About First Steps®

Teachers and school systems have long wanted a practical framework with which to diagnose, teach, and monitor students' progress in literacy development. They have also needed a way to report this information to school systems, parents, and the wider community. First Steps® can fulfill these needs. By identifying practical processes and resources, First Steps® enables teachers and administrators to successfully link learning, instruction, and assessment. This in turn provides for a balanced literacy program throughout the school.

The First Steps® Developmental Continua—in the areas of Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Oral Language—resulted from the analysis and synthesis of research relating to literacy development from countries across the English-speaking world. Observational frameworks consist of identified literacy behaviours that allow teachers to determine student phases of development within their class. Each phase of development then consists of direct links to appropriate teaching emphases and activities.

First Steps® consists of three crucial components:

• Quality Professional Development Courses
• Comprehensive Materials
• School-Wide Implementation

First Steps® considers the combination of these three components essential to the successful implementation of the resource. Schools and districts that have included each of these elements in their adoption of First Steps® have discovered that the program:

• provides continuity across the whole school,
• provides a resource that will assist all classroom teachers,
• links assessment and teaching,
• assists teachers to address Provincial Outcomes,
• assists teachers to focus on children,
• is based on sound theory and research, yet is practical for teachers, and
• values teachers as professionals.

Who is First Steps® for?
Designed for school-wide implementation, First Steps® is for schools and districts looking for a practical resource to improve student literacy outcomes K-8. Teachers learn how to assess and monitor the literacy development of their students and to link this assessment to developmentally appropriate teaching strategies. All educators can participate in First Steps® training.

How is First Steps® Organized?
Teachers attend ten hours of in-service courses spread over time for each of the First Steps® components: Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Oral Language. Tutors attend courses over 3 or 8 days that focus on the First Steps® components in addition to how to foster effective implementation, presentation skills, and how to provide ongoing support to teachers, administrators, and parents.

What makes First Steps® different from other literacy professional development frameworks?
It is the link between assessment, teaching, and learning that makes First Steps® unique. Each continuum goes beyond recording student behaviour, enabling teachers to identify a focus that supports students and challenges them to move along the continuum.