Overview
All editions of the Foundations books are compatible with each other. You may use any Foundations Workbook with any Foundations Teacher's Manual for the same level.
Some materials are in a new edition because we have added new content or moved something, but these changes do not affect compatibility. The lessons still work together fine.
If you're trying to decide whether you might want to upgrade to a newer version of some of the books or other materials, there are a few changes and updates you might want to know about. This page provides an overview of changes we have made over the years. For more detailed information about different editions of specific products, please visit the Product Details section of our Help Center.
Major Updates
We have made three major changes to Foundations B and C over the years:
- In the 3rd Edition Foundations B Teacher's Manual (2019), we added comprehension questions for the Foundations B Readers: Young Artist Series. We also expanded the comprehension questions for the original B Readers. We recommend using a newer edition if you would like to take advantage of the new reading comprehension content.
- In the 2nd Edition Foundations C Teacher's Manual (2018), we added eight Miles and Jax Lessons, with comprehension questions for the Miles and Jax books plus related spelling games and composition activities. We recommend using a newer edition if you'd like to take advantage of this additional reading and spelling practice.
- In the Foundations B and C Workbooks, we removed the tear-out Readers in the 2nd Edition (Foundations B Workbooks: 2015; Foundations C Workbooks: 2016). The Foundations B and C Readers, originally printed in the back of these workbooks, are now sold separately as sets of reusable paperback books.
Teacher's Manuals: Smaller Changes and More Detail
The other Foundations Teacher's Manual edition changes over the years have included only minor revisions. These updates may shift the pagination, but they do not affect compatibility with workbooks or supplements and included no significant changes to lesson content.
A Teacher's Manual: Any edition is compatible with any Foundations A Workbook. The 2nd Edition (2019) has an expanded Scope & Sequence and new section headers in order to more clearly highlight the different skills students are working on.
B Teacher's Manuals: Any edition is compatible with any Foundations B Workbook. The 2nd Edition (2018) had no significant changes to lesson content but added callouts to read Whistling Whales while teaching each new phonogram and included the fifth sound of the phonogram OU. For information about the new content that was added in the 3rd Edition (2019), see details above.
C Teacher's Manual: Any edition is compatible with any C Workbook. The 2nd Edition (2018) and subsequent editions include 8 bonus lessons; see details above. The 2nd Edition also adds the phonogram ES and the fifth sound of OU, and it had several activities updated to clarify content or adjust the level of difficulty. The 3rd Edition (2019) has an expanded Scope & Sequence and new section headers in order to more clearly highlight the different skills students are working on, but has no significant updates in lesson content from the 2nd Edition.
D Teacher's Manual: The 2nd Edition (2018) adds a list of 2nd grade standards fulfilled by the lessons (in addition to the K and 1 standards that were already listed in the 1st Edition). There are no significant updates in lesson content.
Other Materials: Cards, Reference Charts, Read-Aloud Books
There have been small changes in some of the resources used in Foundations, but any edition of them can be used with any Foundations books.
Minor Changes
The following items have had minor changes that you might notice if using an older copy while teaching Foundations. You may need to make occasional adjustments to reflect newer content, but most people do not find these updates significant enough to warrant buying a new copy.
- Newer Basic Phonogram Flash Cards add a fifth sound of OU and add the phonogram ES.
- Newer Phonogram Game Cards and Phonogram Game Tiles include the phonogram ES (taught in Foundations C starting in the 2nd Edition). With older versions, you can use E and S tiles to spell this suffix and use the copyright card as an ES game card unless you want to update your set.
- The newer Spelling Rule Flash Cards have had a few additional concepts added, including Spelling Rule 31 (added in 2014) and an expansion of Spelling Rule 7 (added in 2018). If you have older sets of these cards, we recommend adding new concepts to your deck with index cards as you encounter them in the lessons or purchasing a new set.
- Knitting Knights now includes a page for ES (2nd Edition - 2018). You can see a PDF of the new page on our blog.
- We have added a few new phonograms to the Advanced Phonogram Flash Cards over the years. Advanced Phonogram Flash Cards are optional and used in D only. You can download a free PDF of the advanced phonograms introduced in Foundations D.
No Relevant Changes
The following items have had no changes that affect use with Foundations:
- Tactile Cards
- Rhythm of Handwriting Quick Reference
- Spelling Analysis Quick Reference
- Doodling Dragons
- Whistling Whales
- Student Whiteboard
- Grammar Rule Flash Cards (Optional, used in D only. There was a significant update in the 3rd Edition of these cards, but it does not affect compatibility with Foundations D.)