1. Home
  2. First Author Curriculum

First Author Curriculum

Product Description
$944.00
Maximum quantity available reached.
Sku: 22P76WRTCURWB
Vendor: Building Wings

A comprehensive curriculum that gives educators the right tools to teach students with complex instructional needs how to write and then measure their writing progress. The ONLY writing curriculum of its kind. First Author will help you meet curriculum writing requirements and prepare students for assessment.

First Author Writing Curriculum is a comprehensive curriculum that supports daily writing instruction in self-contained and designated special needs classrooms, resource rooms, autism support programs and MID, DD classrooms and co-op programs. It was designed to provide explicit daily instruction in both writing, and speaking and listening that is grounded in early writing development.

First Author will help you move from teaching letter shapes year after year into teaching writing with the proper accommodations and turn your students with complex needs into first-time authors! 

 

 

Program Components:

 

  • Curriculum Guide (spiral binder) with an appendix, containing support tools--125 pages
  • Instruction Guide
  • 80 Mini-lessons
  • 63 Tip Sheets
  • Assessment Guide (includes standards-based IEP goals)
  • Classroom Posters
  • Teacher Resource CD reproducible tools to include; data collection tool, sample parent letters, Meet the Author materials, Author’s Toolkit labels and tabs, Communication boards, Letter boards, Topic boards, Writing Measure form, PD tips for supporting adults

 

If you are using a district-created writing curriculum in your self-contained and resource classrooms, First Author will help systematize instruction and speed up progress monitoring. If you don’t have a dedicated writing curriculum, First Author is a great place to start! 

 

How it Works

 

Students’ daily writing is self-directed and follows short mini-lessons. Mini-lessons model the instructional approach associated with process writing (planning, composing, publishing and sharing). Students use Tip Sheets as cognitive strategy supports while they write. These Tip Sheets are used as prompts to reinforce the skills taught during the mini-lessons.
The first 30 days of the curriculum are mapped out for both student and teacher success! After that, teachers choose lessons that support their unique classroom needs and teaching goals.
 
Communication and self-expression is emphasized through a weekly activity called Author’s Chair. Students have an opportunity to share out their writing from the week. Dr. Sturm teaches how this social interaction helps students become good speakers and good listeners and how to ask questions and give feedback.

 

Measures and Assessments

 

First Author Writing Curriculum includes several writing measures that monitor progress and are used to set goals and measure outcomes. These multiple formative and summative measures guide instruction. The anchor measurement tool is called the Development Writing Scale, this 14-point scale is sensitive to the slightest progressions from scribbling to paragraph writing.
Formative writing measures guide teachers to assess early student writing from scribbling to paragraph writing on both qualitative and quantitative characteristics. The measures help teachers clearly see where students are at in their writing development and where instruction should be directed to achieve the next level.
The measures assess writing on both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. The 14-point Developmental Writing Scale assesses tracks writing from scribbling (emergent) to paragraph writing (2nd grade). They also track Text Type Diversity, Topic Diversity, Total Intelligible Words, Total Unique Words, Total Number of Letters, and Total Unique Letters.
The measures were developed to accomplish five key purposes:

  • Identify small differences in beginning writing skills
  • Be easy for educators to learn and use reliably
  • Offer instructionally relevant information about what to target next
  • Serve as a functional outcome measure for periodic assessment probes and classroom-produced writing artifacts
  • Quantify evidence of small but significant changes so that educators can celebrate growth with students and their parents

Together, these measures help show where each student stands in writing development which shows where instruction should be directed to achieve the next level.

 

 

 

Bridges accepts institutional P.O’s (purchase orders).

Call us for a quote or just fax or email a P.O. on your letter head.

How secure is my online order?

Any information submitted through the web store is safe and secure. Bridges uses state-of-the-art security encryption methods to ensure the highest standards of security for its online customers.

What payment methods are accepted?

We accept Visa and MasterCard for online orders.

What if I do not have a credit card?

If you do not have a credit card, please call us at 1-800-353-1107 (8:30am - 4:30pm EST) to discuss alternative payment methods.

How do I know if you have received my order?

When your order has been completed, you will receive a confirmation e-mail that will be sent to the e-mail address that you entered in the "Registration” page before checkout.

Shipping 

PLEASE NOTE that the COVID-19 crisis is impacting delivery times. Couriers are experiencing reduced capacity due to new hygiene procedures, increased volumes and/or emergency conditions. Your patience and understanding is greatly appreciated.

Is your school or office limited as to when it can receive goods? When you place your order, in the comments area, please let us know if you cannot receive your order during regular business hours to avoid additional shipping charges. We will make every attempt to accommodate you, but we cannot guarantee that this will be possible.

 

What shipping options are available?

Most of our items are shipped by Canpar, which takes 3-5 business days to reach the customer. Where service is not available, or due to the special requirements of the product, we will also use UPS, Puralator or Canada Post. Please allow 10-15 days for order processing.

 

Ordering multiple, heavy-weighted items? 

If our store can’t calculate your shipping costs during checkout, your order may fall outside weight, size, or destination restrictions, for online ordering.

Sorry about that. 

Just contact us by email or phone and we'll figure out another way to get your order to you. 

How much does shipping cost?

Shipping is calculated individually depending on the weight and size of the item. This will be calculated automatically upon checkout and will be included in the total price when you go to the checkout.

How long does it take for me to receive my order?

Order processing time depends on availability of the product from the manufacturer, but typically products are shipped within 10-15 business days after the order is placed. See shipping options for the number of days it will take to reach you after it leaves our warehouse.

Do you ship internationally?

No, we currently sell our products and services only in Canada.

How can I track my order?

When the order is shipped out, you will receive an e-mail with a tracking number. If you do not receive this e-mail, please call 1-800-353-1107 (8:30am - 4:30pm EST) to receive your tracking number.

 

Returns

 

Do you offer a money back guarantee?

We offer a 21-day money-back guarantee unless otherwise noted. Products must be returned in a resalable condition as determined by Bridges. Returns are subject to a 20 percent restocking fee after 21-days. Many of our manufacturers offer additional limited warranties of longer durations on their products. Returns will no longer be accepted after a period of 90 days. Please call us at 1-800-353-1107 (8:30am - 4:30pm EST) or send an e-mail to info@bridges-canada.com for more information about manufacturer's warranties or returning your product.

Please note, customers cannot return software for a refund.  However, we do offer a store credit for the full amount if returned within 21 days. After 21 days a restocking fee may apply.

How do I return a product?

To return a product you need to get a Return Authorization (R.A.) number from us. Please call us at 1-800-353-1107 (8:30am - 4:30pm EST), e-mail us at info@bridges-canada.com or fax us at 905-542-7242 to get an R.A. number and further instructions. Please note, Bridges will not accept returns without an R.A. number. The customer is responsible for shipping costs of returned products.