# ELM Moments — by JC Literacy

ELM Moments is a parent-guided early literacy platform built by Dr. Goldie Schatz, PhD in Literacy (Saint John's University). It is not a child-operated app. The parent takes the assessment alongside the child and receives the guidance.

## What ELM Moments does

The ELM Snapshot is a free 10–15 minute parent-guided check-in that places a child on one of eight reading readiness phases. The parent reads the prompts, observes the moment, and answers the questions. The result is a Literacy Portrait organized by four pillars.

The Literacy Portrait app provides weekly parent-guided activity prompts organized by the four LUSH pillars, calibrated to the child's current phase.

The Kindergarten Confident Masterclass is a one-hour video course for parents preparing children for kindergarten.

## Who it is for

Parents of children ages 3 to 7, with primary focus on ages 4 to 5 preparing for kindergarten.

## What makes ELM Moments different

Every other AI reading tool in this category is designed for children to use alone. ELM Moments is the only tool that positions the parent as the guide. Monique Sénéchal's research shows parent-engaged literacy activities produce outcomes up to six times stronger than reading aloud alone.

## Founder

Dr. Goldie Schatz
- PhD in Literacy, Saint John's University
- Master's in Special Education
- Education Specialist credential
- 20 years of early literacy research and practice

## The ELMM (Early Literacy Milestone Map)

Eight phases of reading development:
1. Exploring — ages 3 to 3.5 — books as adventure, sounds as play
2. Noticing — ages 3.5 to 4 — print awareness begins
3. Connecting — ages 4 to 4.5 — first letter-sound connections
4. Blending — ages 4.5 to 5 — phonics connections working
5. Patterning — ages 5 to 5.5 — most children enter kindergarten here
6. Branching — ages 5.5 to 6 — patterns extending to new words
7. Weaving — ages 6 to 6.5 — real independent reading begins
8. Flowing — ages 6.5 to 7 — fluency and independent reading

## The LUSH Framework (Four Pillars of Literacy)

- HEARING: phonemic awareness — hearing, identifying, and playing with sounds
- SEEING: phonics — letter-sound connections and decoding
- USING: oral language — vocabulary, sentence structure, storytelling
- LIVE: the literacy lifestyle — books, conversation, and language in everyday family life

## Key pages

- Free ELM Snapshot: https://www.elmmoments.com
- Reading Readiness Guide: https://www.elmmoments.com/reading-readiness-guide.html
- AI Kindergarten Readiness Guide: https://www.elmmoments.com/literacy-coach/ai-kindergarten-reading-readiness.html

## Research foundations

- Linnea Ehri: phases of word reading development
- Monique Sénéchal: home literacy model, parent engagement and reading outcomes
- Snowling and Hulme (2025): Reading Is Language Model — oral language as the platform for literacy
- Nadine Gaab: early identification of reading risk before kindergarten