This program is for students in pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade.

Fundations®, a school-based program that is based on the Wilson Reading System®, is designed to teach reading and spelling skills to elementary school students using a multisensory structured literacy approach.

No peer-reviewed publications evaluating the effectiveness of the most recent edition of the Fundations program were located.

Fundations can be implemented as a prevention program in which lessons are delivered to the whole class or as an early intervention program for struggling or at-risk readers in which lessons are delivered one-on-one or in small groups. For a comprehensive approach to teaching reading and spelling skills, Fundations should be implemented with a core or literature-based language arts curriculum that includes a variety of text experiences.

Fundations skills are delivered in a systematic and sequential manner, and lessons address the following:

• Reading skills and strategies – Teach phonological awareness and phonemic awareness skills, print awareness skills, phonics and decoding, word attack;
• Vocabulary development – Introduce new words, word-learning techniques, academic vocabulary;
• Fluency – Encourage accurate, fluent reading; meaningful phrasing and expression; appropriate rate;
• Comprehension (listening and written) techniques – Analyze text and make conclusions or inferences, connect text to personal experiences and other text; and
• Writing skills and conventions – Teach spelling skills and conventions (rules and patterns), writing conventions such as using capital and lowercase letters, and grammatical conventions for the use of tense (present tense, past tense) and the use of punctuation at the end of sentences.

Fundations Home Support Packs help parents/guardians and support personnel understand what students are learning in the classroom and suggest home activities that reinforce classroom lessons. Packs include reproducible letters to parents that explain each unit and home activity sheets for students. Materials are available in English and Spanish.

FUN HUB is an online resource that intends to support implementation of Fundations by providing a variety of online instructional lessons, print and digital resources, on-demand videos, and interactive teaching tools.

This program has been implemented across the United States as a district-wide and a targeted intervention. The newest 2nd edition of Fundations was published in summer 2012; however, it is unclear the extent to which it has been used.

The prevention program is delivered by general-education teachers, and the early intervention program is delivered by general-education teachers, reading specialists, paraprofessionals, or intervention personnel. The teacher's manual provides information for implementing the program, and facilitators will benefit from reviewing the material. Optional training is available and includes online and in-person courses. For more information, please visit https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/for-educators/

Considerations for implementing this program include acquiring administrative support and teacher buy-in, making time within the daily curriculum for lessons, purchasing program materials, and ensuring the program is delivered with fidelity.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing Fundations, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Each level is delivered for 1 school year and includes 32 or more weeks of instruction. The prevention program is delivered for 30 minutes per day. The early intervention program includes the 30-minute standard lesson and an additional 30 minutes of instruction three to five times a week.

Fundations Teacher’s Kits are available in sequential levels, pre-kindergarten to 3rd grade, and costs range from $490 to $805. Classroom Sets, which include one teacher's kit plus materials for 25 students, are available for each grade, and costs range from $1,725 to $2,150. Individual licenses for FUN HUB can be purchased for $95 per year. Please visit https://store.wilsonlanguage.com/fundations for more information on costs.

To move Fundations to Promising on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation of the most recent version of the program should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact Wilson Language Training by mail 47 Old Webster Road, Oxford, MA 01540, phone 1-800-899-8454, fax 1-508-368-2300, or visit https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/contact-us/

https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/programs/fundations/