Tier 1

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Tier 1 implementation of Fundations® occurs in a whole-class, general education setting as one part of the core language arts instruction.

As a supplemental program, Fundations emphasizes phonemic awareness, phonics-word study, high frequency word study, fluency, vocabulary, handwriting, and spelling, providing all students with the strongest possible start in mastering foundational reading, spelling, and handwriting skills. Although it includes comprehension strategies, it must be combined with a core/literature-based language-arts program for an integrated and very comprehensive approach to reading and spelling.

Implementation highlights:

• Standard lesson is taught to the whole class: Fundations is delivered as a prevention program to all students.
• Instruction occurs in the general education classroom by the regular classroom teacher.
• Instruction is delivered for 30 minutes per day as a supplemental program or the word study block complementing the core literacy program.
• The lesson is flexible in that teachers select specific words to teach based upon the needs of the students in their classrooms.
• Specific guidelines are provided to address the needs of:
  • Advanced students
  • English language learners
  • Struggling students who may need differentiated support

In addition to the daily whole class lesson, students who struggle in general education classrooms (in the lowest 30th percentile) benefit from the use of Fundations as a Tier 2 strategic intervention. These students receive more intensive instruction through small group, intervention lessons. See the Tier 2 page for more information.