Dear New to SRSD,
You may be new to SRSD but you are probably well trained to teach children. During your first pass using our SRSD curriculum we suggest:
- Use the lesson plans provided as a starting place and adapt as needed
- Rely on our fidelity checklists when planning, and after completing instruction, to assure important ideas were covered
- Use our scripted lessons. SRSD is not a scripted course yet teachers find it more comfortable integrating our provided scripts to “get it right the first time”
- Build excitement: Our research proves that spending time “hyping” the genre and getting students encouraged to succeed is part of our secret sauce
- Practice modeling by “acting like a student”. This is new to most educators yet vital in building mental models that help kids visualize concepts and make the right choices
- Email [email protected] for advice. We always encourage your questions and have experts ready to save you time
We expect teachers to use their experience and best judgment when implementing these strategies (it will get easier over time) but we recommend to first follow the guideline. Then, make it your own during your round of instruction to achieve true fidelity while developing successful writers.

Ask Sandy
Dr. Sandra Jones is SRSD Online's Chief Academic Officer. Sandy has developed and deployed whole school literacy reform, been Lead professional development for Massachusetts Reading First; Educator for 40 years: teacher, principal, dean. Creator of the first SRSD teacher training courses. Sandy has extensive teacher training experience. Ask her your SRSD training or implementation questions.