Fundations
3rd grade students will participate in the Wilson Fundations Program. Fundations is a K-3 researched based program with a focus on foundational reading and writing skills. The Fundations curriculum provides explicit, systematic instruction through a multisensory approach. Each week, third grade students will bring home a homework packet that reviews key concepts from class. These packets will be due in class by the end of the week. Please keep reading for more details about the Fundations program.
Assessments
Students will take assessments in class on a weekly to biweekly basis. These quizzes and tests will assess each students ability to apply the concepts and skills learned throughout the week or unit. Units range from 1-3 weeks in length.
3rd Grade Unit Concepts
Orientation:
Review of digraphs & blends
Review tapping to spell words
Unit 1:
Closed syllables
The letter v rule
The sound /k/: (c, k, ck)
The sound /ch/: (ch, tch)
Glued sounds
The sound of ‘a’ when proceeded by a ‘w’ or ‘qu’
Closed syllable exceptions (old, ild, ind, olt, ost)
Unit 2:
Plural words (-s, -es)
Suffixes (-ing, -ed, -er, -est, -less, -ful)
Vowel suffixes vs. consonant suffixes
1-1-1 words
Adding suffixes to 1-1-1 words
1-1-1 words that end with x
Unit 3:
Vowel-consonant-e syllable (v-e syllable)
The sound /z/: s, z (nose, wise)
Using spelling options to correctly spell words
Two-syllable words
Unit 4:
Vowel-consonant-e exceptions (give, olive, captive, cave, have)
Suffix –ive
Pluralizing v-e words
Adding suffixes to v-e words
Reading & understanding words with suffixes
Unit 5:
Schwa
Schwa word pattern –et
Dictionary skills
Unit 6:
Open syllable
Multisyllabic words including the open syllable
Sound of y at the end of words
Schwa in an open syllable with a (alone, extra, amaze, Alaska)
Schwa in an open syllable with i (compliment, animal, estimate)
Long /e/ sound of i (champion, patio, stadium)
Bonus Unit:
Prefixes (dis, im, in, mis, non, trans, un, dis, re, de, pre)
Latin roots (fract, fect, ject, duct, junct, min, sist, struct, spec, lect, scrib, tract, dict)
Unit 7:
Adding suffixes to words ending in y
Pluralizing words that end in y
Pluralizing words that end in o
Unit 8:
Consonant –le syllable
Consonant –le syllables with the /k/ sound
Adding suffixes to consonant –le syllables
Consonant –le exception (-stle)
Final syllable with schwa (-el)
Glued sounds in the final syllable (-tion, -sion)
Unit 9:
r-controlled syllable (ar, er, ir, or, ur)
Multisyllabic words with r-controlled syllables
Spelling options for /Ər/ (er, ir, ur)
r-controlled syllable exceptions
/Ər/ sound for ar & or
/Ər/ as a suffix (er, ar, or)
The effect of w on r-controlled vowels (war, wor)
Suffix –ward
1-1-1 rule with r-controlled syllables
Unit 10:
Double-vowel syllable type (ai, ay, ee, ey, ea, oa, oe, ow, ou, ue, ew, oo, oi, oy, au, aw)
Multisyllabic words with double-vowel syllables
Other double-vowel syllables (eigh, ei, ea, ei, ie, ui, igh, oo)
Short /e/ sound of the –ea- pattern
Adding suffixes to double-syllable words ending in y
Double-syllable exception (create, react, radio, lion, poet)
Unit 11:
Contractions
Unit 12:
Soft sounds of c & g
Multisyllabic words with the soft sounds of c & g
Spelling rule for –nce & -nge
Trigraph –dge
Unit 13:
Digraph ch- making the /k/ sound (chorus, school, echo, character)
Digraph ph-
Silent letters (gh, wr, rh, gn, kn, mn, mb)
Unit 14 Concepts:
Word patterns –turn & -tu
Advanced suffixes (al, ent, ous, an, er
Word patterns ci & ti (patient, glacier)
Syllable Types
syllable types.pdfFundations Terms
1-1-1 words
A word that includes; one closed syllable, one vowel, and one consonant after the vowel (Examples: rip, stop, grab, grin, map, shut, jog, zip, step, pat, mop, hop).
blend
When two or three consonant sounds mix together (Examples: sl, sc, dr, st, bl, scr, str, spl, tr, cr, scr, spr).
consonant suffix
A suffix that begins with a consonant (Examples: -s, -less, -ful, -ness, -ly, -y).
digraph
Two letters that make one sound (Examples: wh, ch, sh, th, ck).
glued sounds
Letters that work together to make a specific sound (Examples: -all, -am, -an, -ang, -ank, -ong, -onk, -ing, -ink, -ung, -unk).
Latin Root
Word parts that carry meaning (Examples: fract, fect, ject, duct, junct, min, sist, struct, spec, lect, scrib, tract, dict).
The letter V rule
The letter v cannot end a word. The letter e will follow v at the end of words without changing the sound of the vowel (Examples: solve, valve).
multisyllabic words
Words that include more than one syllable (Examples: napkin, mistake, sunfish, reptile, habit, relish, nutshell, rocket, elephant).
prefix
An affix added to the beginning of a word that changes its meaning (Examples: dis, im, in, mis, un, non, trans, re, pre, de).
schwa
When a vowel changes its sound or the sound disappears completely within a word (usually is found within an unaccented syllable) (Examples: travel, wagon, seven, salad, pollen, random, rocket, jacket).
spelling options
Using all different letter options that make a similar sound in order to determine the correct spelling of a word (Examples: roze or rose?).
suffix
An affix added to the end of a word that changes the words meaning (Examples: -s, -es, -ing, -ed, -er, -est, -less, -ful).
trigraph
Three letters that make one sound (Examples: tch, dge)
vowel suffix
A suffix that begins with a vowel (Examples: -es, -ing, -ed, -er, -est).