Graded readers for young learners

Teachers keep looking for extra language practice for their students: additional exercises, videos, cartoons, songs, etc. We always want to add variety to our lessons and extend students’ language practice outside the classroom. Graded readers are another option to do that. In this article, I’ll cover some of the graded readers for pre-primary and primary students.

Oxford University Press

You can choose readers according to your students’ age, level, Oxford coursebook or even international exams. For Pre-Primary and Primary students, available readers are from Pre-A1 to B1 levels. There are 4 types of readers.

1. Reading Stars

Level: Pre-A1.
These are fiction series with well-known Dora the Explorer, Blaze and the Monster Machines, and Team Umizoomi. There are 3 levels. The readers include:

• storybooks with a picture dictionary and follow-up activities.
• phonics storybooks with a story, picture dictionary and activities.

You can also download audio files, Teacher’s Guide and photocopiable resources, Parent’s Guide and Videos with guidance.

2. Dolphin Readers

Level: A1-A2.
These are fiction and non-fiction cross-curricular stories. The topics are “Grammar”, “Living together”, “The world around us”, “Science and Nature”. There are 5 levels. The readers include:

• audio
• picture dictionary

3. Classic Tales

Level: A1-B1.
These are fiction stories. There are 5 levels. The readers include:

• picture dictionary
• glossary
• Activity Book and Play for every story
• reading, writing and drama activities
• free teaching resources (Teacher’s Handbook, photocopiable worksheets, answer keys)
• audio

4. Oxford Read and Discover & Oxford Read and Imagine

Level: Pre-A1-B1.
These are fiction and non-fiction stories. Stories are connected with non-fiction readers. These readers are good to use if students are going to take international exams. Oxford Read and Discover can be also used for CLIL lessons as it covers 3 curriculum subjects: “The World of Science and Technology”, “The World of Arts and Social Studies”, “The Natural World”. There are 5 levels.

The readers include:

• picture dictionary
• glossary
• projects
• activities to prepare for Cambridge Young Learners tests
• audio
• animated e-books
• Teacher’s handbook and answer keys for Oxford Read and Imagine and for Oxford Read and Discover

Macmillan

Macmillan has several Graded Readers series. They correlate to CEFR levels Pre-A1 to B1+. On the website, you can find extra resources: audio, worksheets, answer keys, teacher’s notes, drama activities, tips and hints for parents. In this booklet, you can find lots of useful information about:

• what graded readers are
• why use them
• how to choose
• how to use
• stages and steps
• phonics
• grading and assessing

1. Macmillan Children’s Readers

These are fiction and non-fiction stories for 6- to 12-year-olds. There are 6 levels. These stories reinforce simple grammar structures and vocabulary. There are 3 types of stories: fun stories, cultural stories, a mix of non-fiction and fiction stories. The readers are mapped to young learners courses.

2. Macmillan English Explorers

These readers are for children aged between 4 and 12. There are 8 levels. The series is supported by a four-level Phonics scheme — Macmillan Explorers Phonics. The mapping scheme is here.

3. Macmillan Factual Readers.

These are stories on various real-world topics. There are 6 levels. The books include glossaries, audios, worksheets. You can find the mapping here.

Pearson

In Pearson English Kids Readers and Story Readers series you can also choose books by CEFR level, age, genre, English type. Pearson Readers has 7 levels that correlate to CEFR Levels from A1 to C1. All the books include free Teacher’s Resources and Audio.

Cambridge Univesity Press

Cambridge Young Readers are non-fiction science readers. They consist of 3 Levels. The topics are: Life science, Physical science, Earth and space science. The language is graded so students learn simple grammar structures and build their vocabulary. The books include:

• quiz sections
• glossary