Wilson Reading System® Materials
Understand the materials used in Wilson Reading System® (WRS).
Getting Started
Wilson Reading System® (WRS) program materials provide daily support for teachers and practical guidelines for implementation. When getting started, the 4th Edition WRS Introductory Set (Steps 1-6) provides the materials needed to teach Steps 1–6 of the program. It includes one set of student materials.
In a group setting, each student requires their own materials, including:
- Student Readers
- Magnetic Journal with Letter Tiles
- Student Portfolio
- End-of-Step Assessment materials for students, including a Student Progression Recording Form and a My Step Progress Booklet
The following Steps 1–6 consumable student materials will need to be replaced each year:
- End-of-Step Assessment Steps 1–6 Student Pack (includes six consumable Student Progression Recording Forms and six consumable My Step Progress Booklets)
- Student Portfolio for Steps 1–6 (includes the Student Notebook Steps 1-6 and Student Dictation Notebook Steps 1–6)
The WRS Advanced Set and WRS Advanced Set Plus include the teacher and student materials necessary to teach Steps 7–12. Each item is also sold separately. As with Steps 1–6, consumable student materials will need to be replaced each year.
WRS Program Materials
Explore the sections below to learn more about instructor and student materials.
The Instructor Manual is divided into two volumes (Steps 1–6 and Steps 7–12). The manuals contain explicit details, illustrated explanations, and tips for each lesson plan component and each Step of instruction. Each manual is divided into four sections and includes an appendix of resources. The Comprehension & Fluency Block 3 Guide portion of the manual provides comprehensive background information, progression guidelines, and specific instructions for fluency and comprehension work.
Assessments guide student progress through the program. The End-of-Step Assessments (Steps 1-6) and Baseline and Step Assessments (Steps 7-12) measure phonetic word reading accuracy and automaticity, marking current concepts, high frequency word reading, independent silent reading, passage oral reading fluency and comprehension, and dictation (spelling). The detailed guidelines on progression will help with student mastery and pacing.
The Student Readers feature words, sentences, and decodable passages that incorporate high frequency, core, and academic words, and are approximately 98% decodable throughout the entire 12 steps. Students gain fluency and accuracy by practicing skills with a substantial amount of controlled text. The passages grow longer in the Upper Steps to build students’ reading stamina.
The WRS Dictation Book provides extensive controlled text for the spelling portions of a WRS lesson, Parts 6-8. For each Step, the content is organized in lists: Sounds, Word Elements, High Frequency Words, Phonetic Words, Phrases, and Sentences.
Letter-Sound, Word, Word Element & Syllable, and High Frequency Word Cards are used to practice reading and spelling concepts and assist students with automatic recognition.
The WRS Rules Notebook is a handy reference to the basic rules that govern the structure of words in English. For each rule, a reference is provided noting the WRS substep where it is introduced.
Please see our WRS Materials Information booklet for details about the instructor and student materials.
The WRS Introductory Set includes teacher and student materials necessary to teach Steps 1–6 of the program:
- Instructor Manual (Steps 1–6)
- Wilson Assessment of Decoding and Encoding (WADE)
- End-of-Step Assessment Set (Steps 1–6)
- Rules Notebook (Steps 1–12)
- Dictation Book (Steps 1–6)
- Letter-Sound Cards
- Word Cards (Steps 1–6)
- Word Element & Syllable Cards (Steps 1–6)
- High Frequency Word Cards (Steps 1–6)
- Student Readers 1–6 (one Reader for each Step)
- Magnetic Journal with Letter Tiles
- Student Portfolio for Steps 1–6 (includes Student Notebook for Steps 1–6 and Student Dictation Notebook for Steps 1–6)
- WRS Tote Bag
If teaching in a group setting, each student will need their own set of Student Readers, a Student Portfolio, and a Magnetic Journal with Letter Tiles.
The WRS Advanced Set includes teacher and student materials necessary to teach Steps 7–12 of the program and includes the following items:
- Instructor Manual (Steps 7–12)
- Baseline and Step Assessment Set (Steps 7–12)
- Dictation Book (Steps 7–12)
- Word Cards (Steps 7–12)
- Word Element & Syllable Cards (Steps 7–12)
- High Frequency Word Cards (Steps 7–12)
- Student Readers 7–12
- Student Portfolio for Steps 7–12 (includes Student Notebook for Steps 7–12 and Student Dictation Notebook for Steps 7–12)
- WRS Tote Bag
If teaching in a group setting, each student will need their own set of Student Readers, a Student Portfolio, and a Magnetic Journal with Letter Tiles.
The WRS Set Plus includes all the materials in the Advanced Set plus:
- 4th Edition Magnetic Journal with Phoneme Tiles
- Wilson Assessment of Decoding and Encoding (WADE)
- Rules Notebook (Steps 1–12)
- Letter-Sound Cards
The materials that accompany WRS are appropriate for all learners. The WRS program content, design, and materials were built with sensitivity to the issues of diverse learners, including race, culture, nationality, language, gender, and socioeconomics. The program aims to avoid the depiction of stereotypes and the misrepresentation of populations. Visit our online store to learn more about available WRS materials.
The 3rd and 4th editions of WRS are compatible because the scope and sequence remains largely the same with a few minor changes. However, the fourth edition’s greater emphasis on a systematic approach toward teaching morphology, explicit guidance for fluency and comprehension (see Block 3), and revised progress criteria make the updated edition’s Instructor Manual and End-of-Step Assessment materials essential. Likewise, because there are significant changes with the addition of high frequency words and a focus on core vocabulary, the wordlists and connected text resources have been updated significantly in the Readers and Dictation Books.
It is recommended, at a minimum, that the following fourth edition Steps 1–6 materials are purchased:
- Instructor Manual (Steps 1–6)
- Student Readers 1–6
- Dictation Book (Steps 1–6)
- WADE and End-of-Step Assessment materials
If you are teaching Steps 7–12, you will also need the corresponding materials for Steps 7–12 instruction.
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