About the Resource
- Is writeforward free?
- Can I use or modify the exercises?
- I’m feeling overwhelmed, where should I start?
- Is there training?
- Do you have any other assessment tools?
Technical Assistance
- How do I save files?
- Why do I need to print exercise and rubric booklets double-sided?
- Do the materials print in colour or black and white?
- Where do I find all three videos?
- How do I make the videos full screen and/or high-definition?
About the Resource
Is writeforward free?
Yes, writeforward is a free open source downloadable resource available online.
All of the writeforward materials are listed and available on the Resource page.
Can I use or modify the exercises?
writeforward includes a guide to developing authentic materials. This guide can be found in the Supplemental Materials. You can modify any exercise to better suit the learner and the learning context. Be aware of increasing complexity as directed.
I’m feeling overwhelmed, where should I start?
Watch our Introduction to writeforward: It’s all about the conversation video for an overview of writeforward. Read the User Guide to learn how to use writeforward effectively and to understand the components.
Is there training?
Face-to-face training is not available. We anticipate that the User Guide, the Videos and the Quick Start guides will provide the information you need. If you have a question that cannot be easily answered please use Contact Us and we will respond as quickly as possible.
Do you have any other assessment tools?
Yes, we have two other tools available online: Read Forward which is a series of tests that can be used to assess changes in reading over time and Alberta Reading Benchmarks (ARB) which are a set of standards for measuring reading in adults.
Read Forward provides adult learners and adult literacy practitioners in all kinds of programs with an easy-to-use tool that measures and helps identify reading skills that can be used in daily life reading activities
Read Forward is aligned to the Alberta Reading Benchmarks. The ARB describes what readers know and can do at successive levels as they develop and expand their reading capacity. The Read Forward reading skills levels are the same levels developed for the ARB which in turn are loosely referenced to the first three levels of International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and informed by the IALS theoretical framework.
Read Forward and the ARB are compatible measures for reading skills and we encourage you to consider using them together. Use Read Forward to assess reading skills. Then access the tools on the ARB website to support reading instruction for the unique set of reading skills at each Read Forward level. As part of an instructional approach, the ARB will help to identify level-appropriate reading materials, create skill-based learning plans, access practical teaching strategies and more.
Technical Assistance
How do I save files?
Once you click Download, the PDF will open in a new tab. Click on the download icon located in the top right corner and a Save As window will open where you can save file on your desktop.
Why do I need to print exercise and rubric booklets double-sided?
Each Exercise and Rubric has been formatted so that when printed double-sided the exercise prints on two pages and the rubric prints on both sides of one page. This print format allows the learner to lay out the exercise from context to writing space. The learner can refer to the writing prompts as often as needed within the time allocated to the writing activity.
The practitioner should read through an exercise before giving it to the learner. This ensures familiarity with the exercise and ability to answer design questions if needed.
Do the materials print in colour or black and white?
The writeforward materials are designed in a print friendly manner. Materials will default print to black and white with only the logo as colour.
Where do I find all three videos?
All videos are located on the Resource page. There are 3 instructional videos to support learning about writeforward and how to use it:
- Introduction to writeforward: It’s all about the conversation!
- Informal Intake Discussion and Informal Placement Exercise:
Let’s Talk about Writing - Getting to Know the writeforward Rubric and Rubric Descriptors
How do I make the videos full screen and/or high-definition?
To make the video full screen, click on the full screen icon located on the bottom right corner. For high definition, click on the Settings icon located on the bottom of the screen and click on Quality and click on 1080p or 720p.