La escritura 2026 Texas, Grade 3

Evaluation for 1.1a
Materials include an explanation of the stated purpose of the supplemental program (e.g., additional instruction and/or practice, targeted remediation or acceleration).

The “Efficacy” section of the grade 3 Teacher Edition identifies the supplemental program’s stated purpose. It states, “The act of handwriting supports the brains of developing readers. As students practice forming letters, they learn to recognize the letters when they read.” It also outlines both the short- and long-term goals of the program. In the short term, the program aims to help students write automatically, efficiently, and legibly. Long-term goals include helping students apply their handwriting skills to communicate their thoughts and ideas and to build connections within learning communities.

Additionally, the materials explain the purpose of the supplemental program through the Teacher Edition, which describes structured handwriting instruction aligned to the TEKS. The “Program Components” section also identifies the materials as “quick, explicit instruction” with ongoing practice opportunities, demonstrating the program’s purpose of providing supplemental handwriting instruction and practice.

Evaluation for 1.1b
Materials include guidance on how to appropriately use the supplemental program to support an existing core reading and language arts program.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition provides guidance for educators on how to appropriately use the supplemental program in the section “Time-Saving Routines for Teaching Handwriting.” Specifically, this section outlines the program’s utility as a versatile supplement, offering guidance for whole-class instruction, independent work, and at-home practice to reinforce an existing core literacy curriculum. The publisher consistently states throughout the materials that the program’s designers intend for educators to teach it effectively and efficiently in about 15 minutes.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition provides explicit guidance for integrating the supplemental handwriting program with core reading and language arts instruction. The “Fast, Efficient Instruction” pages outline flexible implementation options in five-minute to 10-minute instructional routines, practice opportunities, reinforcement activities, and lesson components that support letter formation and literacy development.

Evaluation for 1.1c
Materials include a scope and sequence outlining student expectations, skills taught, and a rationale for the design of the scope and sequence.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition includes a “Correlation to TEKS” section. The TEKS correlation table outlines student expectations down to the breakout level. This table identifies the specific Teacher Edition and Student Workbook pages where each breakout standard is addressed.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition includes a “Groupings, Patterns, and Progress” section that provides a clear rationale for the scope and sequence. The program explains that manuscript and cursive letters are intentionally grouped by common strokes, visual patterns, and developmental progression to support efficient handwriting instruction and improve legibility. This section identifies how letters are introduced in sequenced groupings based on shared formations, such as vertical, horizontal, circular, and diagonal strokes, helping educators understand the progression of skills and instructional purpose across the program.

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include guidance on time requirements (e.g., duration, frequency) and suggested pacing for effective implementation.

In the grade 3 Teacher Edition, the “Fast, Efficient Instruction” section guides the program’s time requirements. Educators can implement the program in 15 minutes or less per day. The Teacher Edition also provides educators with explicit instruction and practice opportunities for implementation throughout the day. The lessons provide for flexible implementation within the daily plan.

While the materials do not provide a pacing guide for the Spanish side of the program, additional supports in the Teacher Edition “Groupings, Patterns, and Progress” section include a rationale for the program’s scope and sequence. This section explains that the skills taught include grouping letters, such as uppercase and lowercase, and grouping letters based on commonalities, such as strokes, formation patterns, and visual attributes. “Program Basics” materials include whole-group instruction resources, animated letter models, instructional videos, home practice activities, and explicit handwriting instruction with practice and reinforcement opportunities.

Evaluation for 1.1e
Materials include resources and guidance to support educators with implementing the materials as designed.

In the grade 3 Teacher Edition, “Program Components” pages support effective program implementation by providing educators with visual examples of the various materials, including the student and educator guides. These examples identify and explain the different sections on each page and describe how educators and students should use the materials during instruction. Each section of the sample page is highlighted and labeled to clarify its purpose for educators. Additionally, the “Your Components at a Glance” page offers further implementation support by listing each program component, providing a brief description of its purpose and benefits, and identifying where educators find the resources.

Implementation guidance for the program appears throughout the grade 3 Teacher Edition. The materials familiarize educators with the program’s key resources, including the Teacher Edition, Student Edition, and Practice Masters, and explain the intended use of each component. The Practice Masters provide additional opportunities for student practice through reproducible pages that educators can use for small-group instruction, learning centers, or homework assignments.

Evaluation for 1.1f
Materials contain supports for families in both Spanish and English with suggestions on supporting the progress of their student.

The grade 3 Practice Masters include family supports written in Spanish. These include printable pages for educators to send home with students for handwriting practice with their families. Some of these pages include “Notes to Families” that offer guidance and tips for supporting student learning at home. While these family support materials are available in Spanish, they are not provided in English.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition includes a “School-Home Connection” initiative designed to encourage family involvement in supporting students’ handwriting development at home. The materials highlight the importance of family support and identify available practice materials and digital resources for use outside the classroom. For example, the materials state, “Adults can use the codes to help reinforce correct letter formation as students practice.” However, while the guidance provided is for Spanish-speaking families, it is not available in English. Finally, the “School-Home Connection” supports educators, but it is not a family-facing resource.

Evaluation for 2.1a
Materials include appropriate instructional assessments for the stated purpose of the supplemental program (e.g., diagnostic placement assessments for targeted remediation or acceleration).

In grade 3, educators introduce students to the self-assessment work they will be doing throughout their workbook. At the beginning of the Student Edition, educators guide students through the four “Keys to Legibility” of manuscript handwriting, which are “Shape, Size, Spacing, and Slant,” and what considerations each of these qualities encompasses. As students practice their handwriting, they are expected to stop each time they encounter a red checkmark stop sign on the page and assess the handwriting quality, or “Key to Legibility,” displayed on that page. Students self-assess their handwriting by circling the letter that best represents that page’s “Key to Legibility.” This self-assessment provides students with opportunities for growth and improvement in their handwriting quality as they progress through the program.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition also provides a summative assessment to help educators evaluate students’ progress at the end of the school year or after students complete the instructional cycle. The posttest is at the end of unit 4. Students rewrite the same poem used in the pretest. To support students, educators meet with them and compare pre- and posttest results. Furthermore, the materials provide guidance to help educators interpret results and identify whether students need more practice or have achieved mastery.

Evaluation for 2.1b
Materials include the definition and intended purpose for the instructional assessments included.

In grade 3, the Teacher Edition includes an “Assessment and Progress Monitoring” section within “Designed to Help Texas Students and Teachers Meet the TEKS!” The section states that the program includes embedded self-assessments for students. However, the materials do not define the self-assessments or explain their intended purpose, limiting educator understanding of how the assessments should be used to monitor student progress.

Furthermore, the Teacher Edition contains a “Legibility” section that provides educators with a brief summary of the “Keys to Legibility,” which are embedded throughout the curriculum and are meant to serve as formative assessments. This page briefly notes the intended purpose of this type of assessment, stating that “self-evaluation is a key component in building confidence and helping students take ownership of their learning.” Although the page provides an explanation for self-assessments in this program, it does not provide a sufficiently clear and explicit statement of the intended purpose for these assessments, and therefore it does not meet the criteria for this indicator.

Evaluation for 2.1c
For instructional assessments administered by educators, materials include guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

In grade 3, the educator-facing materials include prompts for educators to cue students to self-evaluate their handwriting and self-assess throughout the workbook. These self-assessments, in which students evaluate their handwriting, focus on criteria such as letter formation, size, spacing, slant, and stroke direction. The assessment provides student-facing prompts aligned to the lesson objective that ask students to evaluate aspects of handwriting legibility. However, the materials do not provide guidance on the time allocation, grouping, and resources necessary to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition provides educator-facing support for handwriting instruction, including letter-formation activities, handwriting practice, and student self-evaluation opportunities. However, the materials do not provide educator guidance for administering assessments, scoring student responses, or ensuring consistent implementation of assessments across settings. The materials do not provide guidance to support consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

Evaluation for 2.1d
Instructional assessments include items at varying levels of complexity.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition assessments provided in the program include items at varying levels of complexity. The “Groupings, Patterns, and Progress” page outlines the systematic sequence embedded in the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting program. The program groups manuscript letters by stroke type and teaches them in a developmentally appropriate sequence, with rigor increasing as the program progresses. The students evaluate their writing during each lesson. The lessons progress from writing strokes to letters and then to words, sentences, and paragraphs.


As an additional feature, the grade 3 program materials provide assessments at the end of each unit. These assessments increase in complexity as the students progress through the instructional cycle. For example, in unit 2, the “Evaluation” has students evaluating cursive handwriting using the four Keys to Legibility; in unit 3, they copy complete sentences and finish a letter; and in unit 4, they write complete sentences. The posttest for the grade 3 program requires students to handwrite a poem in cursive that the materials present in manuscript. With each passing unit, the complexity of the materials increases as students’ skills develop.

Evaluation for 2.2a
Instructional assessments and scoring information provide guidance for interpreting student performance.

In grade 3, the Teacher Edition includes a “Record of Student’s Handwriting Skills.” This checklist serves as a tool for educators to track the progress and growth of their students from the beginning of the supplemental program to the end. However, this checklist does not provide any scoring information, nor does it serve as a rubric that outlines domains with guidance for scoring levels of performance in each domain for handwriting assignments.

Also, the grade 3 Teacher Edition includes scoring information in the “Cursive Evaluation Rubric,” which guides the educator’s evaluation of students’ handwriting for correct shape, size, spacing, and slant using a four-point scale. The rubric has four rating categories: “Proficient,” “Satisfactory,” “Developing,” and “Emergent.” The rubric provides further guidance and describes the criteria for each rating. For example, under the category of shape, the rubric classifies “Proficient” writing as having “all of the letters [in] the Zaner-Bloser style.” The rubric lists “Satisfactory” writing as having “most of the letters . . . in the Zaner-Bloser style.” However, the rubric does not provide specific and explicit guidance on how to interpret and use these results gathered from student performance, nor on how to develop a support plan for students who still need one as they improve or stagnate in their cursive handwriting skills.

Evaluation for 2.2b
Materials provide guidance for the use of the supplemental program to respond to student trends in performance on assessments.

In grade 3, the Teacher Edition includes a “Record of Student’s Handwriting Skills.” This checklist serves as a tool for educators to track student progress and growth from the beginning to the end of the supplemental program. However, this checklist does not provide any guidance on how to respond to student trends, such as strengths or areas needing improvement. In other words, if an educator uses the checklist to identify an area where most students need improvement, the program does not identify activities and tasks an educator could use to respond to this performance trend.

For students, the publisher has added an online portal called Handwriting Quest, which serves as a tool for students to track their own progress and growth in both manuscript and cursive handwriting. Nevertheless, the assessment data that educators obtain through the portal does not support the identification of student performance trends, such as strengths or areas needing growth. While educators can see the student’s attempts at various handwriting tasks, the data does not provide enough clarity to the educator about how to accurately score writing assignments.

Evaluation for 2.2c
Materials include tools for educators to track student progress and growth, and tools for students to track their own progress and growth.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition provides educators with a “Record of Student’s Handwriting Skills.” Educators use this record to track students’ progress as they work through the program. The tool lists all the essential skills taught in the program and allows the educator or student to check whether a skill needs improvement or demonstrates mastery. The directions for the “Record of Student’s Handwriting Skills” instruct the educator to make a copy for each student and to mark whether the student needs more work or has mastered the skill. Educators should review the list throughout the year and check for mastery when the student demonstrates it.

In addition to the “Record of Student’s Handwriting Skills” checklist, the grade 3 Teacher Edition materials provide students with an online way to practice and track their progress and growth. In “My ZB Portal,” students access the “Zaner-Bloser Handwriting” tool. Students can practice proper letter formation and review basic strokes. Once they have practiced, they can capture a digital image of their work and revisit it later in their “Handwriting Portfolio.” The portfolio enables students to track their progress as they evaluate their growth. Students earn achievements by completing “Free-Write” and “Trace” activities and saving snapshots to their portfolios.

Evaluation for 2.2d
If applicable for the stated purpose of the supplemental program, materials include guidance for entry and exit criteria.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because the program has a stated purpose of additional instruction and/or practice, not targeted remediation or acceleration.

Evaluation for 3.1a
If applicable for the stated purpose, materials include educator guidance for differentiated instruction and activities for students who have not yet reached proficiency in grade-level skills.

In grade 3, the Student Edition includes a section about the four “Keys to Legibility,” which are “Shape, Size, Spacing, and Slant.” Students review letter-formation guidelines and practice, recognizing characteristics associated with each key. Students practice their handwriting and stop each time they encounter a red checkmark stop sign on the page to assess their handwriting for the “Key to Legibility” shown on that page. Students self-assess their handwriting by circling the letter that best represents the page’s “Key to Legibility.”

However, in the Teacher Edition, pages that correspond to the student “Key to Legibility” pages do not include educator guidance for differentiated instruction. Similarly, the program does not provide activities to support students who have not yet reached proficiency in grade-level handwriting standards, which are to write complete words, thoughts, and answers legibly in cursive, leaving appropriate spaces between words.

Evaluation for 3.1b
If applicable for the stated purpose, materials include educator guidance for differentiated instruction and activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level skills.

In grade 3, the materials portal includes an online activity tool called Handwriting Quest, where students can complete tasks and view achievements aligned to the program objectives for each lesson. This resource includes supplemental handwriting activities that allow students to continue practicing and developing handwriting skills at their own pace. It also includes activities and achievement features aligned to lesson objectives.

The materials related to this interactive tool, which is available in the student portal, provide educators with guidance on how to use these activities as enrichment or extension for students who have already mastered grade-level skills. Furthermore, the materials provide recommendations on how to differentiate instruction for groups of students with similar learning needs using the variety of related tools available within the “My ZB Portal.”

Evaluation for 3.1c
Materials include educator guidance for providing specially designed instruction (SDI) for students receiving supports and services through special education.

In grade 3, the publisher provides educators with a document named “Tips from an Occupational Therapist” in the “Program Basics” section of “My ZB Portal.” This document lists a series of activities that support the gross and fine motor development that leads to improved handwriting.

However, the materials do not include guidance for adapting instruction, modifying materials, addressing individual learning needs, or implementing specially designed instruction for students receiving special education services. The materials do not provide educator guidance that connects activities to individualized supports or specialized instructional practices.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Educator-led supplemental programs include explicit (direct) prompts and guidance to support the educator in modeling and explaining the skill(s) to be learned.

In grade 3, the Teacher Edition provides educators with prompts for explicit, direct instruction, which assists them in modeling and explaining handwriting skills. As educators model each focus letter, the materials provide step-by-step verbal prompts to demonstrate the specific strokes required to form the lowercase and uppercase letters. Additionally, the materials outline targeted self-evaluation questions for students to check their own stroke accuracy, line alignment, and intersection points.

The Teacher Edition provides educators with questions aligned with the self-assessment questions that students should ask themselves as they work through the program. However, the materials do not include educator-facing explanations, scripted instructional support, or guidance for explaining underlying handwriting concepts and addressing potential misconceptions. The materials provide modeling prompts but do not include guidance for explicitly teaching handwriting concepts.

Evaluation for 3.2b
Educator-led supplemental programs include educator guidance and recommendations for effective delivery and facilitation using a variety of instructional approaches.

In grade 3, the materials include a variety of instructional approaches through distinct, targeted sections in the Student Edition. These sections guide how students engage with the material and how learning is measured. Students engage in inquiry, application, and self-assessment activities while practicing handwriting skills.

However, the materials do not include educator guidance or recommendations for implementing these instructional approaches to support effective lesson delivery and facilitation, nor do they outline best practices for grouping students. Furthermore, the activities for students do not provide opportunities for discourse or collaboration.

Evaluation for 3.2c
Materials include guidance for educators on recommended structures (e.g., whole group, small group, individual) to support effective implementation.

In grade 3, the materials include guidance on the recommended usage time that should be devoted to practicing handwriting skills. The materials also provide instructional opportunities coupled with practice. The publisher consistently states throughout the materials that educators can teach the curriculum effectively and efficiently in lessons of about 15 minutes or less.

However, the materials do not include explicit educator guidance, lesson plans, or recommendations for implementing whole-group, small-group, or individual structures for the stated purpose of additional instruction.

Evaluation for 3.3a
Materials include educator guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because the language of instruction is Spanish.

Evaluation for 3.3b
Materials include implementation guidance to support educators in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.

In grade 3, the Teacher Edition provides an overview of the benefits of handwriting practice and highlights program materials for emergent bilingual (EB) students. This section titled “Handwriting Instruction and Emergent Bilingual Students” explains the purpose of this supplemental program, which is to support language acquisition for EB students. Through research-based evidence on cross-linguistic transfer, the materials show how skills developed in Spanish can support English development (and vice versa), ensuring that this supplemental handwriting program effectively meets the needs of all students.

However, the program does not include educator-facing guidance that supports educators in effectively implementing the materials within specific state-approved bilingual or ESL program models, such as dual language immersion or transitional bilingual programs. While the Teacher Edition discusses the EB student, it does not provide specific tools, structured instructions, or examples to guide implementation at the course, unit, or lesson levels. Additionally, the program does not include a dedicated resource or implementation guide or accompanying professional development materials to help educators adapt instruction for bilingual or ESL settings.

Evaluation for 3.3c
If designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs, materials include resources that outline opportunities to address metalinguistic transfer from English to the partner language.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs.

Evaluation for 7.1a
Materials include explicit (direct) and systematic handwriting instruction (e.g., sequenced from lowercase letters to uppercase letters) in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

In grade 3, the materials provide students with systematic handwriting instruction aligned with the Texas handwriting standards, as appropriate for the program’s stated purpose of additional instruction. The supplemental program offers educators clear objectives and a system that groups letter instruction by common strokes, formation patterns, and visual attributes. The program supports students’ handwriting development through explicit modeling, guided practice, and structured opportunities for independent practice.

This supplemental program provides a clear progression for handwriting instruction, from lowercase to uppercase letters and from manuscript to cursive. However, it does not include educator-facing supports such as specific instructional routines, intentional feedback strategies, connections to students’ prior knowledge, or guidance for implementing the “gradual release of responsibility” model.

Evaluation for 7.1b
Materials include frequent opportunities for students to develop and refine handwriting skills through guided practice and independent practice in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

The grade 3 Student Edition provides students with frequent opportunities to develop handwriting skills through guided practice, self-assessment prompts, and independent practice as they progress through the curriculum. These practice opportunities align with the Texas grade-level standard of writing complete words, thoughts, and answers legibly in cursive while leaving appropriate spaces between words. The program begins with manuscript handwriting practice and transitions to cursive writing to support students in meeting the grade-level standard. For both manuscript and cursive handwriting, the program provides multiple pages that allow students to practice new handwriting skills in a variety of ways.

Additionally, the program provides students with frequent opportunities to develop and refine their handwriting skills while involving families through the Practice Masters. These reproducible practice pages are available in print through a stand-alone booklet and online through “My ZB Portal.” Educators can use these pages for small-group instruction, centers, or homework and send them home as students progress through the curriculum. Each Practice Masters page offers additional independent practice with support, such as the QR codes on each page that link to the “Animated Letter Models” and instructional videos, which families can watch by simply scanning the codes with their mobile phones.

Evaluation for 7.1c
Materials include guidance for educators to provide feedback to students to develop and refine their handwriting skills (e.g., writing position, writing grip, letter spacing, size, slant, directionality) in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

The grade 3 Teacher Edition provides educators with instructional prompts to support students’ letter formation and self-assessment prompts to help students evaluate their own handwriting. The program also provides students with multiple opportunities to practice through educator modeling and digital resources that support continued learning with the Practice Masters at home.

However, the materials do not provide educators explicit, actionable guidance for evaluating and improving students’ handwriting. Educators do not receive guidance on how to assess position, grip, and strokes, or how to use those observations to provide clear feedback that corrects misconceptions and supports practice. Although the materials include prompts to guide letter formation, they do not provide concrete directions, recommendations, or scripted language that educators can use during lessons to deliver intentional, effective feedback.