Choosingthe right gradedreadersfor young learners

Rachel Wilson
A child and a adult reading a book together in a library
Reading time: 4.5 minutes

Picking out the right graded readersfor your young learnerstakes a little thought.There are thousands and thousands of stories out there. Not only do you have to find the right level but also arange ofbooksthat will keep them captivatedas they learn to read.

In this brief guide, I’ll be helping you to choose the right Disney Kids Readers for your students, so they can participate in guided and independent reading in class and at home.

Let’s delve in.

First, what’s the difference between guided and independent reading?

Guided reading

In class, students typically read aloud in a small group with a teacher. The teacher supports the children as they decode the words, navigate elements of pronunciation, and make sense of the meaning. At home, a child reads aloud to a parent or caregiver. This is a terrific way to involve parents in a child’s path toward reading fluency.

Independent reading

Independent reading, on the other hand, is when students read silently to themselves. These studentsarealreadyreadingwith some confidence. They candecode common words and have a good handle on sight words.Their reading speed is fluent enough to focus on the meaning ofthe text.

Graded readers can help with leveling

So, how do you know which reader to choose for your students? Well, graded readers are already organizedby level. They also often provide metrics to help teachers make informed decisions about what reading level a child is at.

Let’stake a lookat Disney Kids Readers as an example:

Age and level-appropriate stories

Disney Kids Readers have six levels. The number of words per page and the number of pages per story are consistent in each level.

For example, Level 3 stories have up to 40 words per page and 20 pages per story. As a child moves up through the reading levels, the books become longer and morecomplex.

Word lists

To write the stories, authors use lists of common, high-frequency words. Level 1, for example, has a word list of 200 words. Level 6 has a word list of 1,200 words. These are called “headwords.”

In this way, the vocabulary load is manageable for learners. Even better, learnerscome into contact withthe same words again and again throughout the readers, which builds their vocabulary.

Of course, it’s difficult to write an engaging story for children using only headwords. So, the readers also include a few low-frequency, high-interest words, like “lantern” or “tower.” These words then go in a Picture Dictionary or Glossary at the back of the book to support student understanding.

From Level 3, Disney Tangled,Picture Dictionaryp.23

Grammar syllabus

The authors write using a grammar syllabus for each level. For example, regular past simple is introduced in Level 3 readers, around the same time that students are learning this verb tense in their general English lessons. As children read, they see examples of the regular past simple within the stories.

Teachers canuse theDisney Kids Readers’Scope and Sequenceto see which language structures are covered at each level.

Lexile® measure

Every Disney Kids Reader is assigned a Lexile® measure. This is a global standard for measuring text complexity. Generally, longer sentences and more low-frequency words in a text lead to a higher Lexile® measure. This gives teachers and parents a way to compare these readers against any other book with a Lexile® measure.

It also means that you can arrange the graded readers from the lowest to the highest score. You can be confident that the readers you choose are gradually becoming more complex as your young learners become more skilled at reading.

Global Scale of English

TheGlobal Scale of English(GSE) is a standardized, granular scale from 10 to 90 that measures English language proficiency. It’s aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Every level of Disney Kids Readers sits within a band on the GSE. For example, the range for Level 1 is 16–27, while Level 6 is 36–48. If you know the GSE or CEFR level of your students’ general English coursebook, you can match the graded readers to the same level.

Each reader includes a handy chart on the back cover.

Cisfor“comfortable”

Independent reading: Reading the text should be easy—with almost every word familiar to the student. In this way, they can focus on enjoying and understanding what they’re reading., a leading expert on teaching and learning vocabulary, suggests that two new words for every 100 words is the right fit for comfortable, independent reading.

Guided reading: Reading the text should help the student practice the reading skills they’re learning, such as using context to understand words, language structures, letter-sound relationships, and reading comprehension.

Tips for working out the comfort level:

  • Make an estimate of a child’s reading level based on what you already know about theirabilities, anduse the tools available to you in the graded reader. Then start at the level below that. It’s safer to start low and go up, than the other way around.
  • Have the child read a passage out loud to you from a book at this level. Aim for them to read about 100 words. As they read, make a note of the number of errors they make so that you can get a rough idea of whether they arehitting a target of about 90% accuracy.

E is for “enjoyable”

We wantreading to beenjoyableforour young learners.If they aregivenbooksthat they can understand and that theyfind interesting,there’samuchbetterchancethat they’ll developa love of reading.

Tipsformaking reading enjoyable:

  • Neverrefer to readingbooksas“homework”
  • Let children pick books that interest them once they know their reading level
  • Includea range of fiction and non-fictionreading materialin the library
  • Encouragechildrento read all kinds of material: poetry,graphicnovels,articles,plays,profiles, in addition to stories.

Whether you’re aseasoned school owner, teacher, or parent,you can usethesetipsto get your children reading with confidenceanddevelopinga love of reading to last a lifetime.What could be better than that?

Visit our young learnersReaders pagefor more information

References

Extensive Reading and Vocabulary Learning, Paul Nation, Victoria University of Wellington, YouTube, 2020

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  • A Parent reading to his two children from a book with all three of them laying on the floor

    How can teachers encourage parents to get kids reading at home?

    By Donatella Fitzgerald MBE

    “Sharing a story with your child is one of the most incredible things you can do for them.” – .

    Research shows that getting kids reading at home can increase their reading ability at school – and improve their overall well-being. Parents and guardians can make a big difference. But how can teachers encourage parents to get their children to read more at home? We explore some strategies you can use.

    Tell parents about the benefits

    Reading can give children a break from technology-centered activities. It can help them to relax and unwind; reading a book can make children laugh and feel happier! Through hearing stories, children are also exposed to a rich and broad vocabulary.

    “It is important for teachers to establish contact with parents as much as possible and give very clear guidelines on the benefits of reading, and how they can create a reading routine and help their children read at home,” says Kasia Janitz-De La Rue, Product Development Director at app.

    So, encourage parents to find time for a reading routine. Just before bedtime is a great time, as .

    Give parents practical ideas for reading strategies

    Encourage parents to read with and not to their child. It doesn’t matter how long they set aside to read – just 10 minutes of quality reading time can make a big difference.

    Here are a few tips concrete reading tips for teachers to share with parents:

    • Ask children lots of questions while reading.
    • Use encouragement and praise to keep children engaged. Saying things like “what fantastic ideas” or “you thought so carefully about that, what might happen now?"will keep their minds working.
    • Use their past experiences to talk about what’s being read. Things like “have you learnt about…at school?” or “do you remember when we watched…and found out about…?” are good conversation starters.
    • Tune in and listen to children, and be curious about their interests. “I didn’t know you knew so much about…” or “I love reading stories about…with you,” are good phrases to keep in mind.

    It’s also a great idea to share online resources with parents. You can also suggest that parents look up read-aloud YouTube videos featuring authors, teachers or librarians reading their favorite stories. This way, children can watch and listen as often as they like.

    Recommend graded readers

    Graded readers are books that use language in line with a child‘s learning level. They can help children build confidence, and help slowly expose them to authentic reading levels.

    Encourage parents to identify what genre their child is interested in and show them the readers available. Each time parents see their children move up a level, they’re sure to see their children’s love for reading grow.

    Suggest before, during, and after reading activities

    Before reading

    Parents can take turns with their children to predict what the story is about – or what will happen next. Here is an activity teachers may suggest they try:

    “Start with the cover of the book and the blurb on the back cover. Reveal the cover slowly to ask the child what they can see. Ask them to guess what is on the cover. Once they have seen the cover, ask them questions about the images on the cover – who, what, why, where and how?”

    While reading

    Remind parents to focus on their children’s reading comprehension by using strategies like prediction, questioning, clarifying, and summarising. Teachers can ask parents to:

    • check ideas and understanding as the child reads: ‘So, you think that….’ ‘Did you expect…to happen?’ ‘Why do you think that happened?’
    • use the pictures in the book to help with comprehension
    • describe what is happening and talk about the characters.

    After reading

    Don’t forget: parents can continue to explore the book’s topic once reading time is done! A few ideas to share with parents include:

    • organising a puppet show for family members and siblings after making puppets of the characters in the book
    • having children draw a picture of their favorite character or their favorite page in the story
    • encouraging children to express their opinion on the book.