Kindergarten - Gateway 1

The letter names and sounds instruction in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1a.i. The materials provide a defined, yearlong sequence for systematically introducing letter names and their corresponding sounds within a reasonable time frame. According to the Fundations Scope and Sequence, instruction in letter recognition occurs primarily across Unit 1 and Unit 2, with letters introduced in a structured, week-by-week progression that allows students to learn a limited number of new letters at a time. By the end of Unit 1, students have been introduced to all 26 letters, demonstrating a sequence that can reasonably be completed within the school year. The materials also include isolated, systematic, and explicit instruction for recognizing all lowercase and uppercase letters. Instruction consistently focuses on individual letters and emphasizes explicit teacher modeling of letter names and sounds using a consistent instructional routine. Across the sequence, students engage in repeated practice connecting each letter to its corresponding sound, supporting accurate letter recognition and recall.

• There is a defined sequence for letter recognition instruction to be completed in a reasonable time frame over the school year.

  • According to the Fundations Scope and Sequence, the materials provide a defined sequence for introducing letters and sounds.

    • In Fundations Level K, Unit 1 (12  weeks), students learn Letter–Keyword–Sound for consonants and short vowels and Unit 2 (4 weeks), Alphabetical Order. 

    • The program outlines a week-by-week introduction that moves through the entire alphabet in a structured order:

      • Unit 1 Letter/Sound/Formation Sequence:

        • Week 1: t, b, f

        • Week 2: n, m

        • Week 3: i, u

        • Week 4: c, o

        • Week 5: a, g

        • Week 6: d, s

        • Week 7: e, r

        • Week 8: p, j

        • Week 9: l, h, k

        • Week 10: v, w

        • Week 11: y, x

        • Week 12: z, q

    This structured weekly progression demonstrates a defined, systematic sequence that can reasonably be completed within the school year.

• Materials contain isolated, systematic, and explicit instruction for students to recognize all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters. 

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, Letter Formation of Lowercase b and f, Letter–Keyword–Sound routine, the teacher introduces each new letter using the large Sound Card and models the full routine. Students echo the letter–keyword–sound for each introduced letter (for example, b – bat – /b/ and f – fun – /f/). The routine is then repeated with the standard Sound Card to reinforce recognition of the printed letter.

  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 2, Sky Write and Letter Formation, the materials provide isolated and explicit instruction for recognizing uppercase letters and their corresponding sounds. The teacher introduces uppercase C and D by modeling the letter name, keyword, and sound sequence, prompting students to repeat C–cat–/k/ and D–dog–/d/. Students locate the newly introduced uppercase letters in their Student Notebook and engage in guided practice that reinforces recognition of each letter and its associated sound through repeated verbalization and identification

    These routines occur in isolation for each letter introduced, include consistent teacher modeling, and provide explicit guidance for students to recognize and practice the name, keyword, and sound for each uppercase and lowercase letter across the sequence.

The student practice opportunities for letter names and their corresponding sounds in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1a.ii. The materials provide sufficient, frequent opportunities for students to practice recognizing all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters accurately and automatically. Practice routines consistently reinforce connections between letter names and sounds through repeated exposure and student response. The materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources to develop, practice, and reinforce alphabet knowledge through cumulative review. Students engage in letter–sound practice using sound cards, magnetic letter tiles, letter boards, Student Notebooks, and read-aloud experiences. Practice occurs across multiple modalities, including oral repetition, sound-to-letter identification, letter-name recitation, and interaction with printed letters in isolation and in connected text. Review routines recur across units and include previously taught letters alongside newly introduced ones, supporting ongoing reinforcement of alphabet knowledge throughout the year.

• Materials include sufficient practice opportunities for students to recognize all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters accurately and automatically. 

  • In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 1, Letter–Keyword–Sound, the materials provide structured practice for students to recognize newly introduced letters in print. The teacher displays the Large Sound Card and prompts students to identify the letter by name. Students then view the corresponding Standard Sound Card, which removes picture support, and again identify the printed letter. For example, students identify the letters n and m as they appear on both cards. Students locate the newly introduced letters in their Student Notebook and visually track each letter while saying its name.

  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 3, Drill Sounds/Warm-Up, the materials provide structured practice for students to recognize uppercase letters by name. The teacher dictates a sound, and students repeat the sound and name the corresponding letter. For example, when the teacher says /a/, /b/, /k/, /d/, /e/, and /f/, students identify and name the matching uppercase letters. After each response, the teacher confirms the letter by stating the letter–keyword–sound, and students repeat. 

• Materials incorporate a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) alphabet knowledge. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 5, the Echo/Find Letters routine provides cumulative letter-sound practice using magnetic letter tiles and letter boards. Students begin with tiles off the board as the teacher dictates sounds. Students echo each sound and match the corresponding tile to the letter on their board, including previously taught and newly introduced sounds (for example, /t/ – t, /b/ – b, /f/ – f, /n/ – n, /m/ – m, /i/ – i, /ū/ – u). After all tiles are placed, the teacher dictates several sounds and students point to the corresponding letter. This activity offers variety through manipulatives, sound dictation, cumulative review of previously learned letters, and repeated opportunities to reinforce alphabet knowledge.

  • In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 5, Storytime, the materials incorporate alphabet knowledge into connected text. The teacher selects an ABC book to read aloud, examines the front and back cover with students, and pauses on letter pages to point out the printed letter. Students identify the corresponding keyword and sound. The routine also exposes students to varied letter fonts, reinforcing recognition across print forms.

    • Alphabetical Order practice provides another activity for cumulative review. Students begin with magnetic letter tiles placed randomly on their letter boards and match each tile sequentially to the alphabet squares. Once complete, students chorally recite the alphabet while pointing to each letter as its name is said. 

    • The Echo/Find Letters routine expands this review by integrating both letter and sound practice. The teacher says a sound, students echo it, and point to the corresponding letter on their magnetic letter boards. Students then name the letter. The teacher also invites a student to locate the standard Sound Card for each dictated sound, including vowels and 3–5 consonants. These activities, ABC books, alphabetical sequencing with manipulatives, cumulative sound-to-letter identification, and letter-name recitation, provide varied and repeated opportunities for students to develop and reinforce alphabet knowledge across modalities.

The instruction and teacher modeling for letter formation in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1a.iii. The materials provide a defined and systematic sequence for teaching letter formation that is aligned to the letter recognition sequence and completed within the school year. Lowercase letters are introduced first, followed by uppercase letters in a structured progression. Teacher-facing materials include explicit, stroke-by-stroke guidance for modeling correct formation of all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters. Consistent verbalizations and visual reference lines support accurate teacher modeling and student imitation, ensuring explicit instruction in letter formation across the alphabet.

• There is a defined sequence for letter formation, aligned to the scope and sequence of letter recognition, to be completed in a reasonable time frame over the school year. 

  • The Fundations Level K Scope and Sequence includes a clear and structured progression for teaching letter formation that aligns directly with the sequence used for letter recognition. In Unit 1 (12 weeks), students learn formation for all lowercase letters a–z following the same weekly order used for Letter–Keyword–Sound instruction:

    • Week 1: t, b, f

    • Week 2: n, m

    • Week 3: i, u

    • Week 4: c, o

    • Week 5: a, g

    • Week 6: d, s

    • Week 7: e, r

    • Week 8: p, j

    • Week 9: l, h, k

    • Week 10: v, w

    • Week 11: y, x

    • Week 12: z, q

  • In Unit 2, the materials continue this defined sequence with formation of all uppercase letters. Uppercase letter instruction follows a daily progression that is fully aligned to the program’s pacing:

    • Week 2:

      • Day 1: A, B

      • Day 2: C, D

      • Day 3: E, F

      • Day 4: G, H

    • Week 3:

      • Day 1: I, J

      • Day 2: K, L

      • Day 3: M, N

      • Day 4: O, P

    • Week 4:

      • Day 1: Q, R

      • Day 2: T, U

      • Day 3: V, W, X

      • Day 4: Y, Z

    Lowercase letter formation follows the same intentional, non-alphabetical sequence used for letter-sound instruction, while uppercase letter formation is introduced in an alphabetical order sequence, providing full coverage of all letters within the school year. 

• Materials include clear directions for the teacher concerning how to explain and model how to correctly form each of the 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase). 

  • In the Unit Orientation, Day 3, Sky Write/Letter Formation Warm-up, the teacher is guided to introduce the activity by having students stretch, point their arm “straight as a pencil”, and identify the sky line, plane line, grass line, and worm line. The routine then instructs the teacher to model the lowercase t, writing it on the large letter-formation grid while stating the verbalization. Students imitate the modeled motions using two fingers while following the teacher's verbal cues. The materials also include explicit formation language for each lowercase letter. For lowercase t, the teacher uses the script: t is a sky line letter. It starts on the sky line. Point to the sky line. Go down to the grass line. Cross it on the plane line. The teacher then says t – top – /t/ and has students repeat. This verbalization mirrors the full stroke sequence and supports accurate teacher modeling.

  • In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 3,  Sky Write/Letter Formation, for uppercase M, the teacher uses a step-by-step verbalization to ensure accurate modeling: point to the sky line, go down to the grass line, point to the sky line, slide down to the plane line, slide back up to the sky line, go down to the grass line, followed by m – man – /m/ for reinforcement. For uppercase N, the materials direct the teacher to point to the sky line,  slide down to the grass line, go straight up to the sky line, then say n – nut – /n/ for students to repeat. These detailed scripts provide precise, consistent modeling guidance for each stroke.

The student practice opportunities for letter formation in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1a.iv. The materials provide frequent and systematic opportunities for students to practice forming all 26 lowercase and uppercase letters. Practice routines are embedded across daily lessons and include repeated opportunities for students to form letters using consistent formation procedures and verbal cues. The materials also include cumulative review of previously taught letter formations. Students regularly revisit and practice forming both newly introduced and previously learned letters through guided routines that reinforce correct formation over time. These cumulative practice opportunities support accuracy and automaticity in forming both lowercase and uppercase letters across the school year.

• Materials include frequent opportunities for students to practice forming all of the 26 uppercase and lowercase letters. 

  • In Unit 1, Week 12, Day 1,  Sky Write/Letter Formation, students sky write each lowercase  letter, z and q, following the verbalization, repeating the strokes multiple times. Students then locate the letters in the Student Notebook, trace each one with their finger using the formation language, and say the letter–keyword–sound (for example, z – zebra – /z/ and qu – queen – /kw/). These routines provide structured and repeated opportunities for students to practice forming new lowercase letters.

  • In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 2, Sky/Write Letter Formation, students practice forming uppercase letters K and L. After sky writing several repetitions with the teacher, students trace the uppercase and lowercase forms in their Student Notebook using the provided verbalizations. Students then hold their pencil to practice printing the letters in their notebooks. The materials direct the teacher to ensure correct grip, posture, and positioning, enabling students to practice accurate formation with the appropriate handwriting habits.

    These repeated practice routines across Units 1 and 2 ensure that students have frequent opportunities to form every uppercase and lowercase letter.

• Materials include cumulative review of previously learned letter formation. 

  • In Unit 1, Week 12, Day 4, Echo/Letter Formation, the materials direct the teacher through a cumulative review for lowercase letters. Students receive dry erase writing tablets and are reminded of correct pencil grip and sitting posture. The teacher dictates both new and previously taught sounds (such as /t/, /b/, /f/, /n/, /m/, /i/, /u/, /o/, /a/, /g/, /d/, /s/, /e/, /r/, /p/, /j/, /l/, /h/, /k/, /c/, /v/, /w/, /y/, /ks/, /z/, /kw/). Students echo each sound, say the letter, and write the corresponding letter on their tablet while following the formation verbalization. The materials also direct the teacher to have one student form the letter on the large letter-formation grid before others write it, providing an additional modeled review. The routine supports repeated practice of a wide range of letters previously introduced across Unit 1. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 2, Echo/Letter Formation, the materials  provide cumulative practice with both newly introduced and previously taught letters. The teacher begins by telling students they will practice capital letters on the dry erase writing tablet. The teacher dictates 2–3 sounds (such as /a/, /b/, /k/, /d/, /e/, /f/, /g/, /h/, /i/, /j/, /k/, /l/), and students echo the sound and name the corresponding letter. Students then form both the uppercase and the lowercase letter using the scripted formation language. After each letter is formed, the teacher says the letter–keyword–sound and students repeat, reinforcing previously learned letter–sound relationships while practicing accurate formation.

    These activities offer varied, cumulative opportunities for students to revisit, practice, and reinforce letter formation across the entire alphabet.

The assessment opportunities for letter recognition and letter formation in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1b. The materials regularly and systematically assess student progress across the school year in alignment with the program’s scope and sequence. Assessments address letter naming, sound–symbol correspondence, alphabetical order, and letter formation and include clearly defined mastery criteria. The materials provide the teacher with clear guidance for recording and interpreting assessment results and for using data to inform instructional decisions. The teacher is supported in identifying students who have not yet reached mastery and in providing targeted reteaching, additional practice, or intervention, ensuring assessments are used purposefully 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 letter recognition, and letter formation. 

  • According to the Level K Fundations Progress Monitoring Teacher’s Guide, Fundations-specific progress monitoring tools further increase the variety and frequency of assessment. 

    • The program includes bi-weekly letter naming and letter sound fluency probes to check recognition of uppercase and lowercase letters and sound–symbol correspondence as needed.

    • Alphabet Knowledge Check-Ups are built into the daily plans as designated Echo/Letter Formation check-ups, with letter–keyword correspondence and letter formation assessed on Unit 1 and Unit 2 Day 4 each week and once per unit in Units 3–5.

    • Daily observations during routines such as Letter–Keyword–Sound practice, Echo/Letter Formation, and Echo/Find Letters provide continuous checks of letter recognition, letter–keyword–sound, and letter formation.

  • According to the Fundations Level K Learning Community, Unit 1 Mid-Unit Check, using Standard Sound Cards, the teacher points to individual letters and asks students to name the letter, keyword, and sound. When students are unable to name letters, the materials direct the teacher to assess recognition by asking students to locate specific letters. The Mid-Unit Check also assesses sound-to-letter correspondence using letter boards and letter tiles, with students responding to prompts such as, “What says /s/?” In addition, students are assessed on lowercase letter formation by writing dictated letters on dry erase writing tablets while the teacher monitors accuracy of formation.

    • In the Unit 2 Unit Test, the materials assess students’ uppercase letter formation and alphabetical order. Students write dictated uppercase letters on a large writing grid and place letter tiles in alphabetical order while reciting the alphabet aloud.

  • According to the Fundations Learning Community, the materials include optional Level K unit pre-assessments that allow the teacher to gather information about students’ alphabet knowledge prior to instruction. The materials note that these pre-assessments may be administered to individual students or small groups, particularly for students at risk of not reaching the 80 percent mastery benchmark.

    • In Level K Unit 2, Letter Formation Uppercase, the teacher dictates a set of uppercase letters and students write each letter, including J, M, C, D, S, and F. In Alphabetical Order, students place lowercase letter tiles in sequence and recite the alphabet aloud in order.

    • In Level K Unit 4, Letter–Keyword–Sound, the teacher points to selected Standard Sound Cards and students name the letter, keyword, and corresponding sound, such as a–apple–/a/, e–Ed–/e/, and i–itch–/i/. 

• Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of letter recognition, and letter formation. 

  • According to the Teacher Guide, Appendix, the Assessment Pathways chart specifies the skills measured by each tool so the teacher can interpret results with clarity.

    • Fundations progress monitoring letter naming and letter sound fluency probes report how many letters and sounds students can name within the assessment, providing concrete information about current levels.

  • In the Level K Fundations Learning Community, Unit 2 Test Recording Form, the materials direct the teacher to “record successful responses with a check,” and to score specific tasks such as “Student correctly forms upper-case letters” by dictating letters and scoring the number correct out of ten. The form also records whether “student correctly names letters in alphabetical order” and includes space for comments, which supports the teacher in noting patterns or concerns. 

    • The Level K Unit Test Class Tracker with retesting, summarizes unit test performance at the class and individual level, including metrics such as, “Provides sounds of letter when given sound out of ten,” and “Forms upper case letters out of ten,” along with total percent correct.

  • In the The Fun Hub Data and Reporting Suite, Unit Test Tracker, the materials deepens this information.

    • Unit Test Skills Reports display class averages by skill, including lowercase letter names, lowercase letter sounds, and lowercase letter formation, as well as uppercase letter formation for Unit 2. The reports use color coding with green check marks for mastery at 80–100 percent, yellow triangles for 60–79 percent, and red Xs for 0–59 percent, giving the teacher a visual summary of each student’s status by skill.

    •  An observation and data collection spreadsheet for Level K provides additional space to log letter–keyword–sound observations and letter formation data, helping the teacher track day-to-day changes in student performance.

      • The teacher uses the class tracker and color-coded skills reports to identify which students have not yet reached the 80 percent mastery threshold for specific alphabet skills and to determine who needs reteaching, additional practice, or intervention. The Fun Hub’s breakdown by skill, including lowercase letter naming, letter sounds, and formation, guides the teacher in selecting which Fundations activities to emphasize during extra support. 

• Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress towards mastery in letter recognition, and letter formation. 

  • In  Level K Fundations Progress Monitoring Teacher Guide, the materials  include a Sound Identification administration guide that describes how to interpret probe results and use them to plan instruction. The guide explains that errors on probes can help inform instruction and emphasizes that the teacher should only practice skills that have been directly introduced in accordance with the Fundations scope and sequence. For example, if a student makes an error naming the letter t on a probe and t has been introduced, the guide directs the teacher to include t in letter naming activities during the intervention lesson. If a student makes an error on a letter such as z that has not yet been taught, the guide states that z should not be added to intervention activities at that time. The home support packet offers further reinforcement activities that can be shared with families when assessment data indicate a need for practice beyond the core lesson.

    • In  Section III, the materials outline “additional support activities” and explicitly connect these to assessment results. The guide instructs the teacher that if a student is not making adequate progress along the aim line to reach a benchmark, they should incorporate targeted Fundations activities into the intervention lesson plan, often in a smaller group or one-to-one setting. 

      • For letter naming automaticity, recommended activities include Drill Sounds or Warm-Up, Echo/Find Letters, Echo/Letter Formation, Sky Write/Letter Formation, Student Notebook work, Alphabetical Order, and Make It Fun in Unit 1.

      • For letter sound automaticity and sound identification, recommended activities include Drill Sounds or Warm-Up, Echo/Letter Formation, Sky Write/Letter Formation, Student Notebook vowel work, vowel extension, keyword puzzles, and Make It Fun in Unit 1. 

      • Additional support activities offer concrete next steps linked to assessment needs. 

        • For beginning to mid-year, the teacher is directed to use “tracing large letters” on legal-size paper and on walls or board surfaces to leverage gross-motor memory, then transition students to writing the same letters on dry erase tablets using the verbalizations. The guide references pre-K trace and write materials for extra practice with letter naming, sounds, and formation. A “whole story” activity uses a fluency practice template from the Fundations Learning Community to create lists of letters that repeat challenging ones; students first say the whole story of the letters, then just the letter names, and then the letter sounds. Alphabetical order activities prompt the teacher to ask questions using language such as “before,” “after,” “next,” “first,” and “last,” and to conduct round robin practice where students say the next letter in the sequence and gradually include upper-case letters as well.

The phonemic awareness scope and sequence in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1c. The materials contain a clear, evidence-based sequence for teaching phonemic awareness that progresses from simpler to more complex skills. Instruction begins with foundational phonological and phonemic awareness and advances to blending, segmenting, and manipulating phonemes in a logical hierarchy. Phonological awareness activities are limited to early instruction, with subsequent units emphasizing sustained phoneme-level work. Phonemic awareness routines are systematically aligned to the phonics scope and sequence, allowing students to connect oral sound manipulation to letter–sound instruction.

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

  • In the Fundations Teacher’s Manual, Level K, Phonemic Awareness section, materials state that “phonemic 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). Basic skills are taught beginning in Level K.” 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). By the end of Fundations Level K, students will know how to blend sounds to form words, and segment words into sounds for words containing up to three sounds. They will also have emerging skills in blending and segmenting the phonemes in longer words.”

• 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 K Scope and  Sequence, materials follow the following order:

    • Unit 1(12 weeks)

      • Phonological Awareness (Rhyming, Alliteration, Syllable Awareness)

      • Phonemic Awareness (Initial and Final Sounds)

    • Unit 2 (4 weeks)

      • Phonemic Awareness Skills (Blending, Segmenting, and Manipulation of Sounds)

    • Unit 3 (6 weeks)

      • Phonemic Awareness Skills (Blending, Segmenting, and Manipulation of Sounds)

    • Unit 4 (4 weeks)

      • Phonemic Awareness Skills (Blending, Segmenting, and Manipulation of Sounds)

    • Unit 5 (6 weeks)

      • Phonemic Awareness Skills (Blending, Segmenting, and Manipulation of Sounds)

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

  • According to the Fundations Level K Scope and Sequence, phonological awareness skills are introduced in Unit 1. The Fundations Levels K–2 Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Table indicates that phonological awareness skills continue to be practiced throughout the year in Level K. Beginning in Unit 2, however, the primary instructional focus within phonological and phonemic awareness shifts to the blending, segmenting, and manipulation of phonemes. In Unit 1, phonological and phonemic awareness tasks may overlap as students are introduced to these foundational skills.

    • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, Which Ones Belong routine, the materials direct the teacher to ask students which of three words (dish, fish, and tent) rhyme. In that same activity, the materials direct the teacher to ask students “What sound do you hear at the beginning of tent?”

    • In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 4, Which Ones Belong routine, the materials direct the teacher to ask students to echo (repeat) three words: fig, big, and bug. The teacher again asks the students to identify which two words rhyme. The materials also instruct the teacher to ask “What vowel sound do you hear in bug?”

    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. 

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

  • In the Fundations Teacher’s Manual, Level K, 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, Word Play, the materials include a phonemic awareness activity that is aligned to the phonics focus of the unit. The teacher prepares a unit word, such as sad, using Standard Sound Word cards to visually represent the sounds in the word. The instructional focus, however, is on oral phoneme segmentation and blending rather than letter identification. The teacher models saying and tapping each phoneme in the word while students tap along, producing /s/ /ă/ /d/. The teacher then blends the sounds orally by dragging the thumb across the fingers while saying the whole word. After this oral sound work, the teacher points beneath each card while saying each sound and then sweeps under all three cards as the teacher and students blend the sounds together. This routine is repeated with additional unit words. Through this sequence, students practice orally blending two- and three-sound short vowel words, demonstrating phonemic awareness skills that directly align with the phonics scope and sequence without shifting the instructional focus to print-based decoding.

    • In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 5, Echo/Find Letters, the materials include a phonemic awareness practice that is aligned with the phonics focus of the unit. The teacher dictates individual sounds, such as /m/, and students first echo the sound orally. Students then locate the corresponding Magnetic Letter Tile and match it to their Letter Boards. While letter tiles are used as a visual support, the instructional sequence begins with oral sound identification and repetition. The materials direct the teacher to dictate both newly taught sounds and previously learned sounds, ensuring students practice recognizing individual phonemes through repeated oral production. After all sounds have been dictated and repeated, the teacher dictates two to three phonemes in sequence and directs students to say each phoneme aloud while pointing to the corresponding letter. This routine reinforces students’ ability to isolate, recognize, and produce individual phonemes before and alongside identifying their grapheme representations. Through this activity, students practice phonemic awareness skills that align with the unit’s phonics focus on introducing the phonemes /m/ and /n/ and reviewing /t/, /b/, and /f/. The routine supports the phonemic awareness sequence by providing systematic practice with individual phonemes while remaining aligned to the order in which phonics skills are introduced.

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 teacher modeling of phoneme-by-phoneme segmentation using tapping and oral production, followed by guided student practice with multiple spoken words. The materials supply repeated, concrete examples to support accurate phoneme identification and blending. Teacher-facing guidance includes directions for re-modeling sounds and routines when students experience difficulty, supporting corrective feedback focused on phoneme-level accuracy. Instruction is explicit, sequenced, and reinforced through repeated 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 models the routine using spoken words, demonstrating how to tap one finger to the thumb for each sound while saying the phoneme aloud. For example, the teacher says the word mat and models /m/, /ă/, and /d/ with one tap per sound, then blends the sounds together by dragging the thumb across the fingers to say the whole word. Students are then directed to repeat the process orally, tapping each sound and blending the sounds together as the teacher continues to model. The routine is repeated with additional spoken words such as mat, map, sad, sat, and sap, providing systematic and explicit instruction in phoneme segmentation and blending.

  • In Unit 3, Week 4, Listen for Sounds, the teacher explicitly introduces phoneme segmentation by telling students, “I am going to say a word. After I say it, you tell me all the sounds in the word.” The teacher models the task by orally segmenting a word, explaining, “If I say mad, you would say/m/ /ă/ /d/.” Students then practice orally segmenting additional spoken words, saying each sound in order. As students respond, the teacher guides them to tap each sound and directs them to stop at the vowel sound. 

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

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, Introduce New Concept, the teacher models phoneme-by-phoneme segmentation and blending using multiple spoken words, including mat, map, mad, sad, sat, and sap. For each word, the teacher demonstrates how to say each sound aloud while tapping once per phoneme, then blend the sounds together to say the whole word. These repeated examples provide clear models for how to demonstrate oral segmentation and blending during instruction.

  • In Unit 3, Week 4, Listen for Sounds, the lesson provides multiple, concrete examples for phoneme-level instruction through contrasting word pairs. The teacher uses pairs such as mad and made to model differences between short and long vowel sounds. Additional word pairs, including lead and led, lit and light, fit and fight, and cop and cope, are used for guided oral segmentation and comparison. These examples support repeated student practice in identifying and producing individual phonemes within spoken words.

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

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, the materials include guidance for responding when students struggle to produce or identify individual sounds during tapping and blending. When students experience difficulty, the teacher re-models the sounds in the word and repeats the tapping routine, supporting accurate phoneme production before students attempt the task again.

  • In Unit 3, Week 4, Listen for Sounds, the materials include explicit guidance for addressing student confusion with vowel sounds. When students confuse short /ă/ and long /ā/, the teacher is directed to help students tap and stop at the vowel sound and to clarify whether the vowel produces a long or short sound. The teacher confirms accurate responses and re-models sound production as needed before continuing with additional examples, supporting corrective feedback focused on phoneme-level accuracy.

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 manipulation, while consistently incorporating phoneme–grapheme connections. In addition, the Level K 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 in each lesson, the materials provide comprehensive information to support accurate phoneme modeling during 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 1, Letter-Keyword-Sound, the materials provide explicit instruction in letter names and corresponding sounds for the letters n and m and the phonemes /n/ and /m/. The teacher displays a Large Sound Card and asks, “Does anyone know the name of this letter?” The teacher then directs students’ attention to the picture on the card and asks, “What is this picture?” The teacher isolates the initial phoneme of the keyword and models the sound before prompting students to repeat the letter name, keyword, and sound aloud. After introducing the Large Sound Card, the teacher presents the corresponding Standard Sound Card, which does not include a picture, and guides students in comparing the two cards. The teacher asks students to name the letter and prompts them by asking, “What is the word that will help us remember the sound /n/? What is the sound that it makes?” Students respond orally by naming the keyword and producing the associated phoneme.

  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 2, Drill Sounds/Warm Up, Echo/Change, the materials provide explicit, teacher-led instruction in phoneme segmentation and manipulation during a brief whole-group routine. The teacher begins by stating the word zip and directs students to tap and segment the word into its individual phonemes, /z/ /ǐ/ /p/. The teacher then repeats the word and instructs students to change the first sound to /p/. Students respond by orally producing the new word pip and tapping each phoneme. The teacher continues the sound-change sequence by prompting students to manipulate the initial phoneme to form the words rip, lip, and sip. Throughout the routine, students listen for the vowel sound and distinguish between vowel sounds as they segment and manipulate each word.

    Throughout the Level K sequence, students drill sounds in isolation every day and engage in Word Play at least three times each week. Daily phonemic awareness instruction guidance in the form of the Drill Sounds/Warm-Up routine focuses on phonemes in isolation and, starting in Unit 3, phoneme manipulation.  

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

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 4, Make It Fun, the materials provide a phoneme-identification activity in which students listen for and identify the final phoneme in spoken words. The teacher explains the routine by stating, “I am going to say a word. Everyone will echo it and then listen for the last sound.” The teacher models the process by saying the word bug, prompting students to echo the word, and then asking students to identify the final sound, /g/. The teacher explains that if students have the letter that represents the sound /g/, they should place a chip on that letter. Students create their Bingo boards using Magnetic Letter Tiles by selecting nine consonants. As the teacher continues to say words, students echo each word, listen for the final phoneme, and connect the sound to the corresponding letter on their Bingo boards by placing a chip on the matching letter. 

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 1, 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 shop, 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. 

    Through the Level K sequence, Make It Fun activities vary in their focus. The Echo/Find Words activity begins in Unit 3.

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

  • In the Fundations Level K 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 are as listed, but 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 across the year, including unit tests administered at key instructional benchmarks and formal progress monitoring measures that assess isolating, blending, segmenting, and phoneme manipulation skills. Assessments include oral segmentation and blending tasks, phoneme–grapheme identification, and encoding activities administered individually with clear administration and scoring procedures. The materials provide defined performance thresholds and benchmark expectations to support interpretation of student results, along with individualized recording forms to document progress. Progress monitoring tools include mid-year and end-of-year benchmarks and may be administered bi-weekly as needed. The materials also provide explicit guidance for responding to assessment data, including extending instruction, grouping students based on error patterns, and implementing targeted reteaching activities aligned to identified skill gaps.

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

    • In the Unit 1 Test, the materials direct the teacher to assess each student individually for approximately 20 minutes per student. Using the student’s Letter Board and Tiles, the materials direct the teacher to say the sound /s/ and then ask the student, “What says /s/?” The student should then point to the letter that corresponds to the sound. This continues for /n/, /ĭ/, /kw/, /f/,/ŭ/, /h/, /l/, /p/, and /m/.

    • In the Unit 3 Test, students complete three subtests at the phoneme level in a 1:1 setting that includes  four subtests and is expected to take approximately 10-15 minutes.

      • Phoneme segmenting: In this assessment, the teacher says a word and then the student segments that word into its corresponding sounds. This assessment is done for words tap, sheep, job, dig, note, bait, bib, pet, coat, and lead. 

      • Phoneme blending: In this assessment, the teacher uses the student’s Letter Board and Letter Tiles to form the words top, gum, dip, bet, and wax, one at a time. The teacher then directs the student, “Tap these sounds and tell me the word that I made.”

      • Phoneme segmenting: In this assessment, the teacher says the words quit, job, yes, mad, and bug, one at a time. The student repeats each word, taps it into its constituent phonemes, and then finds the corresponding Letter Tile to spell the word on their Letter Board. 

    There are five units in the Level K curriculum and each unit includes a unit test with phonemic awareness assessment opportunities. 

  • The Phoneme Segmentation assessment includes formal administration guidelines and is administered at mid-year and end-of-year benchmark points, with additional probes available for ongoing progress monitoring. Teachers are directed to determine the appropriate probe and administer probes in sequence, using every other probe if monitoring progress bi-weekly. During administration, the teacher explains the task by stating, “I am going to say a word. After I say it, I would like you to tap out the sounds in the word. If I say mat, you would say /m/ /ă/ /t/.” The teacher models tapping by touching the index finger to the thumb for the first sound, the middle finger to the thumb for the second sound, and the ring finger to the thumb for the third sound while orally producing each phoneme. The teacher provides a practice item, such as bat, before beginning the timed assessment. The teacher then presents each word clearly and times the student for one minute. As the student produces each segmented phoneme, the teacher records correct responses on the scoring form. 

• 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, teachers are directed to record the results of each student’s individual unit test on a Unit Test Recording Form. These forms are individualized per student and allow teachers to document which items were answered correctly and which skills require additional support. For example, for Unit 3 Unit Test, the manual specifies performance thresholds, stating that if a student does not score at least 8 out of 10 or 4 out of 5 on a given item, the student will need additional assistance with the assessed skill. 

  • In the Level K Fundations Progress Monitoring Teacher Guide, the materials provide an overview of the Fundations approach to progress monitoring outside of the unit tests. While the teacher can use the progress monitoring approach with all students, the materials state that progress monitoring “is particularly helpful for students in a Fundations Second Edition Tier 2 Intervention group.” In the progress monitoring system, students are expected to be able to correctly identify 19 letters and their corresponding sounds by the middle of the year. By the end of the year, students are expected to be able to correctly:

    • Blend 44 correct letter sounds in CVC real and nonsense words

    • Segment words into 40 corresponding sounds

Progress monitoring assessments can be administered bi-weekly as needed.

• 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 teacher is directed to extend time within a unit if 80% of the class does not demonstrate mastery, defined as scoring at least 80% on the unit test. If an individual student does not score at least 80% on a given subtest, the materials state that the student will need additional assistance with the assessed skill. Teachers are advised to meet individually with struggling students to review errors and explain areas requiring further practice. If only a few students do not meet the 80% benchmark, teachers are instructed to use assessment data diagnostically to plan next steps, grouping students based on common error patterns and targeting specific skill gaps. The materials provide concrete instructional recommendations, such as reviewing challenging sounds with Standard Sound Cards, planning additional word chains, creating CVC fluency lists, incorporating additional Echo/Find activities, assigning encoding practice pages, and using Fundations Readers for echo and choral reading. These structured next steps connect assessment results directly to targeted reteaching and guided practice.

  • In the Fundations Progress Monitoring Teacher Guide, the materials provide additional activities to target specific skills “[i]f a student is not showing adequate progress along the aim line to reach the benchmark.” For example, if a student is not showing adequate progress in phoneme segmentation, the materials provide guidance to the teacher to use the following activities to support students in hearing and segmenting the sounds in a word:

    • Echo/Find Words (emphasizing tapping)

    • Dictation/Words (Dry Erase)

    • Make it Fun Activities: Let’s Rhyme, Guess my Word, Sound a Word 

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 introduced, grounded in research on early reading development and the acquisition of the alphabetic principle. Instruction is intentionally designed to support beginning readers by prioritizing sound mastery and continuous blending as the foundation for decoding and spelling. The phonics sequence is systematic and cumulative, progressing from foundational letter–sound knowledge to increasingly complex word-level decoding. Instruction begins with high-utility consonant and short vowel sounds that are easier for students to blend, and gradually expands to include additional consonants, short vowel sounds, and common spelling patterns. Throughout the sequence, students regularly apply newly taught phonics skills through decoding and spelling words and reading connected text aligned to the scope and sequence. This progression supports students’ development from early sound blending to accurate and increasingly automatic word reading.

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

  • In the Prefatory Materials, Phonics and Word Study: Instruction for Decoding, Word Recognition and Spelling, the program explains that phonics instruction is delivered through daily, systematic, and explicit lessons designed to ensure all students receive consistent foundational reading instruction. The materials explicitly reference decades of research demonstrating that explicit instruction benefits students across performance levels, citing Archer and Hughes (2011), Rosenshine (2012), and Ripley et al. (2009).

    • Within the Phonics and Word Study: Instruction for Decoding, Word Recognition, and Spelling section, the materials explain that sound mastery is foundational to learning the alphabetic principle, which is essential for decoding and spelling (Ehri, 2014). The sequence is intentionally designed so that students are explicitly taught how to blend sounds into words using a continuous blending approach. In Level K, instruction begins with CVC words that start with continuous consonant sounds such as f, m, n, l, r, and s. The materials explain that these sounds are introduced first because they can be held until the vowel sound is produced, making them easier for students to blend. Vowel sounds are always continued until the next sound is produced, an approach referred to as continuous blending. 

• 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 K Scope and Sequence outlines a progression of phonics skills across the year:

    • Unit 1 (12 weeks): Foundational letter–sound knowledge

      • Letter–keyword–sound for consonants and short vowels

      • Sound recognition for consonants and short vowels

    • Unit 2 (4 weeks): Introduction to word-level decoding

      • Blending and reading three-sound short vowel words

      • Decoding CVC words (for example, map, sad, rat)

      • Reading phonetically regular high-frequency words (for example, fit, led, gas, sun, box, yet)

    • Unit 3 (6 weeks): Reinforcement and expansion of CVC decoding

      • Blending and segmenting sounds in real and nonsense CVC words

      • Segmenting and spelling three-sound short vowel words (for example, cut, tap, wet)

      • Decoding additional phonetically regular high-frequency words (for example, had, ten, six, not, up, bad) 

    • Unit 4 (4 weeks): Increased phonics complexity

      • Introduction of consonant digraphs (wh, ch, sh, th, ck)

      • Decoding and spelling three-sound words with digraphs (for example, bath, chop, thick)

      • Explicit instruction in the ck spelling generalization

    • Unit 5 (6 weeks): Continued application of learned patterns

      • Ongoing decoding of words containing short vowels and digraphs

      • Reading phonetically regular high-frequency words with previously taught patterns (for example, rock, such, that, which, when, shop)

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

  • The Fundations Level K phonics sequence prioritizes high-utility patterns and explicit phonics generalizations that support early decoding success. 

    • Instruction begins with consonant and short vowel letter–sound correspondences that occur frequently in early texts and are essential for reading CVC words. Students are taught to decode three-sound short vowel words early in the year, providing access to a large number of regular, decodable words. As instruction progresses, students learn consonant digraphs (wh, ch, sh, th, ck), which represent common sound patterns in English and significantly expand students’ decoding repertoire. The sequence also includes explicit instruction in the ck spelling generalization, supporting accurate decoding and spelling of words that end in /k/ after a short vowel. Throughout the year, students apply these high-utility patterns to decode phonetically regular high-frequency words, reinforcing the usefulness and transferability of the phonics patterns being taught.

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 new phonics skills in a clearly defined sequence, with instruction focused on one phonics concept at a time and sufficient time allotted for practice before additional skills are introduced. Lessons are structured to provide repeated opportunities for students to apply newly taught phonics skills through blending, segmenting, word building, and dictation. Instruction follows a consistent routine that supports movement from accuracy toward automaticity. Previously taught phonics skills are revisited through distributed and cumulative practice embedded across lessons and 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 K unit’s introductions describe a phonics sequence that is paced intentionally across the school year, with newly taught skills introduced gradually and practiced over extended periods of time.

    • In Unit 1, which spans 12 weeks, students are introduced to two to three new letters per week, focusing on the letter name–keyword–sound and lowercase letter formation for each new letter. The materials specify that these letters are practiced throughout the week, with ongoing review of previously taught letters, allowing sufficient time for students to build familiarity before additional letters are introduced. During this unit, phonics instruction remains limited to consonants and short vowels, ensuring students are not introduced to multiple phonics concepts simultaneously.

    • In Unit 2, which spans 4 weeks, instruction shifts to blending and reading two- and three-sound short vowel words (VC and CVC). The materials further specify that initial CVC words begin with continuous consonants such as f, l, m, n, r, and s, which are easier to blend. This sequencing reflects intentional pacing by introducing word-level decoding with sounds that support early success before expanding to additional consonants.

    • In Unit 3, which spans 6 weeks, students continue blending and reading two- and three-sound words, now including words that begin with a wider range of consonants. Instruction expands to include changing initial, medial, and final sounds to form new words, decoding nonwords. Spelling instruction is introduced gradually, beginning with words that contain previously taught consonants and progressing to more challenging spelling patterns. The materials explicitly note that students move from accuracy toward automaticity as they demonstrate readiness.

    • In Unit 4, which spans 4 weeks, a single new phonics concept—consonant digraphs (wh, ch, sh, th, ck)—is introduced. These digraphs are taught as one sound, reinforcing the principle that phonics skills are introduced in discrete, manageable steps.

    • In Unit 5, which spans 6 weeks, phonics instruction extends from word-level decoding to reading and writing simple sentences, while continuing to reinforce previously taught phonics skills. Students practice decoding and spelling words within sentences, supporting increased fluency and accuracy without introducing new, complex phonics patterns at a rapid pace. This extended timeframe allows students to apply and consolidate existing phonics skills as they move toward greater automaticity.

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

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 3, Introduce New Concept,  the lesson introduces the new phonics concept of consonant digraphs (wh, ch, sh, th, and ck), which are taught as letter pairs that represent a single sound. During the Echo/Find Letters routine, students repeatedly identify and produce digraph sounds and then connect those sounds to their corresponding letter pairs using Magnetic Letter Tiles and Letter Boards. The teacher dictates individual sounds, and students echo the sounds and point to the corresponding letters, including cases where multiple spellings represent the same sound, such as /k/ spelled with c, k, or ck, and /w/ spelled with w or wh. The lesson then extends practice through the Echo/Find Words routine. Students repeat dictated words containing digraphs, orally segment and tap the sounds, and then build each word using letter tiles. This sequence is repeated with multiple words, including shop, ship, chin, chat, thud, and thin. After building each word, students spell the word orally, clear their boards, and repeat the process with additional words.

  • In Unit 3, Week 5, Day 1, Introduce New Concept, the lesson introduces the new phonics concept of selecting the correct spelling for the /k/ sound at the beginning of words using c or k. During the Echo/Find Letters routine, students repeatedly identify the sound /k/ and name the possible spellings, reinforcing awareness that multiple graphemes can represent the same sound. The teacher dictates sounds, and students echo the sounds and point to the corresponding letters on their Magnetic Letter Boards, providing repeated exposure to the spelling options for /k/. The lesson then extends practice through the Echo/Find Words routine. Students repeat dictated words, orally segment and tap the sounds, and then connect each sound to its corresponding letter by building the word with Magnetic Letter Tiles. This process is repeated with multiple words, including nut, cat, rag, kid, fix, cub, mix, and cap. After building each word, students spell the word orally, clear their boards, and repeat the routine with additional words.

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

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 5, Word Play, Make Words, the materials provide cumulative review opportunities for students to practice previously taught phonics skills. The teacher uses the Standard Sound Card display to build five to six review words and models saying and tapping each sound with students. The teacher then blends the sounds by pointing under each card and dragging a finger beneath the full word as students orally blend the sounds to read the word. Students identify and underline digraphs within the words. The materials specify that the review words listed first of Unit 4 are high-frequency words with regular VC or CVC patterns, including gas, him, if, sun, yet, dip, fox, nut, mob, nab, fib, rob, lob, lug, rut, zip, quiz, and box. These words are used for repeated decoding practice and review. The materials include guidance for continued practice toward automaticity by directing students to read review words without tapping once accuracy is established. The teacher creates a word chain using three to five review words by changing the initial, medial, or final sound, and students read each word in the chain, with tapping used only as needed. The materials note that this activity may be used to observe students’ ability to accurately decode words.

  • In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 3, Dictation (Dry Erase), the teacher dictates two current or review words and one sentence. Students repeat each dictated word and sentence. For unit words, students tap and orally spell each word before writing. Students then spell the words chorally. The teacher selects one student to write on the large letter formation grid while all students write the words on individual dry erase writing tablets. The materials include guidance to incorporate both current and review words, as well as previously introduced trick words, including the, a, an, are, to, is, his, as, has, was, we, she, he, be, me, I, you, and they. The materials also identify current unit words for dictation, noting that the words listed in the first row are high-frequency words with regular VC or CVC patterns. Current unit words include if, led, bad, in, it, and fit. Additional review words include mop, map, tap, tab, ax, tub, rub, lad, bud, bug, rug, and dig. Examples of sentences for review are The rag is on the mat; Mom sat on the log; Nat is sad.

The phonics instruction in Wilson Fundations meets the expectations for Indicator 1j. Materials provide systematic and explicit teacher modeling of newly taught phonics patterns through consistent letter–keyword–sound routines, blending, segmenting, and dictation activities. Lessons regularly guide the teacher to model sound-by-sound analysis of words before students engage in guided practice. Newly introduced phonics patterns are reinforced through structured opportunities for reading and spelling aligned to the unit focus. Materials also include clear guidance for corrective feedback, supporting accurate student application of newly 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. 

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

  • In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 1, Letter-Keyword-Sound, materials introduce the short vowel sounds /ĭ/ and /ŭ/ along with their respective graphemes. The teacher begins by asking if any of the students know the name of the letter represented on the Large Sound Card. Then the teacher asks the student what is happening in the picture that corresponds to the letter on the Large Sound Card. In the case of the letter i, there is an illustration of a monkey scratching an itch. The teacher tells the students, “the word in the picture begins with the sound made by the letter.” The teacher then repeats the sound three times, /ĭ/ /ĭ/ /ĭ/, itch. When the teacher holds up the puppet owl, Echo, the teacher tells the students that “Echo wants us to practice the letter with the Standard Sound Cards without the picture.” The teacher then models the letter-keyword-sound sequence: i, itch, /ĭ/. 

  • In Unit 4, Week 3, Day 1, Letter-Keyword-Sound, materials introduce the concept of digraphs wh, ch, sh, th, and ck. The teacher begins by explaining that these are consonants that stick together to form one sound, even though there are two letters. The concept is reinforced by having these letters on one Large Sound Card. The teacher then leads the students through the Letter-Keyword-Sound routine with these digraphs. For example, on the ch Large Sound Card, there is an image of a chin, the keyword that emphasizes how to say /ch/. The teacher guides the student through the digraphs with their respective Large Sound Cards. 

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

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 4, Make Words for Decoding, the teacher uses the Standard Sound Cards to display the unit words lit, lip, lap, rap, rip, nip, sip, sit, and set. One of the goals of the unit is for students to blend and read VC and CVC words with short vowel sounds. The teacher first models making each word and then saying and tapping each sound. The teacher then blends the sounds as they drag their thumb across their fingers and says the word again. As the teacher points under each card, the students say each phoneme and blend the sounds together to read the word. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 3, Dictation (Dry Erase), students write sounds and words stated by the teacher. Students write unit words that emphasize one of the concepts of the unit, segmenting and spelling CVC words with short vowel sounds, such as nap, dug, rag, and fog. The teacher states the word and has students tap the word prior to writing the word on their dry erase boards. After writing the word, students spell the word chorally, reinforcing the phonics concept of segmenting and spelling CVC words with short vowel sounds.

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

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 4,  Dictation (Dry Erase), students write sounds and words stated by the teacher. Students write unit words that emphasize one of the concepts of the unit, segmenting and spelling words with digraphs, such as back, then, duck, and with. The teacher states the word and has students tap the word prior to writing the word on their dry erase boards. After writing the word, students spell the word chorally, reinforcing the phonics concept of segmenting and spelling words with digraphs.

  • In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 3, Dictation (Dry Erase), the teacher dictates three current or review words and one sentence. For word dictation, students tap and orally spell each word before writing, then spell the word chorally. One student writes the word on the large letter formation grid while all students write the word on their dry erase writing tablets using words drawn from the unit resources, including words such as if, led, bad, fit, mop, map, chip, shop, and path.

    • For sentence dictation, the teacher uses provided sentence frames and dictates one sentence. Students echo the sentence, identify and circle a frame containing a trick word, and then write the sentence on their dry erase writing tablets. One student records the sentence on the sentence frame. Students then scoop the sentence and read it with fluency before proofreading the sentence together. Example dictated sentences include “The rag is on the mat.” and “The rat had a nap.”, reinforcing application of the taught phonics patterns in connected text.

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

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 2, the materials provide teacher guidance for corrective feedback. The materials state, “if a student struggles with making the short /ĭ/ sound, say, “What is the letter? (i). Use the Basic Keywords Poster to help you find the sound of the letter i. What is the picture? (itch). Let’s say the letter-keyword-sound together: i-itch-/ĭ/. Now you say it.” 

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, the materials provide teacher guidance for corrective feedback, for example, if a student struggles to blend sounds. The corrective feedback guides the teacher through modeling how to stretch out each phoneme and tap each sound as they point to the card with the appropriate grapheme.

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. Students engage in word level decoding activities designed to build accuracy and support movement toward automaticity. Materials also include cumulative and distributed practice to reinforce previously taught phonics skills 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.

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

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 3, students practice decoding words containing taught consonant digraphs and short vowel patterns during Make Words for Decoding. Using the Standard Sound Card display, students tap and blend unit words such as when, such, much, rich, which, then, shop, chip, shot, moth, lash, path, and dash. Students identify and underline digraphs within words, including wh, ch, sh, and th, reinforcing decoding of previously taught sound–spelling patterns through repeated word reading.

  • In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 1, students regularly practice decoding words with taught short vowel and CVC phonics patterns during Make Words for Decoding. Using the Standard Sound Card display, students tap and blend unit words such as if, led, bad, in, it, fit, on, fig, mop, map, tap, tab, ax, tub, rub, lad, bud, bug, rug, and dig. Students tap each sound and blend the sounds together to read each word aloud, reinforcing decoding of common and newly taught sound–spelling patterns.

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

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 3, students encode words containing taught digraphs and short vowel patterns during Dictation, Dry Erase. Students repeat each dictated word, tap the sounds, and orally spell the word before writing. Dictated words include current and review words such as when, such, much, rich, shop, chip, shot, moth, lash, and path. Students write the words on dry erase writing tablets while one student models on the large letter formation grid.

  • In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 1, students encode words and sentences using taught phonics patterns during Dictation, Dry Erase. Students repeat each dictated sound and word, tap the sounds, and orally spell the word before writing. Dictation includes three sounds, three current or review words such as if, led, and bad, and one sentence. Students write words and sentences on dry erase writing tablets while one student models on the large letter formation grid. 

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

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 3, students engage in varied and student-guided blending practice during Make It Fun, Digraph Detectives. Students analyze a list of words containing digraphs such as sh, ch, th, and wh, including rash, such, whack, and path. Students underline digraphs, read the words aloud, and copy selected words onto dry erase writing tablets. A variation allows students to work in small groups to locate words with a specific digraph and mark them independently,

  • In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 1, students engage in varied and frequent student-guided and independent blending practice using taught short vowel and CVC sound–spelling patterns. Students independently attempt to read unit words such as if, led, bad, in, it, fit, on, fig, mop, map, tap, tab, ax, tub, rub, lad, bud, bug, rug, and dig before reading them aloud. Students tap and blend sounds during word reading and dictation activities, reinforcing sound-by-sound blending. Students also practice blending at the sentence level. Students attempt to read sentences silently before oral reading, including Nat is sad., The rag is on the mat., and The rat had a nap. After decoding each word, students chorally reread the sentences for fluency. Students scoop sentences into phrases and reread them aloud after writing, providing repeated, varied opportunities to blend sounds independently and with teacher guidance.

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

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 3, students engage in repeated word-level decoding practice designed to support accuracy and automaticity. Students tap and blend words multiple times during decoding routines and reread words containing digraphs such as sh, ch, th, and wh. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 1, students engage in repeated word level decoding practice designed to support accuracy and automaticity. Students reread decoded words such as big, yes, fog, mud, such, which, much, rash, and chip.

The instruction and practice of spelling patterns 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 correspondences to more complex patterns introduced at a developmentally appropriate pace. Materials provide explicit explanations for spelling patterns and constraints, such as the placement of specific letter combinations, that connect spelling to sound analysis and word reading. Students have regular opportunities to practice spelling through structured routines that include word- and sentence-level application, supporting accurate spelling and emerging automaticity.

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

  • In Unit 3, teachers are instructed to begin instruction on spelling with CVC words that start with f, l, m, n, r, and s. The materials state that words beginning with these letters have sounds that can be held until the vowel sound, making them easier to blend and segment. Starting in Unit 3, Week 1, Day 3, Introduce New Concepts, the teacher begins teaching students how to write words. The teacher begins with the word mop. The students repeat the word and the teacher and students tap and orally segment the word into its phonemes. The teacher then taps the word out again but names the letters. One student then goes to the front of the class to write the word in lowercase letters while the rest of the class writes the word on their Dry Erase tablets. The teacher taps the word again while students check their work. This continues for 4-5 words. Students begin spelling in a way aligned with the phonics scope and sequence.

    Phonics patterns are presented within the context of Fundations Level K, but they are not presented as rules or generalizations. The patterns that are explored will be further expanded into rules later in the Fundations sequence. 

  • In Unit 4, the teacher is instructed to explain that within the digraphs wh, ch, sh, th, and ck that are introduced within that unit, wh is only used at the beginning of a word and ck is only used at the end of a word or syllable right after a short vowel. The teacher is instructed to explain this to students and reinforce this ordering through the structuring of their sound card displays. Starting in Unit 4, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher can begin dictating words that have the /k/ sound at the end, represented by -ck, for students to spell. 

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

  • In Unit 1, Week 12, Day 1, Letter-Keyword-Sound, materials introduce the qu pairing that makes the /kw/ sound, as in queen. The teacher is  instructed to explain that q is called the “buddy letter” because it will never ever go anywhere without his best buddy, u. The teacher also tells students that u does not count as a vowel when it is with the letter q. It just sits there to keep q company. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 5, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, materials introduce an explanation for when to use k or c at the beginning of a word that makes the /k/ sound. The teacher explains that when the /k/ sound is followed by the letters a, o, or u, the letter c is used. When the /k/ sound is followed by the letter e or i, the letter k is used. In a teacher tip directed to the teacher only, the materials explain that “the k is used for the /k/ sound because the c followed by e, i, y, says /s/. You do not teach this in Kindergarten, however, reinforce the /k/ spelling as described above.”

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

  • In Unit 3, Week 6, Day 2, Listen for Sounds, students practice identifying k as the letter that makes the /k/ sound at the beginning of kit and kite. The teacher begins by saying, “I am going to say a word. After I say it, you tell me all the sounds in the word.” The teacher asks the students a series of questions about the word with the goal of identifying if the vowel sound is long or short. After they have established if the vowel sound is long or short, the teacher and students together create the word with the Standard Sound Cards and read the word together. This is an opportunity to practice the pattern of the letter k producing the /k/ sound at the beginning of a word if the letters following the /k/ sound are e or i. The words are as follows: kit, kite, quit, quite. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 1, Echo/Find Words, students practice spelling words that have sounds that might be tricky, including the /kw/ sound. The teacher dictates the word quit. Students repeat the word and tap it out. The teacher prompts the students that they will need to listen carefully to the beginning sound to spell the word. The teacher then guides students through spelling the word quit using their Letter Tiles. This is an opportunity to practice spelling words that require q and u to be next to each other. The words are as follows: wax, fix, and fox. 

The decodable texts and instructional routines in Wilson Fundations meet the expectations for Indicator 1m. Decodable texts consistently reflect taught phonics patterns and are aligned to the program’s scope and sequence, with texts explicitly identifying targeted skills across units. Lessons include structured routines for initial and repeated readings that build accuracy, automaticity, and confidence through teacher modeling, guided practice, and independent rereading. Texts are phonetically controlled rather than predictable and are used intentionally as students progress from sound-by-sound decoding toward more fluent application of taught phonics patterns.

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

  • According to the Level K Fundations Readers Teacher’s Guide, each decodable text is aligned to the phonics scope and sequence and identifies target skills addressed in the text.

    • Unit 1: 

      • A Map for Max (Narrative): Phonics focus: Blending VC and CVC words with continuous sounds

    • Unit 2: 

      • Sid and Nat on the Run (Narrative): Phonics focus: Blending VC and CVC words with continuous sounds

    • Unit 3:

      • Ted the Red Fox (Narrative): Phonics focus: Short vowel sounds e and i

      • Fox Facts (Informational): Phonics focus: Short vowel sounds o and u

      • Ned Heads to the City (Narrative): Phonics focus: Short vowel sound a

    • Unit 4: 

      • What a Bug! (Descriptive): Phonics focus: Consonant digraphs

      • Ned and Liv in the Lab (Narrative): Phonics focus: Consonant digraphs

    • Unit 5: 

      • Beck, Gil, and Mom (Descriptive): Phonics focus: Ending digraph ck

      • Rob and the Red Bug (Narrative): Phonics focus: Beginning digraphs th, wh, sh

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

  • According to the Level K 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. 

  • According to the Level K Fundations Readers Teacher’s Guide, reading practice consistently occurs in decodable texts that are aligned to taught phonics patterns. Across units, students read texts that correspond directly to the phonics skills introduced in the scope and sequence, including VC and CVC words, short vowels, and consonant digraphs. The texts are explicitly designed for decoding and do not rely on predictable patterns, memorized language structures, or repetitive sentence frames. 

    • As students demonstrate increasing decoding proficiency, the instructional use of decodable texts shifts. In earlier units, texts are used primarily to support sound-by-sound decoding and application of newly taught phonics patterns. In later units, selected decodable texts—identified in the teacher materials as descriptive or narrative—are used for fluent reading of sentences using phrasing. During these lessons, students reread decodable sentences to practice prosody, phrasing, and accuracy while continuing to read text that aligns to taught phonics patterns. This shift reflects a change in instructional purpose—from phonics acquisition to fluent application—rather than a reduction in the use of decodable texts.

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 unit tests and progress monitoring measures administered across the year. Assessments directly measure students’ ability to decode, blend, and spell phonics-based words, with clear administration guidance, defined mastery benchmarks, and structured tools for recording and analyzing student performance. Materials also provide explicit guidance for using assessment results to inform instructional decisions, including reteaching, targeted small-group instruction, and adjustments to pacing, 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 3 test, students tap and spell CVC words with short vowel sounds to demonstrate their progress toward mastery and independence in phonics. Each student should be assessed individually. The materials suggest that this would be 10-15 minutes per student. Mastery is determined as 80% on any given subtest. For tapping and spelling, the teacher is instructed to say a word and have students repeat the word. Students are then meant to tap the word and find the corresponding Letter Tiles to spell the word on their Letter Board. The teacher records the results on the Unit Test Recording form found in the Fundations Learning Community. Example words include: quit, job, yes, mad, and bug. 

  • In the Progress Monitoring Word Identification Probe 11 (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 CVC 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 7 whole words. Example words on Probe 11 include: dig, pot, zap, wig, math, and chip. 

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

    • Fundations Progress Monitoring, bi-weekly as needed; and

    • Unit Tests, every 4-6 weeks

• 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 K: 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 3, 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 4, the materials recommend that the teacher assign Practice Book pages for encoding. 

  • The Fundations Teachers Manual Level K 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.

he 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, including consistent use of connected sentences, oral repetition, sentence manipulation, and cumulative flashcard review that supports spiraling practice. Instruction includes teacher modeling that identifies known and tricky parts of words and draws attention to sound-spelling relationships during reading. Across Units 2–5, students are introduced to 51 high-frequency words, including both phonetically regular words and temporarily 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 3, Week 4, Day 3, Teach Trick Words, the teacher introduces the new trick words is and his within connected sentences and directs students to orally repeat the sentence That is his ball while attending to each word. The teacher explicitly identifies the target trick words within the sentence by circling them. The routine concludes with a review of trick word flashcards, including previously taught words, supporting systematic instruction and spiraling review of high-frequency words.

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 2, Teach Trick Words, the teacher introduces the new trick words we, she, and he within connected sentences and directs students to orally repeat the sentence We went home while attending to each word. A student places the sentence on sentence frames as needed, and the teacher supports discussion of capitalization and punctuation. The sentence is scooped into meaningful phrases, reread, and echoed by students. The teacher then revises the sentence to She went home and He went home, prompting students to attend to how the trick words change within the sentence. Instruction concludes with the introduction and review of trick word flashcards for we, she, and he, as well as previously taught trick words, supporting a systematic routine and spiraling review of high-frequency words.

• 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 2, Day 2, Teach Trick Words, 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 be and me within connected sentences and draws attention to each word by circling them in the sentence while pointing to the letters as the word is read aloud. The teacher explains that be and me contain both known and tricky parts and models how the letters represent the sounds that can be read regularly and the part that does not follow expected sound-spelling correspondences. Through use of trick word flashcards, the teacher models reading each word while visually referencing the graphemes and orally emphasizing the corresponding sounds. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 4, Day 1, Introduce New Concepts, Teach Sentence Dictation, the teacher models sentence-level writing and reading using sentence frames. The teacher dictates a sentence such as Did Ed get that fish?, and students echo the sentence before it is written. The teacher writes the sentence on the sentence frames, drawing attention to capitalization at the beginning of the sentence and for proper nouns such as Ed, and to punctuation through use of a question mark frame. During dictation, the teacher directs a student to identify and circle the trick word the within the sentence. Students are reminded that trick words cannot be tapped out and are encouraged to reference their Student Notebook to check spelling. The teacher guides students to proofread the sentence by checking capitalization, punctuation, and spelling, and to tap out the remaining words to verify sound-spelling correspondences. Additional dictated sentences, such as Tim had a rash and Did Jack hit his chin?, follow the same routine, with students writing on dry erase tablets and identifying trick words within each sentence. 

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

  • According to the Level K Scope and Sequence, by the end of Kindergarten students are expected to identify 75 percent of the first 100 high-frequency words. This includes explicit instruction and ongoing practice with approximately 27 temporarily irregular words such as the, was, and of. 

    • Across Units 2–5, the materials introduce a total of 51 high-frequency words, as outlined in the program scope and sequence. The materials explicitly distinguish between Trick Words (high-frequency words with temporarily irregular spellings) and phonetically regular high-frequency words, providing students with exposure to a sufficient volume of words to support developing word recognition and reading progress.

      • Unit 2

        • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): fit, led, gas, sun, box, yet

      • Unit 3

        • Trick Words (HFW): the, a, and, are, to, is, his, as, has, was

        • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): had, ten, six, not, up, bad

      • Unit 4

        • Trick Words (HFW): we, she, he, be, me, I, you, they

        • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): when, much, ship, them, back, with

      • Unit 5

        • Trick Words (HFW): or, for, of, have, from, by, my, do, one

        • High-Frequency Words (phonetically regular): rock, such, that, which, when, shop

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 routines with cumulative review. Students also practice decoding high-frequency words within sentence-level tasks, reinforcing application in context. Materials include opportunities for students to encode high-frequency words through sentence dictation routines in which students spell, write, and reread words within sentences. 

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 3, Week 3, Day 3, Teach Trick Words, students practice high-frequency words and, are, and to in isolation using Trick Word Flashcards. Students are prompted to read each word aloud and repeat it as it is presented. Following initial practice, students engage in cumulative review by reading previously taught trick words presented on flashcards, reinforcing repeated exposure and practice with high-frequency words in isolation.

  • In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 2, Teach Trick Words, students practice the high-frequency word one in isolation using a Trick Word Flashcard. Students read and repeat the word as it is presented. Students then engage in cumulative review by reading previously taught trick words presented on flashcards, providing repeated practice with high-frequency words in isolation.

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

  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 5, Trick Word Practice, students practice decoding high-frequency words in context through repeated work with connected sentences. Students listen to and repeat sentences such as Sid and Tab are friends and The man went to the shop, then read the sentences with teacher guidance and echo reading. Students identify and locate high-frequency words within the sentences by finding and circling words such as and, are, the, and to. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 4, Trick Word Practice, students practice decoding high-frequency words in context through repeated work with connected sentences. Students listen to and repeat sentences such as We can have one candy, Bring one bone to the puppy, and I have a toy for you, then read the sentences with teacher guidance and echo reading. Students identify and locate high-frequency words within the sentences by finding and circling words such as we, have, one, to, the, I, a, for, and you.

• 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. 

  • Students begin practicing encoding of high-frequency words in sentences beginning in Unit 5. 

    • In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 2, Introduce New Concepts, students begin sentence dictation. The teacher begins by dictating a sentence using appropriate phrasing. Students then repeat this sentence. One student places a 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. The materials direct the teacher to not tap out Trick Words but have students consult their Student Notebooks if they need support in how to spell a Trick Word.  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 Dry Erase Writing Tablets. This re-dictation allows the teacher and students to have a conversation about punctuation, capitalization, and otherwise proofreading their work. The activity begins with “Meg had the red hat.” The activity continues with the following sentences:

      • Pat had the red hat.

      • Pat had the red mug.

      • Jim had the red mug.

    • In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 4, Dictation (Dry Erase), the teacher dictates sentences with Trick Words. The teacher begins by dictating a sentence using appropriate phrasing. Students then repeat this sentence. One student places a Sentence Frames 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. The materials direct the teacher to not tap out Trick Words but have students consult their Student Notebooks if they need support in how to spell a Trick Word.  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 Dry Erase Writing Tablets. This re-dictation allows the teacher and students to have a conversation about punctuation, capitalization, and otherwise proofreading their work. The instructions prompt the teacher to dictate 1 sentence. The Unit Resources provides example sentences that the teacher can use for this activity, including:

      • The wig is on Viv.

      • Rob is on the mat.

      • The gum is in the bag.