, mop, rib, sob, rash, cop, dot, lid, mud, ted, fix, lap, lick, chip, and tub. By requiring students to tap, spell, and write words that represent multiple phonics patterns taught across earlier units, the lesson provides distributed practice over time and interleaves previously learned phonics skills within a single activity.

The phonics instruction in Wilson Fundations meets the expectations for Indicator 1j. Materials include explicit and systematic teacher modeling of newly taught phonics patterns through clearly defined instructional routines. Lessons guide the teacher to model how new patterns function within words, including base words with suffixes and multisyllabic word structures, before students apply the same routines. Instruction consistently incorporates modeled blending, segmenting, and spelling routines aligned to the unit focus. Materials also include structured dictation and guided reading opportunities that reinforce newly introduced phonics patterns. Teacher guidance for corrective feedback supports students in accurately applying new skills by directing attention to relevant word parts and phonics features during instruction.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year. 

• Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of newly taught phonics patterns. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, materials introduce the concept of a baseword and the suffix -s. The teacher begins by making the word shop with the Standard Sound Cards. After a student has read the word, the teacher then adds the s card to form the word shops. The teacher then explains that shop is a base word and the suffix -s can be added to it. The teacher contrasts the word shop with the word bug and uses the same suffix -s to create bugs. The teacher explains that the suffix -s says /z/ in bugs and /s/ in shops. 

  • In Unit 12, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, materials introduce the concept of dividing, reading, and spelling two-syllable words with closed syllables. The teacher begins by telling students that words are made up of parts, and uses the word catnip to illustrate a word that has two parts with multiple sounds. The teacher continues by dictating additional multisyllabic words. Students listen and name the number of parts.  

• Lessons include blending and segmenting practice using structured, consistent blending routines with teacher modeling. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 3, Word of the Day, the teacher builds the word of the day, jobs, putting the s in the Suffix Frame. In addition to discussing how the suffix -s notes a plural, the students blend the word and discuss its meaning. The students then mark up the word by underlining the base word and circling the suffix. 

  • In Unit 12, Week 1, Day 2, Teach Spelling, the teacher states a word, bathtub, and students repeat the dictated word while touching each syllable box on their Letter Board. Once the students are firm in the number of syllables in the word, the teacher models using two white Syllable Frames to make the word. The teacher erases the word and has students first orally spell the first syllable bath before continuing with the second syllable tub. Once students have confirmed their spelling of the full word, students use the Magnetic Letter Tiles to spell the words, putting the tiles into the appropriate syllable boxes on their Letter Boards. This continues for multiple unit words. 

• Lessons include dictation of words and sentences using the newly taught phonics pattern(s). 

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 4, Dictation (Composition Book), students write sounds, words, and sentences that are stated by the teacher. Students write unit words that emphasize the concept of the unit, base words and the suffix -s, such as ships, rocks, hills, and dogs. The teacher states the word and has students tap the word prior to writing the word in their composition books. After writing the word, students spell the word chorally, reinforcing the phonics concept of base words and the suffix -s.

  • In Unit 13, Week 3, Day 2, Dictation (Dry Erase), the materials provide explicit teacher guidance for a structured dictation routine that includes sounds, words, trick words, and sentences drawn from the unit resources. Teachers dictate three sounds, three current unit words, one review word, two trick words, and one sentence, and the materials direct the teacher to have students repeat each dictated item. One student records responses on the large dictation grid while all students write on their dry erase writing tablets.

    • For sound dictation, when a sound is newly introduced, students repeat the sound and name the corresponding letter or letters before writing. As sounds are mastered, students repeat the sound, write it, and then name the corresponding letter or letters. For word dictation, including multisyllabic words, students say and spell each syllable orally before writing the syllables in the syllable frames at the top of the dry erase writing tablet and then writing the word on the lines below. Immediately after writing, students scoop the word into syllables while reading it to proofread and mark up the word as directed. Current and review words include look, good, branch, smile, inside, blast, grunt, blimp, benches, brushes, crunches, and dishes.

    • For trick word dictation, students write each trick word using two fingers on their desktop before writing the word on their dry erase writing tablets, with encouragement to refer to their student notebooks as needed. For sentence dictation, the teacher dictates a sentence with phrasing and has students repeat it. One student places the sentence frames and identifies any frame containing a trick word. Students then write the sentence, scoop it into phrases, and read it with fluency before proofreading the sentence together following the learning activity procedures. Example dictated sentences include, “Who are the people on the benches.” and “Jack rushes to get to work,” reinforcing application of the taught phonics patterns in connected text.

• Materials include teacher guidance for corrective feedback when needed for students. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 5, materials provide guidance for corrective feedback, for example,  if a student struggles with reading words with suffixes. The teacher is guided to ask questions such as, “What is the base word (job)? Now add the suffix to read the whole word (jobs),” that isolates the base word and reinforces the suffix -s.

  • In Unit 12, Week 1, Day 3, materials provide guidance for corrective feedback, for example,  if a student struggles to segment syllables. The teacher is guided to ask questions that first identify the whole word and then break that word into syllables while physically touching the syllable frames on the student’s dry erase board. Finally, the teacher segments the word by tapping out each phoneme and spelling each syllable with the student.

The decoding and encoding practice opportunities in Wilson Fundations  meet the expectations for Indicator 1k. Materials provide frequent and varied opportunities for students to decode and encode words using taught phonics patterns through consistent blending, segmenting, and dictation routines. Daily lessons include teacher modeling followed by guided and independent practice that reinforces sound–spelling correspondences, including base words, inflectional endings, consonant blends, and multisyllabic word structures. Students engage in word level decoding. Materials also include cumulative and distributed practice to ensure ongoing application of previously taught phonics skills.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year.

• Lessons provide students with regular opportunities to decode words with taught phonics patterns. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 3, students regularly practice decoding words with taught phonics patterns during Word of the Day and Make Words activities. Students build and read words using Standard Sound Cards and suffix frames, beginning with the base word and then reading the complete word with the suffix. Students decode words such as pins, fills, sits, locks, sips, wets, rubs, lugs, shuts, kicks, tells, wins, runs, pats, and zags. 

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 3, students practice decoding words with taught consonant blends and multisyllabic phonics patterns during Word of the Day and Make Words activities. Students build and read words using Standard Sound Cards, including squinted, grunted, blended, trusted, printed, drafted, slanted, and blasted. Students read the words aloud after blending the sounds, reinforcing decoding of consonant blends and previously taught spelling patterns. 

• Lessons provide students with regular opportunities to encode words with taught phonics patterns. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 3, students encode words and sentences using taught phonics patterns during Dictation in their composition books. Students repeat each dictated sound or word and identify whether the word contains a suffix. For words with suffixes, students say the base word, tap and spell the base word orally, and then add the suffix before writing. Dictation includes review and current words such as fills, sits, locks, sips, wets, rubs, and lugs, as well as trick words. 

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 3, students encode words using taught phonics patterns during Echo/Find Words activities. After the teacher dictates a word, such as grunt, students repeat the word, orally segment and tap the sounds, and then build the word using blank letter tiles. Students name the letters that correspond to each sound and rebuild the word using letter tiles or Standard Sound Cards. Students orally spell the word before clearing the tiles and spelling the word again, reinforcing encoding of consonant blends and multisyllabic word patterns aligned to the unit focus.

• Student-guided practice and independent practice of blending sounds using the sound-spelling pattern(s) is varied and frequent. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 3, students engage in varied and frequent blending practice across multiple routines. Students blend sounds when reading base words and words with suffixes, such as pin → pins and sit → sits, during word building activities. Students also blend sounds during scrambled sentence activities, where they rearrange words written on sentence frames to form complete sentences and identify words containing suffixes. Students reread the reconstructed sentences aloud, blending words independently and with teacher guidance. Additional blending practice occurs during dictation and sentence rereading, providing repeated opportunities for student-guided and independent blending using taught sound–spelling patterns.

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 3, students engage in varied and frequent blending practice across multiple routines. Students blend sounds while reading and building unit words such as squinted, grunted, trusted, and printed. During Echo/Find Words, students independently tap and blend the sounds in dictated words before building them with letter tiles. Additional blending practice occurs during Make It Fun, where students identify words that begin with blends and read their assigned word cards aloud, providing student-guided opportunities to apply blending skills using taught sound–spelling patterns.

• Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in word-level decoding practice focused on accuracy and automaticity. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 3, students engage in repeated word- and sentence-level decoding practice designed to support accuracy and automaticity. Students reread words such as fills, sits, locks, shuts, and kicks during word building and dictation activities. 

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 3, students engage in repeated word- and sentence-level decoding practice designed to support accuracy and automaticity. Students reread unit words such as blended, drafted, slanted, and blasted during word-building routines and Echo/Find Words activities.

The instruction and practice of spelling rules and generalizations in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1l. Spelling instruction is aligned to the phonics scope and sequence and progresses logically from simple sound–spelling patterns to more complex spelling rules and generalizations, including bonus letters, consonant spelling options, vowel-consonant-e patterns, and inflectional endings. Materials provide explicit explanations for spelling rules that connect spelling to sound analysis and word structure, while noting patterns that will be expanded into formal rules in later grades. Students have regular opportunities to practice spelling rules and generalizations through structured routines that include word- and sentence-level application and cumulative use of previously taught spelling patterns, supporting accurate and increasingly automatic spelling.

• Spelling rules and generalizations are aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. 

  • The Bonus Letter Spelling Rule (ss, ll, and ff) and the variations of Three Ways to Say /k/ are presented as spelling rules within the context of Fundations Level 1. There are patterns that are explored, such as the vowel-consonant-e pattern, that will be further expanded into rules later in the Fundations sequence. 

    • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, materials introduce the concept of Bonus Letter Rule. The teacher demonstrates that words ending in s, l, and f are often repeated even though there is only one sound. The teacher models this with miss, bill, and cuff, and includes the exceptions of bus and yes to the bonus letter rule for the letter s. The teacher explains that the Bonus Letter Rule applies to words ending with z sometimes. For example, fuzz follows the rule, but quiz does not. Students add the Bonus Letter Rule to the Spelling Rules section of their Student Notebooks. 

    • In Unit 11, Week 1, Day 2, Introduce New Concepts, materials continue the concept of using the vowel-consonant-e pattern to produce the long vowel sound. The teacher dictates the words cap, cape, not, note, tub, tube, spin, and spine. The students repeat the words, one at a time, and listen for the short or long vowel sound. Then a student builds the word with the Standard Sound Cards and name letters aloud. 

• Materials include explanations for spelling of specific words or spelling rules. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 2, Introduce New Concepts, materials instruct the teacher to explain to students that the ending -ck is used only at the end of words right after a short vowel. The teacher provides the example of the word duck with three cards: d, u, and ck. The teacher covers the ck card with the letter c. The teacher explains that even though c says /k/, c alone does not end words. After dictating other -ck words, students copy the words cat, sock, and pick into the Three Ways to Spell /k/ page in the Spelling Rules section of their Student Notebooks. 

  • In Unit 10, Week 3, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, materials provide a teacher tip that when adding suffixes to closed-syllable words, the base word does not change when a suffix is added. 

• Students have sufficient opportunities to practice spelling rules and generalizations. 

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 3, Make it Fun, students practice building words with bonus letters ff, ll, ss, and the welded sound all using their Magnetic Letter Tiles and Letter Board. After students have created a word with their tiles, they should write the word on paper. Current Unit Words are as follows: wall, fall, ball, tall, mall, hall, and call. 

  • In Unit 14, Week 1, Day 3, Word of the Day, students practice adding the suffix -ing to a closed syllable with the word thrilling. The word thrilling gives students an opportunity to review closed syllable types, digraph blends, bonus letter endings, and the suffix -ing. Current Unit Words are as follows: publishing, finishing, and disrupting.

The decodable texts and instructional routines in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1m. Decodable texts are systematically aligned to the phonics scope and sequence, with narrative, informational, and process texts reflecting newly taught and previously taught phonics patterns across units. Lessons include structured routines for initial and repeated readings that support accuracy, automaticity, and confidence through teacher modeling, guided practice, and independent rereading. Texts are phonetically controlled rather than predictable and increase in complexity over the year as students apply decoding skills to multisyllabic words, suffixes, and varied syllable types, supporting a gradual transition from phonics acquisition to fluent application.

• Decodable texts reflect grade-level phonics patterns aligned to the program's scope and sequence.

  • According to the Grade 1 Fundations Readers scope and sequence, decodable texts are systematically aligned to the phonics skills introduced in each unit. Across the year, students read narrative, informational, and process/sequence texts that are explicitly designed to reflect newly taught and previously taught phonics patterns.

    • By unit, title, and phonics focus:

      • Unit 1: Del, the Big Dog (Narrative): Focus-Closed syllables (VC, CVC)

      • Unit 2: My Cat, Fin (Narrative): Focus-Buddy letters (qu)

      • Unit 3: Mack Has a Wish (Narrative): Focus-Consonant digraphs (wh, ch, sh, th, ck)

      • Unit 4: A Dash of This (Narrative): Focus-Bonus letters (ff, ll, ss, zz)

      • Unit 5: Jam from Sam (Process/Sequence): Focus-Glued sounds (am, an)

        • The Cab Van (Narrative): Focus-Glued sounds (all, am, an)

      • Unit 6: Al Runs to the Shop (Narrative): Focus-Suffix -s (plurals)

        • Al and Buzz (Narrative): Focus-Suffix -s

      • Unit 7: Tap for Sap (Process/Sequence): Focus-Glued sounds (ng, nk)

        • The Sap Shack (Process/Sequence): Focus-Glued sounds (ng, nk)

      • Unit 8: Grams Rocks (Narrative): Focus-Initial blends

        • Fred Skips a Rock (Narrative): Focus-Final blends

      • Unit 9: Meg and the Duck (Narrative): Focus-Digraph blends

        • Number One Fan (Narrative): Focus-Blends

      • Unit 10: Camping, Skunks, and New Pals (Narrative): Focus-Suffixes -ing, -ed, -s

        • Frank and His Many Plants (Narrative): Focus-Suffixes -ing, -ed, -s

      • Unit 11: Zeke and the Whales (Narrative): Focus-Vowel–consonant–e syllables

        • Greg and His Big Sis (Narrative): Focus-Vowel–consonant–e syllables

      • Unit 12: Jin and the Duckling (Narrative): Focus-Multisyllabic words

        • Until 12 Ducks: Just the Quacks (Informational): Focus-Multisyllabic words

      • Unit 13: Sam and Ell (Narrative): Focus-Multisyllabic words with suffixes

        • Glass Frogs (Informational): Focus-Suffixes (-s, -es, -ed)

      • Unit 14: Not Just a Hill (Informational): Focus-Multisyllabic review

        • Westside Chaps (Narrative): Focus-Suffix review

• Lessons include detailed plans for repeated readings of decodable texts to reinforce accuracy, automaticity, and confidence. 

  • According to the Level 1 Fundations Readers Teacher’s Guide, for the initial reading, the teacher is given two options. In Option 1, the teacher reads the text aloud to students, modeling proficient reading behaviors while students follow along by tracking the text. The teacher reads through the story with minimal interruption, pausing only as needed to clarify meaning or support understanding of unfamiliar words. In Option 2, students read the text independently or with a partner during the initial lesson, applying their emerging decoding skills. Prior to student reading, the teacher is directed to briefly review words with untaught concepts and challenging vocabulary using the “Spotlight on Words” section inside the book’s cover.

    • After the initial reading, the materials outline specific next steps to support comprehension and rereading. Students are prompted to “replay the movie” in their minds by closing their eyes and visualizing the story, followed by oral retelling using a narrative framework provided in the appendix. The teacher then rereads the story aloud while students follow along in their own books, touching the text as it is read to reinforce print tracking.

    • Subsequent readings are intentionally planned and include echo reading, choral reading, paired reading, and independent reading across the second through fourth readings. During these rereadings, the teacher is directed to focus on prosody and phrasing to support fluency. Because the student-read pages in the Together Readers and Independent Readers are highly decodable, the materials note that most students should be able to read the text independently after teacher modeling, with rereading encouraged to build accuracy, automaticity, and confidence.

• Reading practice occurs in decodable texts aligned to the taught phonics patterns and reflects an absence of predictable texts. Use of decodable texts decreases over time as students demonstrate decoding proficiency and transition into increasingly complex texts. 

  • Across Grade 1, reading practice is consistently anchored in decodable texts that align to taught phonics patterns. The texts require students to apply letter–sound knowledge, syllable types, and spelling patterns to decode words, rather than relying on predictable or repetitive sentence structures.

    • As the year progresses, the complexity of the decodable texts increases in alignment with the scope and sequence. Early units focus on closed syllables, digraphs, glued sounds, and blends, while later units incorporate multisyllabic words, suffixes, vowel–consonant–e syllables, and spelling options. Informational and narrative texts in later units continue to reflect taught phonics skills, including suffixes and multisyllabic structures, while requiring students to decode longer words and more complex sentence structures.

    • In later units, decodable texts continue to be used across all units, including later units that emphasize fluent reading, phrasing, and comprehension. The materials do not show a decrease in the use of decodable texts over time; instead, decodable texts are used to support increasingly complex reading demands. This reflects a shift in instructional purpose—from supporting initial decoding accuracy to supporting fluent application of accumulated phonics skills. Reading practice remains grounded in phonics-aligned decodables throughout the year and does not rely on predictable text features.

The phonics assessment opportunities in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for this indicator. Materials regularly and systematically assess students’ mastery of taught phonics skills through frequent unit tests and progress monitoring measures administered across the year. Assessments measure students’ ability to decode and spell phonics-based words using taught sound–spelling patterns, with clear administration guidance and defined mastery benchmarks. Assessment materials provide teachers with tools to record, analyze, and monitor student performance over time at the individual and class levels. Materials also include explicit guidance for using assessment results to inform instructional decisions, including reteaching, targeted practice, and pacing adjustments, supporting students’ progress toward mastery and independence in phonics.

• Materials regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence in phonics. 

  • In the Unit 9 test, students engage in a whole-class assessment of spelling and writing words in their Composition Books. The teacher dictates sounds and words. Students repeat those sounds and words and write them independently. In Unit 9, students spell and write closed-syllable words with short vowel sounds. Unit words include: test, drill, puff, lunch, and plugs. 

  • In the Progress Monitoring Word Identification Probe 4 (Mid-End Year), students read words to assess their progress toward mastery and independence of previously taught phonics concepts. As the Progress Monitoring Teacher Guide states, this tool can be used with all students, “but is particularly helpful for students in a Fundations Second Edition Tier 2 Intervention group.” The Word Identification measure provides an evaluation of a student’s knowledge of letter-sound correspondence and the ability to blend sounds in real words. Each test is administered individually for 1 minute per test. By the end of the year, students should be able to correctly read at least 50 whole words. Example words on Probe 4 include: scab, flip, drank, admit, and said. 

    Throughout the Level 1 assessment sequence, phonics concepts are formally assessed through the following measures:

    • Unit tests, every 2-3 weeks; and

    • Fundations Progress Monitoring, bi-weekly as needed

• Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonics. 

  • The FUN HUB digital resource provides a Unit Test Tracker for the teacher to measure students’ skill development in phonics over time. Each student in a class is entered into the online system. The assessments for each unit in that level are populated and the teacher adds data that reflects an individual student’s performance. Once all of the data for a class has been entered, a teacher can sort and visualize that data at the student-, class-, and unit-level. This allows a teacher to understand the trends over time, as well as drill down to specific areas for growth for an individual student. The Share Progress feature of the Unit Test Tracker allows a teacher to export a PDF of an individual student’s results, with the option to translate explanations of the results in English, Spanish, French, and Chinese.

    • The directions state that, “students who are significantly below benchmark or who are consistently below benchmark should be considered for additional in-class support to master the unit’s concept. The total score required to reach benchmark is 16 out of 20 items. Before progressing to the next unit, 80% of the class should be at or above benchmark.” 

  • In the Progress Monitoring materials, the teacher has the ability to record student assessment results on individual forms such as the Word Identification Recording Form. This form allows the teacher to mark student understanding of phonics at the phoneme level. The teacher can then visualize student progress over time in the Student Record Chart.

• Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in phonics. 

  • In the Fundations Teachers Manual Level 1: Recommendations for Next Steps After the Unit Test, the materials provide suggestions for next steps to support students’ progress toward mastery in phonics. For example, if a student struggles with decoding phonetic words with accuracy after Unit 5, the materials recommend that a teacher use Standard Sound Cards to review challenging sounds. If an area for growth for a student is in spelling phonetic words with accuracy after Unit 9, the materials recommend that the teacher plans an additional Echo/Find activity. 

    • Starting in Fundations Level 1, the teacher has the option to assign additional FUN HUB practice for students. This tool provides interactive support through the digital platform on key concepts (e.g. distinguishing between base words and the suffix -s after Unit 6). 

  • The Fundations Teachers Manual Level 1 suggests that a teacher extends the time of a unit if 80% of the class does not demonstrate mastery (a score of 80% or better) on the unit test. The materials provide suggestions on how to develop a reteach lesson plan to target the current unit’s concepts. If only a few students do not score at least 80% after a unit test, the materials suggest that the teacher use the data and diagnostically plan next steps such as grouping students based on common error patterns and focus instruction on trouble spots.

The high-frequency word instruction in Wilson Fundations meets the expectations for Indicator 1o. Materials provide a systematic and explicit instructional routine for introducing and reviewing high-frequency words identified as Trick Words, with consistent teacher modeling that connects phonemes to graphemes and supports identification of regularly spelled and temporarily irregular parts of words. Instruction is embedded within connected sentences and reinforced through structured spelling routines and cumulative flashcard review. High-frequency word instruction is aligned to the phonics scope and sequence and includes spiraling review across lessons and units. Across Units 2–14, students are introduced to approximately 164 unique high-frequency words, including both phonetically regular words and irregular Trick Words, supporting the development of accurate recognition and increasing automaticity over time.

• Materials include systematic and explicit instruction of high-frequency words with an explicit and consistent instructional routine. 

  • ​​In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 1, Teach Trick Words-Reading, the teacher introduces the trick words the, a, and and within connected sentences and directs students to orally repeat each sentence while attending to the target word. Using sentence frames, students reconstruct sentences such as Meg had the red hat and Meg had a red hat, while the teacher supports discussion of capitalization and punctuation. The teacher draws attention to each new trick word by circling it within the sentence and having students identify the word before it is rewritten. The routine is repeated with an additional sentence, Ted had a cat and a dog, following the same instructional steps. Instruction concludes with structured practice using trick word flashcards and a spelling routine in which students say, skywrite, write, and orally rehearse each new trick word,

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 2, Teach Trick Words-Reading, the teacher introduces the trick words was and one within the connected sentence Meg was the first one to fall and directs students to orally repeat the sentence while attending to each word. Using sentence frames, students reconstruct the sentence as the teacher supports discussion of capitalization and punctuation. The teacher draws attention to each target trick word by circling it in the sentence and having students identify the word before it is rewritten. The sentence is then scooped into meaningful phrases and reread with students. Instruction continues with review of corresponding trick word flashcards, including previously taught words, supporting spiraling practice. The routine concludes with a spelling practice in which students say, skywrite, and write each new trick word. 

• Materials include teacher modeling of the spelling and reading of high-frequency words that includes connecting the phonemes to the graphemes. 

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 4, Teach Trick Words-Reading, the materials include explicit teacher modeling to support students in understanding the spelling and reading of high-frequency words identified as trick words. The teacher introduces the words do and does within connected sentences and draws attention to each word by circling it as the sentence is read aloud. As students identify the circled word, the teacher writes it separately and explains that do and does contain both known and tricky parts that do not follow regular sound-spelling patterns. Using trick word flashcards, the teacher models reading each word while pointing to the letters and orally emphasizing how the spellings connect to the sounds students already know and the part that must be remembered. In the Teach Trick Words-Spelling section, the teacher further models spelling through a structured routine that includes saying the word, skywriting, and writing the word, reinforcing connections between phonemes and graphemes. Students add the new trick words to their notebooks, supporting continued attention to accurate spelling and word recognition across the instructional day.

  • In Unit 10, Week 3, Day 3, Teach Trick Words-Reading, the materials include explicit teacher modeling to support students in understanding the spelling and reading of high-frequency words identified as trick words. The teacher introduces the trick words out, about, and our within connected sentences and draws attention to each word by circling it as the sentence is read aloud. As students identify the circled word, the teacher writes each word separately and explains that these words contain both known and tricky parts that do not fully align with expected sound-spelling correspondences. Using trick word flashcards, the teacher models reading each word while pointing to the letters and orally emphasizing how parts of the spelling connect to familiar sounds and which parts must be remembered. In the Teach Trick Words-Spelling section, the teacher further models spelling through a structured routine that includes saying the word, skywriting, and writing the word, reinforcing connections between phonemes and graphemes. Students record the new trick words in their notebooks, supporting continued attention to accurate spelling and word recognition beyond the initial lesson.

• Materials include a sufficient quantity of high-frequency words for students to make reading progress.

  • According to the Fundations scope and sequence, by the end of Level 1 students are expected to read and spell the first 100 high-frequency words. Across Units 2–14, the materials introduce approximately 164 unique high-frequency words, including both phonetically regular high-frequency words and irregular words identified as Trick Words. Words are introduced incrementally and revisited through cumulative review, providing students with exposure to a volume of high-frequency words that exceeds the stated benchmark and supports developing automaticity and word recognition.

    • Unit 2

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): sat, fun, leg, him, box, yes.

      • Trick Words (HFW): the, a, and, is, his, of.

    • Unit 3

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): when, this, shop, such, back, wish.

      • Trick Words (HFW): as, has, to, into, we, he, she, be, me, for, or.

    • Unit 4

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): off, fell, miss, call, less, all.

      • Trick Words (HFW): you, your, I, they, was, one, said.

    • Unit 5

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): am, an, can, man, ran, than.

      • Trick Words (HFW): from, have, do, does.

    • Unit 6 (Review)

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular base words): fills, sits, dogs, ships, maps, rocks.

      • Trick Words (HFW): were, are, who, what, when, where, there, here.

    • Unit 7

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): long, sing, ring, song, bank, think.

      • Trick Words (HFW): why, by, my, try, put, two, too, very, also, some, come.

    • Unit 8

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): and, best, milk, spot, dress, small.

      • Trick Words (HFW): would, could, should, her, over, number.

    • Unit 9 (Review)

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): must, block, hand, left, wind, glass.

      • Trick Words (HFW): say, says, see, between, each.

    • Unit 10

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): bring, plant, string, printed, French, strong.

      • Trick Words (HFW): any, many, how, now, down, out, about, our.

    • Unit 11

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): here, safe, fine, those, use, wide.

      • Trick Words (HFW): friend, other, another, none, nothing.

    • Unit 12

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): cannot, until, visit, entire, object, subject.

      • Trick Words (HFW): people, month, little, been, own, want, Mr., Mrs..

    • Unit 13

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): insects, products, branches, inches.

      • Trick Words (HFW): work, word, write, being, their, first, look, good, new.

    • Unit 14 (Review)

      • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): fact, stop, stand, drive, expect, products.

      • Trick Words (HFW): water, called, day, may, way.

    The Fundations materials define high-frequency words as a programmatic category that includes both words commonly found in written English and phonetically regular words selected to support automatic word recognition aligned to the phonics scope and sequence. In the broader field of literacy, high-frequency words typically refer to words that appear most often in written text, often drawn from established frequency lists.

The instructional opportunities for high-frequency words in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1p. Materials provide regular opportunities for students to decode high-frequency words in isolation through structured Trick Word routines with cumulative review. Students also practice decoding high-frequency words within connected text and sentence-level reading tasks, reinforcing application in meaningful contexts. Materials include frequent opportunities for students to encode high-frequency words in isolation and within sentence dictation routines. During these routines, students identify, spell, write, and reread Trick Words independently, supporting accuracy and proofreading. This combination of isolated decoding, contextual practice, and sentence-level encoding supports the development of automaticity over time.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year.

• Students practice decoding high-frequency words in isolation. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 2, Teach Trick Words–Reading, students practice decoding high-frequency words from and have in isolation. Students read each word aloud and engage in repeated practice by saying the word, tracing the letters while naming them, and spelling the word orally. Students then write the word using finger tracing, repeat the word, and continue spelling the word multiple times, including with eyes closed, reinforcing repeated practice with high-frequency words in isolation.

  • In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 3, Teach Trick Words–Reading, students practice decoding the high-frequency words see, between, and each in isolation. Students read each word aloud and engage in repeated practice by saying the word, tracing the letters while naming them, and spelling the word orally. Students then write each word using finger tracing, repeat the word, and continue spelling the word multiple times, including with eyes closed, reinforcing repeated practice with high-frequency words in isolation.

• Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode high-frequency words in context. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 5, Storytime, students read the story “Pam and Dan.” In this story, students practice reading previously learned Trick Words in sentences such as, Pam had a red and tan ball from the shop.” and “Sam, Pam, and Dan had fun with the ball.  In this activity, the teacher displays the story on large paper with the sentences scooped for phrasing. Students are asked to read the title silently, tapping non-Trick Words if necessary. The trick word is  from.  

  • In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 5, Storytime, students re-read the story “Fred the Frog” from the previous week. In this story, students practice reading previously learned Trick Words in sentences such as “He hops over the twig and he jumps on the grass.” and “He went into my hut!”. The trick words are he, over, the, and, into, my. 

• Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to encode high-frequency words in tasks, such as sentences, in order to promote automaticity of high-frequency words. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 3, Dictation (Composition Book), the teacher dictates 2 Trick Words in isolation, such as they and was,  and 1 sentence , such as Jill can have a nap on the bed, for students to spell and write out. The trick words in the sentence are have, a, and the. For Trick Words in isolation, students write the words on their desks with two fingers before writing in their Composition Books. For sentences, the teacher begins by dictating a sentence using appropriate phrasing. Students then repeat the sentence. One student places the Sentence Frame for the dictated sentence. The teacher guides the student to circle any frame that has a Trick Word. The teacher selects a student to spell the Trick Word(s) in the sentence. Students then independently write the sentence with the teacher circulating among the classroom for support. After students have finished writing, the teacher dictates the sentence again as students point to the words on their Composition Books. This re-dictation allows the teacher and students to have a conversation about punctuation, capitalization, and otherwise proofreading their work. For both the Trick Words in isolation and the sentences, students are encouraged to reference their Student Notebooks for assistance with spelling Trick Words. The Trick Words and sentences can be found in the unit resources and include the following:

    • Review Trick Words: into, said, they

    • New Trick Words: from, have, does

    • Sentences: Jill can have a nap on the bed.; Does Sam have a rash on his leg?

  • In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 4, Dictation (Composition Book), the teacher dictates 2 Trick Words in isolation and 1 sentence for students to spell and write out. For Trick Words in isolation, students write the words on their desks with two fingers before writing in their Composition Books. For sentences, the teacher begins by dictating a sentence using appropriate phrasing. Students then repeat this sentence. One student places the Sentence Frame for the dictated sentence. The teacher guides the student to circle any frame that has a Trick Word. The teacher selects a student to spell the Trick Word(s) in the sentence. Students then independently write the sentence with the teacher circulating among the classroom for support. After students have finished writing, the teacher dictates the sentence again as students point to the words on their Composition Books. This re-dictation allows the teacher and students to have a conversation about punctuation, capitalization, and otherwise proofreading their work. For both the Trick Words in isolation and the sentences, students are encouraged to reference their Student Notebooks for assistance with spelling Trick Words. The Trick Words and sentences can be found in the unit resources and include the following:

    • Review Trick Words: here, why, very

    • New Trick Words: say, see, each

    • Sentences: Do not dump that stuff on my bed!; Pass each small block to me.

The instructional opportunities for syllabication and morpheme analysis in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1q. Materials provide explicit instruction in syllable types with clear marking routines that support decoding and encoding. Students regularly identify, mark, and compare syllable types to analyze vowel pronunciation and word structure. Materials also provide explicit instruction in morpheme analysis through teaching base words and common inflectional suffixes. Students learn to identify base words, add and mark suffixes, and analyze how suffixes affect pronunciation and meaning. Multiple and varied opportunities are provided across the year for students to practice and apply syllable and morpheme analysis strategies in both decoding and encoding tasks.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year.

• Materials contain explicit instruction of syllable types and syllable division that promote decoding and encoding of words. 

  • In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, materials provide  instruction in syllable types by introducing the closed syllable. The teacher explains that words are made of parts called syllables and defines a syllable as a part of a word that can be pushed out in one breath. Using Standard Sound Cards, the teacher models one- and two-syllable words, including cat and catnip, to distinguish between single-syllable and multisyllabic words. Instruction defines a closed syllable as a syllable that contains one vowel closed in by at least one consonant, resulting in a short vowel sound. The teacher uses Standard Sound Cards to model closed syllables by forming words such as bat, at, and bath, demonstrating that a vowel may be closed by one or more consonants and does not require a consonant before the vowel. Additional examples and non-examples are analyzed, including such, it, she, and boat, with students identifying which words contain closed syllables and explaining why based on vowel count and consonant placement. Instruction includes explicit marking routines in which students underline or scoop the syllable, label the syllable type with (c), and mark the vowel with a breve to indicate the short vowel sound, as in cat (c). Students record the definition of a closed syllable in the Syllable section of their Student Notebooks and add example words such as think (c), last (c), up (c), and fell (c) to reinforce decoding and encoding of closed syllables.

  • ​​In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, materials provide instruction that distinguishes between closed and open syllables and explains how syllable type affects vowel pronunciation. Using Standard Sound Cards, the teacher forms the word got and reviews that the syllable is closed because the vowel o is closed in by the consonant t, resulting in a short vowel sound. The teacher then slides the consonant away to form go and explains that when the vowel is no longer closed in, the syllable becomes open and the vowel says its name, producing the long /ō/ sound. The teacher models this contrastive syllable analysis with multiple word pairs, first forming and reading the closed syllable and then sliding the closing consonant away to create the open syllable. Modeled word pairs include not and no, hit and hi, wet and we, and bet and be. Students read each word aloud and discuss whether the syllable is closed or open based on vowel and consonant placement. 

• Materials contain explicit instruction in morpheme analysis to decode unfamiliar words. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, materials provide instruction in morpheme analysis by introducing base words and the suffix -s. Using Standard Sound Cards, the teacher forms the word shop and has students read the base word before adding the suffix -s to form shops. The teacher explains that shop is the base word and -s is a suffix that can be added to change the word. This process is repeated with bug and bugs, with the teacher explicitly explaining that the suffix -s can represent different sounds when added to words. Students read base words and then read the complete words with the suffix, always stating the base word first and then the whole word, as in shop → shops and bug → bugs. Additional examples include docks, and pets for which the suffix -s produces the /s/ sound, and dogs, and pens for which the suffix -s produces the /z/ sound. Instruction emphasizes that only the base word is tapped during decoding, directing students’ attention to the internal structure of the word rather than treating the word as a single unit. The teacher explicitly connects morpheme analysis to meaning by demonstrating that adding -s indicates more than one and introduces the term plural. Students practice marking words to highlight morpheme structure by underlining or scooping the base word and circling the suffix. Students also identify and label the sound of the suffix above the word, such as /s/ in hits and /z/ in bugs. Students record the definitions of base word and suffix in the Spelling section of their Student Notebooks and add examples of plural words formed with -s, including rocks (/s/). These routines support students in analyzing word structure to decode and encode words with inflectional endings.

  • In Unit 13, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, materials provide explicit instruction in morpheme analysis by teaching students how suffixes attach to multisyllabic base words. The teacher explains that suffix endings can be added to multisyllabic words and models this process using syllable frames and a suffix frame. The teacher builds the word invent using syllable frames and then adds the suffix -s to form in-vent-s. Students read the base word first and then read the complete word with the suffix, as in invent → invents. The teacher continues by changing the suffix to -ing and -ed, guiding students to read invent → inventing and invent → invented. Students identify the base word and the suffix and discuss how the suffix changes the meaning of the word, including whether the action is happening now or in the past. Instruction explicitly emphasizes marking morpheme boundaries by underlining or scooping syllables in the base word and circling the suffix, as in invented. Students apply this analysis to additional examples drawn from unit resources, reinforcing attention to base words and suffixes as meaningful word parts.

• Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 2, Make It Fun, the teacher prepares a set of review and current unit words, with approximately half containing the suffix -s. Students select word cards, read each word aloud, and determine whether the word includes a suffix. If the word contains the suffix -s, students underline the base word and circle the suffix. If the word does not contain a suffix, students add -s and mark the base word and suffix accordingly. Students then reread the word by stating the base word first and then the complete word with the suffix, reinforcing attention to word structure. The activity continues as students exchange word cards and repeat the analysis process across multiple words. This routine provides repeated and varied opportunities for students to practice identifying base words, adding suffixes, marking morphemes, and decoding derived words, extending earlier instruction through independent and interactive application of word analysis strategies.

  • In Unit 13, Week 1, Day 4, Word Talk, students practice analyzing multisyllabic words by identifying the base word, spelling the base word one syllable at a time, and then adding the appropriate suffix. For example, when the word finishing is dictated, students name the base word finish, spell the syllables fin and ish, and then add the suffix -ing. Students use white syllable frames and a yellow suffix frame to represent base words and suffixes, reinforcing visual and structural analysis of word parts. After writing each word, students scoop and reread syllables and circle the suffix to proofread their spelling. Teacher guidance emphasizes establishing consistent habits of naming the base word and spelling each syllable before adding suffixes, ensuring that students repeatedly apply the same word analysis strategy across multiple words within the lesson. These routines extend earlier instruction by providing ongoing, structured opportunities for students to practice and apply syllable and morpheme analysis during encoding tasks.

The assessment opportunities for word recognition and analysis in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1r. Materials provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities across the year through unit tests, progress monitoring, and fluency measures that evaluate students’ ability to analyze word parts, syllable types, and high-frequency words. Assessment tasks require students to apply word analysis skills, including identifying base words, suffixes, glued sounds, and syllable patterns. Assessment tools provide information about student performance through defined mastery criteria and reporting structures that support monitoring of progress over time. Materials also include guidance for using assessment results to inform instruction, including reteaching, targeted practice, and instructional adjustments to support student progress toward mastery.

• Materials regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of word recognition and analysis. 

  • In the Unit 7, Week 3, Day 5, Unit Test, after writing dictated words such as thank, wings, rink, songs, and things, students analyze each word by underlining the base word, circling the suffix when present, and boxing glued sounds such as -nk and -ng. These tasks require students to identify and mark word parts and sound patterns within words, demonstrating their understanding of word structure and analysis aligned to taught phonics patterns.

  • In Unit 11, Week 3, Day 5, Unit Test, after writing dictated words such as mule, bake, joke, grades, and smiles, students analyze each word by underlining base words, circling suffixes, and marking vowel-consonant-e syllables. These tasks require students to identify word parts and syllable types within words, demonstrating their understanding of word structure and analysis aligned to taught phonics patterns.

  • According to the Unit 12 Overview, Formative Assessment guidance, materials provide ongoing assessment opportunities to measure student mastery of word recognition and analysis. The materials state that the teacher should “use the Fundations Fluency Kit as a measure of oral reading fluency and as an additional assessment for word recognition and word-level analysis.” Students are assessed on reading and spelling words with two closed and/or open syllables through multiple measures, including unit tests, fluency assessments, and check-ups. Assessment materials include trick words and regularly spelled words such as himself, upset, pigpen, hotrod, tomcat, inside, include, cupcake, reptile, excuse, inhale, expect, public, panic, and tonic, as well as high-frequency words such as people, month, little, been, own, want, Mr., and Mrs.

    Throughout the Level 1 assessment sequence, word recognition and word analysis skills are formally assessed through the following measures:

    • Fundations Progress Monitoring, starting at mid-year and bi-weekly as needed thereafter; and

    • Unit Tests, every 2-3 weeks. 

• Assessment materials provide the teacher and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of word recognition and word analysis. 

  • The FUN HUB digital resource provides a Unit Test Tracker for the teacher to measure students’ skill development in phonics over time. Starting with the Unit 3 test, the Unit Test Tracker platform also allows the teacher to create skill reports for their class based on their ability to mark up words. The teacher can see progress over time to determine if a class is Above Benchmark (e.g. scored at 80% or higher), is At Risk and needs some review (e.g. scored between 60% and 79%) or is Below Benchmark and needs significant intervention (e.g. scored at 59% or lower). The Skill Report also allows the teacher to see where each individual student is within those three categories (Above Benchmark, At Risk, Below Benchmark). 

  • In Unit 11, Week 3, Day 5, Data-Driven Decision Making guidance, materials provide information to the teacher about students’ current levels of understanding in word recognition and word analysis. The materials direct the teacher to extend the unit if 80 percent of the class does not demonstrate mastery, defined as scoring at least 80 percent on the unit test. For individual students who do not meet this threshold on specific items, the teacher is guided to provide additional support targeted to the assessed skill. Materials also direct the teacher to meet with students individually to review errors and identify areas for further practice. 

• Materials support the teacher with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students progress toward mastery in word recognition and word analysis. 

  • In the Fundations Teacher Manual Level 1: Recommendations for Next Steps After the Unit Test, the materials provide suggestions for next steps to support students’ progress toward mastery in word recognition and analysis. For example, if a student struggles with mastering new word structures after the Unit 7 test, the materials recommend that the teacher plans a scaffolded Dictation activity to focus on marking words with glued sounds. The teacher can also assign additional FUN HUB practice in the interactive online platform. 

  • In the Progress Monitoring Teacher Guide, Section III: Additional Support Activities, the materials provide suggestions for next steps to support students’ progress toward mastery in word recognition and word analysis. If a student has difficulty with identifying high frequency/sight words, the materials suggest that the teacher assign more Trick Word Practice, engage in more Fluency Drills, and make personal practice packs of unknown Trick Word cards.

The instructional opportunities for oral reading fluency in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1s. Materials include regular and varied opportunities for explicit, systematic instruction in rate, accuracy, and prosody using grade-level decodable connected text. Instruction incorporates teacher modeling, repeated readings, choral and echo reading, partner practice, and independent rereading. Students hear fluent, expressive reading during initial text readings, and lesson routines consistently attend to accuracy, phrasing, and smooth pacing as decoding skills develop. Materials also include structured fluency activities tied to taught phonics patterns, reinforcing automaticity and controlled rate over time. Across the year, students engage in multiple modes of rereading with explicit teacher guidance that supports steady progression toward fluent oral reading.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year.

• Materials include regular and varied opportunities for explicit, systematic instruction in rate, accuracy, and prosody using grade-level decodable connected text. 

  • In the Fundations Reading Teacher Guide, materials provide structured opportunities for students to develop oral reading fluency through repeated, supported reading of grade-level decodable connected text. For example, in Unit 1 “Del, the Big Dog” (narrative)  and Unit 13 “Glass Frogs” (informational), students engage in multiple readings of fully decodable texts designed to support accurate and increasingly fluent reading.

    • During initial and subsequent readings, students apply emerging decoding skills while reading independently, in pairs, or through teacher-directed routines. The teacher supports accuracy by previewing potentially challenging words, including words with untaught concepts and trick words, and by guiding students to focus on familiar sound–spelling patterns when they encounter difficulty. When students encounter words that include patterns not yet taught, the teacher provides the word so that reading remains continuous and focused on meaning.

    • Materials support rate and automaticity by encouraging repeated readings of the same decodable text across lessons. Students reread texts using a variety of formats, including independent reading, paired reading, choral reading, and echo reading. The teacher monitors students’ pacing and prompts rereading to support smoother, more efficient reading of connected text rather than slow or labored decoding.

    • Instruction addresses prosody during subsequent readings. The teacher directs students to focus on reading with expression and phrasing for understanding and reminds students to “make a movie” in their minds while reading. Students reread decodable texts with attention to phrasing and expression, supported by teacher feedback during oral reading. 

• Materials provide opportunities for students to hear fluent reading of grade-level text by a model reader. 

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 5, Story Time, the teacher reads the decodable story The Skunk aloud in short segments, modeling fluent reading with appropriate phrasing and expression. Students follow along by reading the text silently as the teacher reads. Afterwards, individual students are selected to read sentences aloud using the baby echo pointer. When student reading lacks appropriate phrasing or expression, the teacher rereads the text to model fluent oral reading before students continue.

  • In the Fundations Reading Teacher Guide, materials provide explicit opportunities for students to hear fluent reading of grade-level decodable text through teacher modeling during initial readings. In Unit 1 “Del, the Big Dog” (narrative)  and Unit 13 “Glass Frogs” (informational), the teaching plan directs the teacher to read the decodable text aloud to students during the first reading of the text. During this reading, the teacher explicitly models fluent oral reading, including appropriate rate, phrasing, expression, and prosody.

    • The teacher is instructed to read through the story while students follow along in their own copies of the text, touching the words as they listen. This modeled reading is designed to demonstrate how proficient readers read connected text fluently and expressively to support comprehension. The teacher pauses only as needed to briefly clarify unfamiliar vocabulary, maintaining the flow of the text and preserving the fluency model.

    • Materials further emphasize that this modeled reading provides students with an auditory example of how to read with expression and phrasing, promotes enjoyment of the text, and supports understanding of meaning. The teacher also models concepts of print, such as left-to-right tracking and return sweep, as students visually follow the text during fluent oral reading.

• Materials include a variety of resources for explicit instruction in oral reading fluency, supporting skill development across the year. 

  • According to the Fundations Readers Teacher  Guide, materials provide a range of instructional routines designed to support ongoing development of oral reading fluency, including accuracy, word-level automaticity, and prosody, using decodable connected text. The teacher is directed to select words from the text that align to the phonics patterns students need to practice, ensuring that fluency work remains connected to taught word structures.

    • For accuracy and word-level automaticity, materials include multiple practice options tied directly to the text. 

      • In Word Hunt activities, students read a list of words and trick words that appear in the reader and locate each word in the text, reinforcing accurate word recognition within connected reading. 

      • Buddy Word Hunt extends this routine by pairing students to take turns reading target words and collaboratively locating them in the text. 

      • Phonics Bingo provides an additional format in which students read the text and identify words from the story on a bingo card, offering repeated exposure to target words in a game-based context. 

      • Word Building activities require students to read phonetically regular words from the text and then build them using letter boards and magnetic letter tiles, reinforcing accurate decoding and automatic recognition.

    • For fluency and prosody, materials include explicit routines that use decodable readers for repeated and supported oral reading. 

      • The teacher is directed to prepare pre-scooped readers to guide phrasing and expression. Echo Reading routines pair a stronger reader with a student needing additional support, with the stronger reader modeling phrasing and prosody while the partner echoes the reading. Materials also encourage rereading previously read Fundations readers to focus on phrasing and prosody rather than decoding accuracy alone.

The instructional opportunities for supported fluency practice in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1t. Materials provide varied and frequent opportunities for students to develop automaticity and prosody through repeated readings, choral and echo reading, teacher-directed oral reading, partner reading, and independent practice. Instruction includes a continuum of support that gradually releases responsibility to students as fluency develops. The teacher receives clear guidance for modeling fluent reading and delivering corrective feedback that addresses phrasing, expression, rate, and accuracy. Additional fluency resources and structured rereading routines are integrated across units and instructional settings, including whole-group and small-group contexts. Across the year, these consistent and developmentally appropriate fluency practices support sustained growth in fluent oral reading.

Note: This indicator is analyzed at the lesson level to examine the instructional progression within and across lessons. Repeated references to a single week or lesson reflect the structured sequence of explicit instruction and guided practice, which is representative of how the materials support this skill throughout the year.

• Varied, frequent opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to gain automaticity and prosody in connected text, aligned to program expectations and developmental readiness.

  • In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 5, Storytime, students practice fluent reading with the story The Pink Dress. The teacher begins by writing the story on chart paper with phrases scooped. The teacher then asks the students to read the title silently and leads the students through a discussion about the title and what the story might be about. Next, the students read the story 2-3 sentences at a time. First, students read the sentences silently. Then, the teacher selects a student to read the sentences using proper expression and phrasing. Then, the whole class repeats the sentences. After the story has been read once, the teacher and students read the story again with choral reading. 

    • Unit 8 focuses on consonant blends, digraph blends, and words with four sounds, and The Pink Dress emphasizes these concepts through sentences such as the following: “Then Jess held up another one.”; “It was a pink silk dress.”; and “They went to the shop.”

  • In Unit 13, Week 2, Day 5, Storytime, materials provide students with repeated opportunities to build automaticity and prosody in connected text through structured rereading of Brad’s Lost Glasses, a story first introduced in Week 1. The teacher begins by displaying the story and asking students to read the title silently and recall the story in their minds. After a student retells the story, the class rereads the text together through choral reading while the teacher scoops the phrases with Baby Echo to model phrasing. The teacher stops after every 2–3 sentences and directs students to “make a movie” in their minds, close their eyes, and picture the story, then asks students to describe what they see while discussing each sentence. The teacher continues this process through the entire story, then models a retelling using gestures and visualization before asking a student to retell the story in detail. 

• Materials provide practice opportunities for word reading fluency in a variety of settings (e.g., repeated readings, dyad or partner reading, continuous reading), with sufficient frequency to support progress towards mastery. 

  • In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 5, Storytime, students revisit the story, The Pink Dress, that was introduced in Unit 8, Week 1, Day 5. After asking students to remember elements of the story, the teacher engages the students in a choral rereading of the story. After engaging with the story to strengthen comprehension, the teacher finally disseminates the story to students to have them practice paired reading with a focus on expression and phrasing. 

  • In Unit 13, Week 2, Day 5, Storytime, students revisit the story, Brad’s Lost Glasses, that was introduced in Unit 13, Week 1, Day 5. After asking students to remember elements of the story, the teacher engages the students in a choral rereading of the story. Comprehension activities are integrated into the choral rereading of the story. Finally, the teacher disseminates the story to students to have them practice paired reading with a focus on expression and phrasing. 

    After students have been introduced to a text and had opportunities to hear expressive reading multiple times, they are then encouraged to practice that reading in more independent settings (e.g. moving from choral reading to paired reading). In Fundations Teacher’s Manual Level 1, Ways to Engage with Decodable Readers, the materials provide guidance on how to engage in readings of decodable texts. On a continuum of support, the materials provide the following examples of how to engage with decodable readers:

    • Teacher reads, students follow along:

      • Echo reading

      • Choral reading

      • Teacher-directed oral reading

      • Paired reading

      • Student independent reading

• Materials include teacher-facing guidance on modeling fluent reading and delivering corrective feedback that supports students’ growth in rate, expression, and phrasing. 

  • In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 5, Storytime, the materials provide a Teacher Tip that encourages the teacher to use the Fundations Fluency Kit for additional automaticity and fluency practice with echo, choral, and independent reading of connected text. The Fluency Kit is meant for use with students who need additional practice in fluent reading and should be used in small groups or with individual students. The Fluency Kit includes materials related to conducting automaticity and fluency drills with Sound Charts, Word Charts (including real words, nonsense words, and trick words), as well as phrases and stories (for practice with fluency). 

  • In the Fundations Teacher’s Manual Level 1, Principles of Instruction, Targeted Corrective and Positive Feedback section, the materials guide the teacher to provide feedback on fluency. If a student is having trouble reading connected text that is chunked into phrases, the teacher should say, “Let’s reread this sentence together by noticing and using the scoops. I’ll read each scoop first, then you will repeat how I read it.”

The assessment materials for oral reading fluency in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1u. Materials provide regular and systematic fluency assessments, including oral reading fluency passage probes, unit-based monitoring, and ongoing observation during connected text reading, to evaluate rate, accuracy, and prosody across the year. Structured recording and observation tools allow the teacher to document growth, track benchmarks, and identify instructional needs. Guidance supports interpretation of both quantitative and qualitative data, including use of prosody scales, cold and final reads, and miscue analysis, and outlines targeted instructional adjustments such as additional fluency practice and small-group intervention. These consistent routines provide actionable information to support continued development of oral reading fluency.

• Multiple assessment opportunities are provided regularly and systematically over the course of the year for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence of oral reading fluency. 

  • According to the Fundations Progress Monitoring Teacher Guide, the materials provide fluency assessment opportunities administered bi-wekkly as needed with mid-year to end-of-year probes. These assessment opportunities include the following:

    • Oral Reading Fluency Passage Probes, with 9 total probes in which students read connected text aloud to measure developing fluency skills.

  • According to the Fundations Readers Teacher Guide, the materials provide opportunities to monitor students’ oral reading fluency during reading instruction administered weekly. These assessment opportunities include the following:

    • Ongoing observation of students’ oral reading during decodable text reading to monitor accuracy and automaticity at the word level.

    • Teacher monitoring of oral reading fluency during read-alouds and shared reading of Fundations Readers to observe rate, phrasing, and expression.

    • Monitoring of prosody using a four-point scale that describes observable behaviors, including word-by-word reading, appropriate phrasing, preservation of syntax, and expressive reading with varied pitch and volume.

    • Cold reads of connected text conducted prior to instruction to establish a baseline level of oral reading fluency.

    • Final reads of connected text conducted after instruction to measure growth in fluency following targeted learning plans.

  • According to the Appendix, the materials provide fluency assessment opportunities embedded across Units 2–14. These assessment opportunities include:

    • Word charting and Passage charting opportunities included in each unit to assess students’ accuracy and automaticity with taught phonics patterns and  connected text to measure oral reading fluency. This includes real word drills administered as needed using Fluency Kit 1 or printable materials accessed through the Fun Hub. 

• Assessment materials provide the teacher and students with information about students’ current skills/level of understanding of oral reading fluency. 

  • According to the Level 1 Progress Monitoring Teacher Guide, the teacher is directed to collect quantitative data during timed fluency assessments by recording the number of words read correctly, errors, self-corrections, skipped words, and overall accuracy. This information allows the teacher to determine students’ current levels of accuracy and rate and to track progress toward fluency benchmarks. The End-Year Benchmark is 69 words per minute. 

  • According to the Fundations Readers Teacher Guide, the teacher observes students reading connected text and gathers qualitative information about students’ oral reading fluency. The materials direct the teacher to monitor word-level accuracy and automaticity, noting where students hesitate or apply strategies such as tapping to read words accurately, and to identify patterns in word accuracy to inform practice.

    • The materials include a four-point scale to assess prosody based on observable student behaviors. A score of 1 reflects word-by-word reading with infrequent two- to three-word phrases that do not preserve syntax. A score of 2 reflects primarily two-word phrases with some longer groupings, though phrasing may be inconsistent or unrelated to meaning. A score of 3 reflects mostly appropriate phrasing with limited expression. A score of 4 reflects reading in meaningful phrases with preservation of syntax and expression.

    • The materials also include a four-point scale to assess intonation. A score of 1 reflects no attention to sentence boundaries and unnatural intonation. A score of 2 reflects flat or inconsistent intonation that does not support meaning. A score of 3 reflects some appropriate variation in pitch with limited expression. A score of 4 reflects expressive reading with varied pitch and volume that communicates meaning.

    • To further assess oral reading fluency, the materials direct the teacher to conduct a cold read and a final read of the same text before and after instruction. The teacher listens to the student read, takes notes on automaticity and ease, and conducts a miscue analysis to identify strengths and areas for growth.

• Materials support the teacher with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in oral reading fluency. 

  • According to the Fundations Fluency Kit, the materials provide explicit guidance for targeted instructional adjustments for students who require additional fluency support. The Fluency Kit is designed for small-group or individual intervention and includes structured phrase drills with explicit teacher modeling, timed readings, and repeated practice opportunities. The teacher records student performance using laminated tracking charts and supports students in setting goals by graphing best scores across multiple sessions.

  • According to the Fundations Readers Teacher Guide, the teacher is directed to use observations from reading sessions to adjust instruction, including conducting cold and final reads, completing miscue analyses, and selecting instructional supports based on students’ levels of accuracy, automaticity, phrasing, and prosody.

  • ​​According to the Fundations Readers Teacher Guide appendix, the materials provide unit-specific guidance for adjusting instruction based on assessment results. When students demonstrate difficulty with unit-level fluency or decoding skills, the teacher is directed to use targeted Fluency Kit drills and marking routines aligned to the instructional focus of each unit, including the following:

    • Unit 3: Digraphs The teacher guides students using Fluency Kit drills focused on digraph patterns. Students engage in repeated reading of word and phrase drills and mark words to identify digraphs to reinforce accurate decoding and fluency.

    • Unit 4: Bonus Letters and the All-Glued Sound The teacher uses Fluency Kit drills and provides copies of drill sheets for students to mark bonus letters and the all-glued sound, supporting accuracy and automaticity during repeated readings.

    • Unit 6: Base Words and Suffix -s The teacher implements Fluency Kit drills with echo and choral reading routines. Students mark base words and suffixes to support fluent reading of morphologically complex words.

    • Unit 8: Blends and Digraphs The teacher guides students through Fluency Kit drills that distinguish between blends and digraphs in words containing up to four sounds. Students participate in choral reading and mark words to reinforce accurate decoding and fluency.

    • Unit 10: Adding Suffixes -ed and -ing The teacher uses Fluency Kit drills with echo and choral reading. Students mark base words, suffixes, and blends in words containing up to five sounds to support fluent reading of inflected forms.

    • Unit 13: Adding Suffixes -s, -ed, -ing, and -esThe teacher implements Fluency Kit drills to support fluent reading of single-syllable and multisyllabic words with suffixes. Students mark words to identify base words and suffixes during repeated readings.