Literacy Support and Resources
We have a passion for empowering home educators and microschool leaders with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to support strong readers and writers. Teaching students to read and write can be intimidating, daunting and leave with you with a sense of confusion as to what exactly your child or student needs.
Drawing on more than 20 years of literacy experience as a national consultant and literacy expert, I share practical, research-based assessments, resources, and instructional tools that help every learner thrive. Whether you're looking to better understand your child's literacy development, strengthen instruction, or make informed educational decisions, you'll find support designed to help you steward your learners' literacy education with confidence.
Resources
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Support
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Professional Learning
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Resources ✳︎ Support ✳︎ Professional Learning ✳︎
The Literacy Assessment Package provides a well-rounded picture of a learner's literacy development by examining both reading and writing. Through the CUBED 3 NLM Reading Assessment, families and educators gain valuable insight into foundational reading skills, fluency, and language comprehension. The Writing Process If-Then Reflection helps uncover a student's writing habits, strengths, and areas for growth, while the Authentic Assessment of Real Writinganalyzes actual student writing to identify next instructional steps. Together, these tools move beyond a single score to provide meaningful, actionable information that can guide instruction and support continued literacy growth.
After completing the assessment package, you will have a clear understanding of your learner’s reading strengths and areas for growth, a more precise picture of their writing development, and a deeper sense of what instruction will best support next steps. Most importantly, you will know exactly where to focus your teaching so you can move your learner forward with confidence.
*The Literacy Assessment Package is available for grades 3-8 currently. In the coming weeks, we will be releasing the package for grades kindergarten through second.
The Literacy Assessment Package has THREE COMPONENTS.
Literacy Assessment Package
The CUBED3 NLM Reading Test
This is an assessment based on the latest research on what makes a good reader and writer. It is based of what is commonly known as The Reading Rope and The Writing Rope. Your child’s reading is assessed using this tool, but there are huge implications for their ability in language comprehension and writing as well. Your child will read a passage, do a retell and then answer a series of questions.
The Writing Process If-Then Reflection
This is a reflective checklist document that is actionable. Writing process is often one of the most overlooked aspects of teaching writing. This reflection document will guide a conversation between the student, parent/educator, and assessment facilitator and will give actionable next steps in the vital area of teaching and using the writing process. Overtime, you will likely see engagement and proficiency increase as a result!
The Authentic Assessment of Real Writing
During this portion of the assessment, you will be asked to provide a writing sample your student has written. It needs to be what they consider their best writing and one that they worked on over time, not one they rushed through. The best assessment of writing is not one where students are timed and done in a pressure context. We will use a learning progression to assess so you will get actionable next steps.
2025
“"Children learn language and literacy through meaningful interactions with the important adults in their lives."”
Catherine Snow