Fundations® Ready to Rise™
Help your students get “Ready to Rise” to the next level of Fundations.
A Boost for Rising First and Second Graders
Now more than ever, students need an opportunity to focus on essential foundational literacy skills that will help them confidently tackle the coming school year. The Fundations® Ready to Rise™ program is designed to provide summer reading support or an intensive boost at the start of the school year in districts using the Wilson® Fundations program in regular classrooms. Designed to accelerate student learning by focusing on what needs to be learned to tackle upcoming grade-level material, this approach readies students for their regular Fundations lessons.
Foundational Skills for Rising Students
Students currently in Kindergarten who will be in first grade during the 2022–23 school year will be placed in a Fundations Ready to Rise™ Program for Rising First Graders. Students currently in First Grade who will be in Second Grade during the 2022–23 school year will be placed in a Fundations Ready to Rise™ Program for Rising Second Graders.
Ready to Rise Components
Each Fundations Ready to Rise™ lesson is typically 90 minutes, divided into three components.
Word Study Component – 30 Minutes
- Phonemic Awareness
- Alphabetic Principle
- Sound and Word Accuracy and Automaticity
- High Frequency Word Recognition
Transcription Skill Component (Handwriting and Spelling) – 30 Minutes
- Letter Formation/Automaticity
- Spelling
- Sentence Dictation/Punctuation
Applications and Fluency Skills Component – 30 Minutes
- Application of Skills
- Fluency with Connected Text
Ready to Rise™ helps teachers organize for and accomplish accelerated learning by:
- Identifying a small number of key foundational skills essential for the next school year’s success;
- Focusing on the mastery of those key skills;
- Assessing students to determine progress toward that mastery.
Learn more about how this approach aligns with research-based recommendations in our latest Stories and News article. Also, check out this article by David Steiner and Barbara Wilson on the importance of adopting an acceleration strategy and its key features.
Overview
Learn about implementing Ready to Rise.
Any student in need of additional foundational skill support to address learning loss, including English Language Learners (ELLs), Multilingual Learners (MLs), and struggling students, may use Ready to Rise.
Ready to Rise can be implemented in the summer or before the initial weeks of the fall term. The program is typically delivered in 90-minute lessons that are divided into three 30-minute components; the program can also be taught in 60-minute blocks (covering less material).
Summer Implementation
90 minutes in three components following the 20-day plan in Ready to Rise Guide:
- Word Study (30 minutes)
- Transcription Skills – Handwriting and Spelling (30 minutes)
- Application & Fluency (30 minutes)
If students can only be scheduled for 60 minutes a day, students can do the Word Study Component each day, and alternate between the Transcription and Fluency Components. This ⅓ reduction in time, however, will also likely result in reduced outcomes for most or all students.
Back to School Component
Click here to access Ready to Rise Back to School Implementation Recommendations.
Ideally, any individual with Fundations teaching experience who has attended an Introductory or Launch Workshop can teach Ready to Rise. However, with the Teacher Guide and the Ready to Rise Workshop, other educators and tutors can be prepared to implement this instruction.
Teachers may attend a Fundations Introductory or Launch Workshop and an additional three-hour Ready to Rise Workshop. To learn more about implementation options and see detailed lesson plans, click here.
To further support teachers, a virtual, half-day Ready to Rise™ Workshop is also available! The workshop provides a review of the program schedule, activities, and the day-by-day Teacher Guide.
Ready to RiseTM Materials
Like Wilson’s materials for Fundations, we offer comprehensive program materials for Ready to RiseTM that allow teachers to confidently present a carefully structured program. If Fundations materials are already on hand, only the following materials will need to be purchased. See a full list of materials recommended to implement the programs. For more details about each item, please visit our online store.
Instructor Materials
Instructor materials include a day-by-day Fundations Ready to Rise™ Teacher Guide. The Teacher Guide is easy to follow and divided into the three components, providing clear directions for 20 days of instruction. Minimum instructor materials include:
- Ready to Rise Teacher Guide
- Baby Echo
- Standard Sound Cards 1
- Trick Word Flashcards 1*
- Manuscript Letter Formation Guides*
- Letter Formation poster, Large Letter Formation Grid, Large Dictation Grid
*Contact Wilson for cost-saving alternatives
Student Materials
The Fundations Ready to Rise™ Student Practice Notebook conveniently includes all practice materials for each student. These notebooks are consumables and will need to be purchased again the following year. Minimum student materials include:
- Student Durables 1
- Ready to Rise Student Practice Booklet