FREE Attitudes to Reading and Writing Informal Assessment

Discover how your pupils really feel about reading and writing in just minutes! This no-prep, differentiated informal assessment gives you a quick snapshot of pupil attitudes, self-confidence, and mindset toward literacy.

Whether you’re conducting beginning-of-year baseline assessments, preparing for parents’ evenings, or checking in mid-year, this low-stress tool helps you tailor instruction to fit every learner’s needs.

Why Teachers Love This Resource:

Zero Prep: Just print and go!
Fully Differentiated: Includes 4 distinct levels so every pupil from Reception to Year 3 can participate comfortably.
Low-Stress & Engaging: Uses friendly, visual “apple emoji” scales so even non-readers or anxious writers can express themselves honestly without feeling overwhelmed.
Ink-Saving Options: Every page comes in both vibrant color and clean greyscale for flexible printing.

What’s Included in This Free Download:

This 14-page PDF pack includes 4 differentiated levels (available in both Color & Greyscale):

Level 1 (Pictures Only): Simple smile/neutral/frown apple rating scale—perfect for Reception, emerging readers, or EAL pupils.
Level 2 (Pictures + Text Labels): Rated choices (“I love it,” “I’m ok with it,” “I don’t like it,” “I really don’t like it”) paired with visual prompts.
Level 3 (Targeted Checkboxes): Specific “YES / SOMETIMES / NO” questions about decoding, comprehension, spelling, and writing enjoyment.
Level 4 (Open-Ended Written Response): Short-answer essay prompts for older or more advanced writers to share their thoughts, worries, and hobbies.

Perfect For:

Beginning-of-Year (BOY) Literacy Audits
Pupil Goal-Setting & Mindset Checks
Parent Evening Information
Special Education & Intervention Baseline Tracking
Tutoring & Homeschooling Check-Ins

Looking for More Science of Reading-Aligned Phonics Tools?

Check out these top picks from the Pen + Paper Phonics shop to help your students master tricky phonics rules:

B/D Reversals Toolkit – Multi-sensory prompts, visual cues, handwriting activities, and stories to stop letter reversals fast!
Literacy Centres Bundle - Fully planned Literacy centres aligned to the Letters and Sounds Program.

Visit our full shop for more low-prep phonics games, decodable passages, and hands-on literacy centers!

Terms of Use: This download is for single-classroom or personal family use only. Please do not share the digital file directly; instead, share the link to this listing so fellow educators can download their own free copy!

Don’t forget to leave feedback! I’d love to hear how this assessment helped your students!