Choosing听the right graded听readers听for young learners听

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

Picking out the right graded readers听for your young learners听takes a little thought.听There are thousands and thousands of stories out there. Not only do you have to find the right level but also a听range of听books听that will keep them captivated听as they learn to read.

In this brief guide, I鈥檒l 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鈥檚 delve in.

First, what鈥檚 the difference between guided and independent reading?听

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鈥檚 path toward reading fluency.

Independent reading

Independent reading, on the other hand, is when students read silently to themselves. These students听are听already听reading听with some confidence. They can听decode common words and have a good handle on sight words.听Their reading speed is fluent enough to focus on the meaning of听the text.

Graded readers can help with leveling

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

Let鈥檚听take a look听at Disney Kids Readers as an example:听

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 more听complex.听听

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 鈥渉eadwords.鈥澨

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

Of course, it鈥檚 difficult to write an engaging story for children using only headwords. So, the readers also include a few low-frequency, high-interest words, like 鈥渓antern鈥 or 鈥渢ower.鈥 These words then go in a Picture Dictionary or Glossary at the back of the book to support student understanding.听

From Level 3, Disney Tangled,听Picture Dictionary听p.听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 can听use the听Disney Kids Readers鈥櫶齋cope and Sequence听to see which language structures are covered at each level.

Lexile庐 measure

Every Disney Kids Reader is assigned a Lexile庐 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庐 measure. This gives teachers and parents a way to compare these readers against any other book with a Lexile庐 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. 听

Global Scale of English

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

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

Each reader includes a handy chart on the back cover.听

C听is听for听鈥渃omfortable鈥

Independent reading: Reading the text should be easy鈥攚ith almost every word familiar to the student. In this way, they can focus on enjoying and understanding what they鈥檙e reading.听, 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鈥檙e learning, such as using context to understand words, language structures, letter-sound relationships, and reading comprehension.听

Tips for working out the comfort level:听

  • Make an estimate of a child鈥檚 reading level based on what you already know about their听abilities, and听use the tools available to you in the graded reader. Then start at the level below that. It鈥檚 safer to start low and go up, than the other way around.听
  • 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 are听hitting a target of about 90% accuracy.

E is for 鈥渆njoyable鈥

We want听reading to be听enjoyable听for听our young learners.听If they are听given听books听that they can understand and that they听find interesting,听there鈥檚听a听much听better听chance听that they鈥檒l develop听a love of reading.

Tips听for听making reading enjoyable:

  • Never听refer to reading听books听as听鈥渉omework鈥澨
  • Let children pick books that interest them once they know their reading level
  • Include听a range of fiction and non-fiction听reading material听in the library
  • Encourage听children听to read all kinds of material: poetry,听graphic听novels,听articles,听plays,听profiles, in addition to stories.听

Whether you鈥檙e a听seasoned school owner, teacher, or parent,听you can use听these听tips听to get your children reading with confidence听and听developing听a love of reading to last a lifetime.听What could be better than that?

Visit our young learners听Readers page听for more information

References

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

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