Wilson Fundations® is an approved program in NYC for the word study part of the Balanced Literacy curriculum. It is designed to be used with the existing literature-based reading curriculum and serves the K-3 general education and emerging readers. As a supplemental and intervention program, Fundations provides students in kindergarten through the third grades with a solid foundation for reading and spelling

For all students in general education, Fundations is delivered in the classroom as good differentiated instruction. The Fundations 30-minute daily lesson provides an explicit and highly systematic word study component of a balanced literacy program.

For students performing below grade level (the lowest 30th percentile) in need of additional instruction, Fundations is an appropriate intervention in a small group or one-on-one setting. Fundations is an approved intervention under the Academic Intervention Services (AIS). Fundations is a research-based program and includes the essential components of reading instruction. Program highlights include:

• Emphasis is on systematic phonics and study of word structure.
• All skills are taught explicitly and systematically.
• Instruction is cumulative and scaffolds all presented skills.
• Teachers model tasks and students actively participate in their learning.
• Extensive practice and multiple opportunities are provided for skills application.
• Supplemental activities are provided for students who need additional support.
• Assessments are used to monitor students throughout the program.
• The manual and CD-ROM offers extensive guidance to teachers.
• Home Support Packet encourages parental involvement.

All instruction is visible and explicit. The program introduces concepts in small increments that are built on one another and practiced frequently (in cumulative review) to ensure mastery before progression.

The Fundations Teacher's Manual, along with interactive multimedia CD, provides extensive demonstrations of lesson activities and unit instruction to help teachers effectively implement Fundations. Fundations differentiated professional development workshops can be scheduled based on Wilson Trainer availability.

Wilson Fundations delivers the type of instruction that studies indicate is effective when early intervention is required. It is based on solid phonological coding research and Orton-Gillingham principles. The Florida Center for Reading Research (www.fcrr.org) reviewed Fundations and determined that Fundations provides the scientifically based instruction, meeting research requirements. The report noted the following: "Fundations addresses each of the five components (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension). Its instructional content and design are supported by the principles emerging from formal scientific research in reading instruction."

For more information on how the Fundations program provides a prevention and early intervention for your K-3 classrooms and how it can fit into a response to intervention model (RTI), visit www.fundations.com