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Foundations

A K-2 Early Literacy Program

Engineered to Accelerate Early Literacy

More than words on a page, RedThread Foundations ignites curiosity in young minds as they explore a world where learning to read is life-changing. With RedThread Foundations, you'll transform the experience of learning to read from a skill students must acquire to an empowering pathway that unlocks a universe of knowledge.

A young girl smiling and reading a book

Powered by Unquestionable Evidence

Anchored by unquestionable evidence behind the science of teaching children how to read, RedThread Foundations was designed to unravel the intricacies of language and learning to read. Our research-based curriculum and framework for early literacy instruction give teachers the tools they need to build strong foundational skills and proficient readers.

Amplified with Integrated
Knowledge-Building

Yearlong themes ignite curiosity and empower students to quickly grasp and internalize knowledge with topics that are educational and personally meaningful. The themes are deeply rooted in relatable real-world topics, enabling authentic learning experiences, and creating a lasting impact on young learners. Integrated seamlessly into lessons, decodable books, and aligned with our ELA curriculum, these themes facilitate rapid knowledge acquisition and retention for children.

A young girl sounding out words as she reads a book with an adult

"Reading Scores Soar in Just Six Weeks"

An independent study conducted by Dr. Susan Neuman revealed the program’s ability to rapidly improve student reading proficiency levels.

Yearlong Theme

Yearlong themes span every component of the RedThread curriculum—from RedThread Knowledge to RedThread Foundations to RedThread Readers. Our progressive knowledge-building approach advances from one grade to the next, crafting a holistic and interconnected curriculum.

K
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Growing
Together

What does it mean to be part of a community?

1
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Making
a Difference

How do people solve problems?

2
A green line drawing of a circle shaped character who is happily flying through space in a spaceship

Traveling Through Time and Space

How do people and communities change over time?

A Complete Early Literacy Learning Toolbox

Kindergarten through Second Grade

LETTERS
SOUNDS
,000
SYLLABLES

An Endless Number of Words

Unraveling Words, Weaving Stories

Developing Strong Early Literacy Foundations for Lifelong Exploration

Our program covers the entire spectrum of early literacy skills, building capabilities from decoding to understanding how letters and sounds weave together words that tell a story.

As students explore the connections between sounds and letters, they’ll gain the confidence to navigate both familiar and unfamiliar words, building independence and opening doors to the vast world of literature waiting to be discovered.

Two young boys reading and pointing at a book together

RedThread Foundations Encompasses:

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Phonological Awareness
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Phonics & Word Recognition
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Fluency
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Vocabulary
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Listening & Reading Comprehension
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Written Expression
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Boost Confidence

Watch confidence soar as students master early literacy phonetic principles, decoding, and word recognition, and unlock the world of words with phonics.

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Illustration of a blue triangle shaped charcater smiling confidently with its hands on its hips with yellow line drawings of sparkles behind it

Build Independence

Empower students to confidently navigate the complexities of language on their own by building their understanding of phonics principles and word structures. This enables them to decode unfamiliar words independently.

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Illustration of an orange circle shaped character sitting and reading a book with yellow line drawings of sparkles behind it

Inspire a Love
of Reading

Ignite a quest for knowledge by exploring the world of literature and infusing a sense of wonder and curiosity into each lesson.

Illustration of an orange circle shaped character sitting and reading a book with yellow line drawings of sparkles behind it

Some companies build stories around letter sounds. We build letter sounds into captivating stories.

RedThread Readers stand out as the most authentically multicultural decodable series available. Diverse characters empower every child to see themselves as a hero in a journey. Our unique storytelling method weaves phonics concepts into captivating storylines. Each book is rich in depth and meaning, sparking curiosity, accelerating phonics learning, and nurturing a genuine love for reading.

Splay of three different RedThread Readers decodables covers: Murals Around the World, I Am Me, and Sal's Brain

An extensive library of 160 RedThread Readers for grades K-2 connects phonics instruction on how to decode with stories that make it fun to decode. Students are introduced to two new decodable texts weekly that apply phonics-building skills within multicultural narratives. Each book is aligned with the unit topic so students can apply the essential background knowledge they’ve gained to reading each decodable book successfully. In this way, our decodables accelerate the path to reading proficiency.

Teacher Materials

Comprehensive, organized, and adaptable phonics teaching materials that support differentiation for students with diverse needs and align with educational standards

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Aligned with the Principles of Systematic and Explicit Instruction

Literacy instruction follows the logical order of language development beginning with fundamental concepts like foundational phonemic awareness and systematically progresses to more complex elements including letter-sound relationships, decoding skills, and sight word recognition.

Powered by Cumulative Learning

Each lesson is thoughtfully designed to build upon the previous, ensuring a solid and logical progression in the development of reading skills. Lessons include 30 minutes of routines and 15 minutes dedicated to RedThread Readers daily decodable text work. Continuous formative assessment ensures personalized instruction.

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Splay image of teacher materials
  • Teacher Guide
  • Keyword Image Cards
  • Letter Cards for Classroom Letter Board
  • Classroom Posters
  • Unit Word Cards
  • Sight Word Cards
  • Decodable Texts (Approx. 60 titles per grade)
Student Materials
Splay of sample lesson plan, student workbook,and decodable book

Featured Lessons

Enter your information below and receive:

  • A Sample Lesson Plan
  • Student Workbook
  • Decodable Book
Our Approach Has Generated Results that are Unrivaled

RedThread Foundations, an evidence-based structured literacy program for Kindergarten through second grade, was built using the same instructional strategies and curriculum components that contributed to a 66% improvement in literacy achievement from pre- to post-assessment in just five weeks with more than 25,000 students enrolled in our 2023 RISE Summer Learning Program.

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