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Now available Explicit & systematic
Structured Steps to Writing

Structured Steps to Writing

A complete writing program built on explicit, systematic, sequential instruction. Foundations is here: 4 units, 15-minute lessons, everything scripted. From the very first sentence to a finished multi-paragraph piece.

See pricing What's covered
Unit 4
Unit 3
Unit 2
Unit 1

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Prices in US dollars (USD)

Writing Skills Placement Screener
Find out exactly where your student needs to begin
$25
Best value
Foundations Bundle
All 4 units together
$119 vs $136 separately
Individual units
Units 1–4 available separately
$34 per unit
Writing Revision & Brainstorming Bundle
CAMPS + SPARK+SORT graphic organizers
$15
View all options
Secure checkout via ThriveCart

"What do you use for writing?" The answers are all over the place.

A strategy from a course. A graphic organizer from TPT. A framework someone shared in a Facebook group. Most practitioners who teach reading explicitly are piecing writing instruction together from fragments, and spending a lot of time doing it.

SSW exists because writing instruction deserves the same rigour as reading instruction. Explicit. Sequential. Every skill taught before the next one is introduced. A roadmap from the very first sentence to a finished essay.

What's in Foundations

4 units. Every skill taught explicitly before the next one is introduced. Students start where they are and move forward when they're genuinely ready.

1

Building Basic Sentences

Capitals, punctuation, nouns, and verbs. The foundations of a complete sentence. Students who have never been taught to write a sentence explicitly start here.

Sentence structure Nouns & verbs Capitalisation Punctuation
2

Expanding Sentences

Adjectives and adverbs. Making sentences more precise, more interesting, and more specific. Students learn to add detail without losing structure.

Adjectives Adverbs Sentence expansion
3

Sentence Variety and Types

Simple, compound, and complex sentences. Varying beginnings and structure. Students build a repertoire they can draw on intentionally, not by accident.

Simple sentences Compound sentences Complex sentences Sentence openers
4

Advanced Sentence Structure

Complex sentences, appositives, and the introduction of SPARK+SORT for idea generation. By the end of Unit 4, students are ready to move into paragraph writing.

Appositives SPARK+SORT Idea generation Paragraph readiness

Every unit includes

Fully scripted lessons

SAY/DO/ASK teacher scripts for every phase. Open the lesson and teach it. No planning required.

Student workbook pages

2 pages per lesson, print-ready. Everything the student needs, designed to sit alongside the lesson.

Assessment package

Baseline and final assessments with scoring guides, growth analysis, and parent communication letters.

Multisensory resource pack

Sort headers, word cards, and sentence strips. Kinesthetic, visual, and tactile activities built in.

15-minute lessons

Designed for 1:1 or small group delivery. 2 sessions a week delivers real, measurable progress.

Watch a lesson overview Watch a lesson walkthrough See Inside the Student Workbook

Each preview is about a minute long.

Want lesson-by-lesson detail? Download the full scope and sequence.

Download the full scope and sequence

4 tools. Used from the first sentence to the final essay.

Students learn each tool once. Then they grow with it across every unit, every genre, every level. The framework never changes. The writing does.

SPARK+SORT Idea generation

Solve the blank page problem

Before a student writes a single word, they use SPARK to pour out every idea freely, then SORT to choose their strongest ideas and land on a clear focus. The blank page stops being the problem.

STEMS Paragraph structure

Build every paragraph

Every sentence in a paragraph has a name and a job. Students learn STEMS once and use it across every unit. The framework doesn't change. The writing grows.

CAMPS Editing

Catch every error

A systematic editing process students internalise rather than guess at. Capitalisation, Agreement, Meaning, Punctuation, Spelling. In order, every time.

CHECKLISTS Intro & conclusion

Open and close with confidence

Introduction and conclusion checklists make the hardest paragraphs learnable and repeatable. Students check every element before moving on.

Designed for the way you actually work

OG tutors and intervention specialists

Writing instruction built the same way your reading instruction is. Explicit, sequential, systematic. A natural fit alongside any explicit literacy framework.

Resource and classroom teachers

A complete 4-unit sequence for Foundations, fully scripted, that fits into the time you actually have. No more wondering what to teach next or building it yourself.

Homeschool families

A clear path from first sentence to finished piece. Explicit instruction, a clear sequence, no guessing about what comes next. Open it and follow it.

Not sure where to start?

The Writing Skills Placement Screener places every student at the right starting point before instruction begins. No skill level labels, just a clear picture of where they are.

25+
Years of combined experience in explicit, systematic literacy instruction
OG
Orton-Gillingham certified practitioners who use these materials in real sessions every week
Built
From real sessions with real students, not from theory alone. We know your students because they are our students.

SSW started the way most good things do: out of necessity. After years of piecing together writing instruction for our own students, we built the resource we wished had existed. Everything in SSW has been used in real 1:1 and small group sessions before it was ever packaged for anyone else.

Learn more about us →

Start wherever makes sense

Not sure where your student needs to begin? Start with the screener. Ready to go? Grab the Foundations Bundle or start with a single unit.

All prices are in US dollars (USD).

Not sure where to begin?

The Writing Skills Placement Screener takes about 20 minutes to administer and tells you exactly which unit to start in. A small investment before a bigger one.

$25 USD
Buy now — $25
Individual units

Units 1–4

Try one unit, or work through them in order

$34 USD per unit
Each unit sold separately
  • Fully scripted instructor manual
  • Student workbook pages (print-ready)
  • Assessment package
  • Multisensory resource pack
See all units
Standalone tools

Writing Revision & Brainstorming Bundle

CAMPS + SPARK+SORT graphic organizers

$15 USD
Both GO sets together
  • CAMPS editing GO set
  • SPARK+SORT brainstorming GO set
  • Multiple differentiated versions
  • Print-ready PDF files

Also available separately: CAMPS ($9) · SPARK+SORT ($9)

Buy now — $15 Watch the SPARK+SORT preview

Questions before you buy? Get in touch — we read every message.

Foundations is just the beginning

Students who complete Foundations move directly into paragraph writing. Framework and Composition are in development now.

Available now

Foundations

Building sentences · Units 1–4

Coming soon

Framework

Paragraph writing · Units 5–9

Coming soon

Composition

Multi-genre essays · Units 10–12

When Framework and Composition launch, complete program tiers (Step In, Step Up, Step Forward) will be available — including all 12 units, interactive tools, and the SPARK+SORT app.

Ready to get started?

Foundations is here: 4 units, 15-minute lessons, everything scripted. Get the full tier in one purchase and start with your student today.

Get the Foundations Bundle — $119

Secure checkout via ThriveCart. Or browse individual units.