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This special education writing curriculum transforms students taking the alternate assessment into early communicators capable of expressing themselves. It was designed specifically for students with autism and other complex needs.
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First Author® is a comprehensive writing curriculum that guides educators to teach beginning writing skills to students with special needs including autism. It helps prepare students for the alternate assessment (including DLM, STAAR, and NCSC). But most importantly, you will help your students see themselves as authors who have the potential to share and communicate with others.
Scripted lessons guide educators step-by-step through the process of teaching writing to students with special needs. It covers a range of abilities from scribbling to writing complete words and paragraphs.
A comprehensive group of measurement tools monitor writing development, communication, and behavior.
Guides standards-based IEP goals tied to Common Core State Standards and alternate standards including examples for writing, language, speaking, and listening.
Structured classroom time is broken down through mini-lessons (4x/week), writing time (4x/week), and sharing time (Author’s Chair) (1x/week).
Guides instructional supports for each student including “writing” tools and communication methods.
“The classroom was buzzing with excitement—teachers and students alike. When I finally saw writing progress being made, I no longer felt like a failure. I felt like a real teacher!” Jenay Prytula, Special Education Teacher
“The classroom was buzzing with excitement—teachers and students alike. When I finally saw writing progress being made, I no longer felt like a failure. I felt like a real teacher!”
“First Author has helped my students to express themselves and their interests through writing. It also helped them start communicating in different ways with me and their classmates.” Keary Pieczynski, Special Education Teacher
“First Author has helped my students to express themselves and their interests through writing. It also helped them start communicating in different ways with me and their classmates.”
“This is all about exposure to letters, it’s about exposure to written communication, it’s about motivating them to participate in the writing experience, and to give them experience with some of the controls of writing.” Kelly Fonner, M.S., Consultant / Trainer in Assistive and Educational Technology
“This is all about exposure to letters, it’s about exposure to written communication, it’s about motivating them to participate in the writing experience, and to give them experience with some of the controls of writing.”
“In my 24 years of teaching I have never known my students so well.” Jenay Prytula, Special Education Classroom Teacher Watch the Video
“In my 24 years of teaching I have never known my students so well.”
“My teachers love using First Author. I see great changes in my classrooms. Not only do I see changes in the students, I see changes in the teachers. The teachers are reinforced by the progress that the students are making.” Denise Jackson, Principal - Bovenschen High School
“My teachers love using First Author. I see great changes in my classrooms. Not only do I see changes in the students, I see changes in the teachers. The teachers are reinforced by the progress that the students are making.”
“I’ve seen the kids just come out of their shells, and able to comment and really think about another person’s perspective and just see them … blossoming with their communication skills.” Mary Anne Burke, SLP
“I’ve seen the kids just come out of their shells, and able to comment and really think about another person’s perspective and just see them … blossoming with their communication skills.”
“Students learn about the writing process. They learn about writing, they learn how to be a better communicator.” Janet Sturm, PhD, CCC-SLP
“Students learn about the writing process. They learn about writing, they learn how to be a better communicator.”
“You get to talk about what you like and don’t like. What you can and can’t do.” Student
“You get to talk about what you like and don’t like. What you can and can’t do.”
“You get to express your feelings … you get to express yourself.” Student
“You get to express your feelings … you get to express yourself.”
“For Sean to come home and tell me what he did at school, it’s huge, it’s really huge.” Mom
“For Sean to come home and tell me what he did at school, it’s huge, it’s really huge.”
Check out sample lessons included in our First Author Writing Curriculum Sampler…
Curriculum Samples
(no credit card required)
The Curriculum Sampler includes sections of the Curriculum Guide to help you become familiar with the philosophy behind this curriculum, as well as two scripted Mini-lessons with student Tip Sheets. It also includes the complete Table of Contents so you can see what topics are included in the complete Curriculum Guide.
Full Curriculum
(item code: P76WRTCURWEB)
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Get the most out of First Author with our how-to guides, video tutorials, and more.
Janet Sturm, Ph. D, CCC-SLP, Professor, Department of Communication Disorders at Central Michigan University (CMU). Dr. Sturm’s research and clinical interests include developing high-quality differentiated writing instruction for students with developmental disabilities (DD), assistive writing software, formative and summative writing assessments of beginning writers, and tools and strategies to support effective classroom communication. Her work in special education classrooms with students with DD has spanned nearly 25 years. For the past three years she has been principle investigator for an NIH Fast Track Small Business technology transfer research grant (STTR), together with Don Johnston Incorporated, where they developed an innovative writing process software tool for students with DD, including those with severe speech and physical impairments.
Kathleen S. Cali, M.A., is a doctoral student in the Early Childhood, Special Education, and Literacy Program in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she specializes in K-12 writing instruction and assessment. Previously, she was an English and writing resource teacher in the Rochester, NY, City School District. She has also collaborated with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and LEARN North Carolina to develop online writing instructional resources for K-12 teachers statewide. She currently works as an Academic Coach for EnCompass Resources for Learning, which provides supplemental educational services for at-risk students in the Rochester City School District.
Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a consultant for speech, language and literacy at Macomb Intermediate School District. She consults regarding curriculum-relevant practices, literacy for at-risk learners and the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). She has served on state and national committees related to language and literacy and currently serves on the National Joint Committee of Learning Disabilities. She also presents and publishes on these topics.
Nickola Wolf Nelson, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology and Director of the PhD program in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences at Western Michigan University and Editor of the journal, Topics in Language Disorders. She has published widely on language-literacy, including Language and Literacy Disorders: Infancy through Adolescence (Allyn & Bacon, 2010) and is conducting standardization research (with support of a grant from the U.S. Department of Education on a Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills (TILLS). Nelson is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, a Board Certified Specialist in Child Language, recipient of the 2007 Kleffner Clinical Career Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation, and recipient of the Honors of the ASHA in 2011.
The curriculum aligns to the expectations of the new alternate assessments. With First Author Writing Curriculum, you can feel confident that your students are getting the best writing instruction possible and will be prepared to demonstrate their skills.
“The Development Writing Scale: A New Progress Monitoring Tool for Beginning Writers” Written by Sturm, Janet M.; Cali, Kathleen; Nelson, Nickola W.; Staskowski, Maureen. The full article is available for purchase through the Lippincott Williams & Wilkins website.
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