Whole Number Foundations Level 1
Whole Number Foundations Level 1™ is a Tier 2, small-group intervention designed to accelerate the mathematics achievement of first grade students who experience difficulties in developing proficiency with advanced whole number concepts and skills.
- 1
- Intervention
Delivery Information: PDFs are delivered within 2 business days and the printed books within approximately 6-7 weeks.
Whole Number Foundations Level 1 (WNF-1) is designed to accelerate the mathematics achievement of first grade students who are at risk for mathematics difficulties by focusing primarily on advanced whole number concepts and skills. Topics include place value and base ten concepts with numbers to 120, number properties, number combinations, addition and subtraction of 2-digit numbers without renaming, and word problem solving.
- Tier 2 small-group intervention provided in addition to core (Tier 1) instruction
- 60 lessons delivered three to five times per week in 30-minute sessions.
- Focused on concepts and skills from two essential math domains in the Common Core State Standards: Operations and Algebraic Thinking, and Number and Operations in Base Ten
- Research suggests WNF-1 has a beneficial impact on student math achievement
- The National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) rated a study about the effectiveness of WNF-1 as having “partially convincing evidence” regarding the study design, and “convincing evidence” regarding participants, fidelity of implementation, and broad math outcome measures.
- Available in Spanish as Fundamentos de los Números Enteros: Nivel 1
Conceptual Framework
- Conceptual Understanding is developed through engagement with mathematical models including number lines, ten-frames, base-ten models, and word problem solving models.
- Procedural fluency and automaticity
- Systematic practice and review within and across lessons
- Checks for mastery at the end of each activity
- Worksheets help teachers monitor students’ mastery of concepts and skills.
- Vocabulary and discourse
- Key vocabulary is identified and explicitly taught and reviewed.
- Scripted lessons ensure continuity and precise definitions.
- Students are provided opportunities to use mathematical vocabulary to reason and provide justification.
- High quality instructional interactions. Each lesson includes frequent opportunities for students to practice skills and demonstrate their knowledge.
Instructional Design Components
- Explicit and systematic instruction:
- A variety of teacher models
- Scaffolded instructional examples
- Opportunities for academic feedback.
- Prerequisite knowledge identified and pre-taught: Lessons facilitate a critical connection between previously learned content and more advanced whole number concepts and skills.
- Carefully selected and sequenced instructional examples: Lessons promote student success by introducing concepts through simpler examples and then gradually increasing the difficulty as students’ understanding of the concept grows.
- Deliberate opportunities for student practice: Lessons offer frequent and systematic opportunites for students to build procedural fluency.
- Mathematical models and representations: Lessons incorporated a variety of math models including a number line, hundreds chart, and place value models to build conceptual understanding.
Materials are available in two different formats:
- Convenient, downloadable PDF format. Once the PDFs are purchased, copies may be made according to the Distribution License Agreement.
- Pre-printed by the University of Oregon Printing Services Department.
Sample Lessons
Whole Number Foundations Level 1 includes 60 lessons divided into two Teacher Books, Worksheets, Program Support Materials, and a manipulative list.
- Teacher Book 1: Teacher’s Guide and Lessons 1 – 30
- Teacher Book 2: Lessons 31 – 60
- Worksheets:
- 21 different Fact Timing worksheets
- 8 different Number Writing worksheets
- May be copied for implementation of Whole Number Foundations Level 1
- Program Support Materials:
- Reproducible masters of number writing worksheets, a 100 and 120 counting chart, place value chart, number cards, addition and subtraction fact flashcards, and a fact timing data sheet
- Not sold separately
- Manipulative list: Manipulatives are required for implementation of the program and are NOT included. These manipulatives are commonly available in first grade classrooms, or may be purchased from educational retailers.
These products can be purchased together as an Intervention Kit. Additional and/or replacement Teacher Books and Worksheets may also be purchased separately.
Our Research to Your Classroom
Whole Number Foundations Level 1 was developed and evaluated with funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES). An initial study demonstrated that teachers could feasibly implement the WNF-1 intervention in schools (Doabler et al., 2015). A follow-up pilot study involved approximately 90 at-risk students in 9 first grade classrooms in Oregon (Clarke et al., 2014). Eligible students were randomly assigned to the WNF-1 intervention or a control condition (i.e., standard district mathematics instructions). Student mathematics achievement were collected at pretest and posttest. Results suggested that WNF-1 students made greater gains than control peers on a measure considered proximal to the WNF-1 intervention. Specifically, findings revealed a medium effect size favoring WNF-1 on the ProFusion measure (p = .015, Hedges’ g = 0.82). Based on the What Works Clearinghouse standards (2013) these results would describe WNF-1 as having a “statistically significant positive impact” on student math outcomes.
The pilot study was reviewed by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) which rated it as having “partially convincing evidence” regarding the study design, and “convincing evidence” regarding participants, fidelity of implementation, and broad math outcome measures.
Clarke, B., Doabler, C. T., Strand Cary, M., Kosty, D., Baker, S., Fien, H., & Smolkowski, K. (2014). Preliminary evaluation of a tier 2 mathematics intervention for first grade students: Using a theory of change to guide formative evaluation activities. School Psychology Review, 43(2), 160 - 178.
Doabler, C. T., Clarke, B., Fien, H., Baker, S. K., Kosty, D. B., & Strand Cary, M. (2015). The science behind curriculum development and evaluation: Taking a design science approach in the production of a tier 2 mathematics curriculum. Learning Disability Quarterly, 38(2), 97 – 111. doi: 10.1177/0731948713520555
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