Monday, June 17, 2013

Do you use Fundations in your classroom? Ideas for teaching Phonics

My district has adopted Fundations Wilson Language Basics. I'm heading to my first training soon and I would like to hear about your experiences with Fundations. I have already heard various view points about the program. I am wondering how it fits with other classroom activities. I love to use music and songs in my classroom. I found this video while searching Fundations on youtube.com.



Can you still use videos like these in a Fundations classroom? I also use Starfall.com in my classroom and with my tutoring children. Have you used Starfall.com in your class? My kids love the videos that Starfall.com provides. I also like nifty charts like this one I found on Pinterest.



What other ways do you teach phonics in your classroom?I like to use a variety of teaching resources in my classroom. I am interested to hear about the teaching resources you use in your classroom! Thanks for joining the discussion.



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6 comments:

  1. We use Fundations in our district. I have to admit in the beginning I didn't like it. I look back and I think in the beginning my dislike was because it was so different than what I was use to. Now I love it. I too love to use songs. I have wrote several songs that I use to teach some of the concepts that go along with the program. It is easy to make your own and stay true to the program once you understand it.

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    1. Thanks so much for your comments. I would love to hear more about your songs! After going to the training I can see how this will help many children at our school. You are right it will take some getting used too!
      Sarah

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  2. Some of our first grade reading teachers use the Phonics Dance to teach phonics. Next school year our school will be using Fundations and have training in August. Those first grade teachers aren't too happy about it because they love the Phonics Dance.

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  3. I have been using Fundations for 3 years now. I have been to many trainings & I was a certified Wilson trainer for my district. I also have completed the Wilson Reading Program certification Level 1. The poster you showed might not fit with the program unless you change the keywords. All of the sounds taught in the Wilson programs have their own keywords and Barbara Wilson is pretty firm about using her words. There are several nice posters & sound cards that come with the kit.

    I don't know if you are using anything else in addition to Fundations, because as great as the program is, it's not a full curriculum. The 2nd edition which came out last year is much improved from the 1st edition and the teacher's manuals are so much easier to use now!

    I'm sure you could supplement with STARFALL. I use Reading Eggs with my little ones & Read Naturally with the older students. But both of those programs cost money unlike STARFALL which is free.

    I don't know what it would be like to use the program in a general ed classroom, I use it in my RSP classroom. For teaching phonics & decoding, Fundations is excellent. I really like the fact that it incorporates multi-modalities and gives my RSP students lots of practice with the skills. The program itself does not have any songs, but I have used some songs that I've found on You-tube that coordinate with Fundations. I'd love to hear more about the songs you use. Maybe you will share more in a future blog????

    It's not like any program you've ever used before unless you have experience with Ortan-Gillingham techniques. Keep an open mind & give yourself permission to take it slowly! You don't have to be an expert at everything in the beginning! Once you learn the strategies, you'll find them very useful, I think. Good luck. I hope you share your journey here as you go along. :)

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  4. Fundations is amazing! I've been using it since it came out in 2003ish. I taught Learning support and it helped to teach struggling students the sounds they needed. I now use it in my regular classroom (I purchased the kits myself because I believed in them so much when I changed districts!) and now my district is implementing into K & 1st! You will love it. I learned so much more about learning to read through this program than any college course!

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  5. I used foundations at a school I taught last year and found it an awesome experience. Getting creative in teaching young ones is a sure way of keeping them glued to the lessons. That much I discovered in my teaching at various schools. I also make use of a site that gives insights on just how one can make reading as exciting for the young ones as can possibly be. I haven’t stopped going there ever since I found it. Wonderful resource it is. http://easylearnreading.com



    Regards
    Daniele Wren

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