1st Grade Report Overview

The Fundations Grade 1 materials reviewed partially meet the criteria for alignment to standards and research-based practices for foundational skills instruction. The instructional materials provide explicit instruction and practice for lowercase letters, but do not provide instruction for uppercase letters. Though some concepts of print, including identifying the features of a sentence are modeled, there is a lack of sufficient, explicit practice of these print concepts within the context of a book. Materials provide some modeling and practice of phonemic awareness skills for phonological awareness during daily lessons as well as limited systematic, explicit instruction and practice in syllables, sounds (phonemes), and spoken words. Materials partially meet the criteria that materials emphasize phonics instruction through systematic and repeated modeling. There are frequent opportunities for students to decode and encode words, including common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns and to review previously taught grade-level phonics; however, materials include limited opportunities for students to learn about common vowel teams and to decode phonetically regular words in a sentence. Materials partially meet the criteria for materials include systematic instruction of high-frequency words and practice opportunities of high-frequency words to develop automaticity. Students have opportunities to read and write high-frequency words in tasks (sentences); however, students are not given opportunities to read sentences independently or without prior teacher modeling. Materials provide opportunities for explicit word analysis strategies instruction. Students are taught how to tap out sounds and decode unfamiliar words. Materials provide limited opportunities for students to practice decoding to develop accuracy and fluency and to read emergent-reader texts for purpose and understanding. Materials include some instructional opportunities for systematic, evidence-based, explicit instruction in fluency. Explicit instruction addresses expression and phrasing, but does not model for students how to read with appropriate rate and accuracy. Materials do not provide opportunities for students to practice using confirmation or self-correction of errors.