To improve reading/writing skills in a target group of 10 first-grade students, an intensive writing curriculum was implemented over a period of 10 weeks. The program included numerous strategies to improve beginning skills: using concrete objects for classification; using comic strips to illustrate sequencing; daily practice on correct posture and placement of paper for writing; alphabetizing sets of letters; and individual writing conferences. The goal of this project was to reduce the discrepancy between students' demonstrated beginning reading/writing skills and expected skills. Success was measured by measuring the results of a posttest against the county's expectations for grade 1 students. The strategies used in this project clearly indicated that the students mastered all 6 objectives with at least 80% mastery. The strategies and activities presented in this project may provide teachers additional resources to help pinpoint their students' areas of weakness. The motivation this project gives to teachers is to individualize their instruction. Appendixes include a sample assessment card, a teacher-made criterion-referenced test, and the county's grade 1 formal writing assessment. (Author/MG)