Overview

Complete language arts for ages 4-7. Includes phonics, reading, handwriting, and spelling.

Introduces students to all the tools they need to sound out 98% of English words and develops the skills they need to apply these tools for reading and spelling.

A complete course in how English spelling works. Includes spelling, grammar, vocabulary.

Teaches all the tools needed to understand the spelling of 98% of English words, including deeper and more complete coverage of the concepts taught in Foundations. 

Phonograms and Rules Taught

75 Basic Phonograms

19 Spelling Rules
Introduces the rules needed for decoding; the goal is familiarity and using the rules for reading

9 Advanced Phonograms

75 Basic Phonograms

31 Spelling Rules
Teaches all 31 rules to mastery, applying them for reading and spelling

46 Advanced Phonograms

Primary Emphasis

Developing reading fluency. Equipping students to sound out any word with the main goal of developing strong reading skills.

Children use spelling analysis to understand how words work for reading while learning how spelling works.

 They also learn to write lowercase and uppercase letters and learn basic vocabulary and grammar concepts.

Mastering how English spelling works. Learning the rules that explain why 98% of English words are spelled the way they are and how to apply them for spelling. Developing spelling skills contributes to reading growth.

Students think analytically about spelling, practice spelling, and build spelling mastery. They also learn how the parts of words shape meaning and spelling and how words work within sentences.

Includes Games

Yes!

Foundations lessons include dozens of playful games and activities to build mastery and fluency with phonograms, handwriting, and decoding high-frequency words that are appropriate for young children. Many high-energy games involve running, tossing, and other active play. 

Yes!

Essentials units also include many games. Some are more active, while others involve more strategy. Essentials games are appropriate for older students. 

Reading Comprehension

Included.

Foundations includes lots of reading practice and comprehension, beginning in A and increasing through the levels as students master more and more of the phonograms. By level D, fluency and comprehension are the primary focus.

Reading practice includes high-frequency word games, workbook reading activities, and Foundations readers, as well as 13 children's fiction books in level D.

Not included, but available as an add-on component.

The Essentials Reader is a decodable reading comprehension supplement. For readers who needs practice applying phonics to controlled text to build reading fluency, we recommend adding the Essentials Reader. The Essentials Reader Set includes comprehension, composition, and extension activities using the reader texts.

However, The Essentials Reader is not a complete literature program.

Morphology,
Grammar, Vocabulary 

Included. Minor focus.

Introduces beginning grammar and composition concepts (what is a noun, what is a sentence, capitalization)

Introduces children to morphology, the concept that parts of words have meaning and we can put different parts together to create new meanings.

Included. Major component of each unit.

Students explore, practice, and use their spelling words while learning grammar, vocabulary, and sentence-level composition concepts.

Grammar instruction includes parts of speech, comma rules, sentence types, verb tenses, and more. Vocabulary instruction includes several hundred roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

Repeatable Curriculum

No.

While you can use prior levels of Foundations to review after a break or to revisit a concept, the curriculum as a whole is not designed to be cycled through multiple times.

After progressing through the levels sequentially, move to Essentials to review the concepts taught in Foundations, learn new ones, and apply them on a deeper level.

Yes.

Each Essentials unit contains three levels of application and practice, allowing you to customize the level of challenge and use the curriculum multiple times with the same student.

After completing Essentials using level A or B, repeat again at a more advanced level. Students review the foundational tools for greater mastery and apply them to more advanced words and concepts.

Handwriting Instruction

Included.

Handwriting instruction is incorporated into the lessons while learning the phonograms because there is a connection between learning how to read and handwriting. The focus is not on perfect penmanship. 

Lowercase letters are taught in in level A and the uppercase letters in level B in your choice of cursive or manuscript. Students continue handwriting practice in levels C and D with whichever style they have learned through copywork and dictation.

Not included.

Available separately in the Rhythm of Handwriting, designed to accompany Essentials or serve as a stand-alone handwriting curriculum.

The Essentials Pre-Lessons include a suggested schedule for incorporating Rhythm of Handwriting instruction.

Time to complete

Flexible.

Typically, 2-3 years to complete all 4 levels.

Children starting Foundations at 7 often move more quickly.

Each level contains 40 lessons and 8 review lessons. Lessons may be completed in one day or divided over multiple days depending on the age and attention span of the child.

Lessons increase in length and difficulty over the four levels as students mature and as more and more reading time is introduced.

Flexible.

Typically 1-2 years (Units 1-30, once through).

Repeating a second time, you may find that you move more quickly.

For a student who needs remedial assistance, it may be appropriate to  spend several hours per day.

Each of the 30 units is divided into five "Parts," each taking 30-60 minutes. These sections can be completed in a day, but a slower or faster pace may be more effective depending on the student and your schedule.