What’s a graded reader and why should I use it?

Graded readers are books written for foreign language learners. They can encompass any
genre and they are sometimes a simplified version of an existing book. Graded readers can
be adapted to different levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced.

Extensive reading is the concept behind graded readers. Learners read large quantities of
texts, and they do so for pleasure. They should be able to read quickly and without relying
on a dictionary. The idea is that they can read as easily and enjoyably as they can in their
mother tongue. Extensive reading promotes fluency, reinforces vocabulary and teaches new
words in context. It has nothing to do with decoding a text, and it isn’t meant to replicate
comprehensive reading in a muggy classroom on a long and hot afternoon!

Extensive reading is fun!

In order to ensure that the extensive reading process remains fun, I’ve suggested some
activities. You can use these with single learners, or with a class full of students (so long as
everyone is reading the same book)!

Activities before reading

Contrary to popular belief, you can judge a book by its cover (well, at the very least, you
can make a guess as to its contents). Ask your learners to describe what they think the book
is about, based on the cover. Then, make them vote on what they think is the most likely
story they’ll read inside. Based on the winning story, divide the class into groups and ask
them to come up with an ending. Ask them to present to the rest of the class.

You can also give your students information on a particular character. Ask them to walk
around the classroom and talk about their character to the other learners. Encourage your
students to add some strange information – the stranger the better – to their character
descriptions. Then, get them to write down everything that they have learnt from each
other. Finally, get them to vote on what they think to be true or false. Whilst reading the
book, get them to check for the truth.

Activities whilst reading

Once learners have started the book and have some idea of the plot and who the characters
are, they can use this knowledge to their advantage.

Provide learners with a list of personality traits for each horoscope sign and ask them to
attribute a sign to each character and to justify their answers. They can work in groups or
discuss ideas as a class. You could even create a quiz called “Who?”. The learners must
decide which character would behave in a certain way or say a particular sentence. For
higher level classes, learners can create their own quizzes.
You could also ask learners to create alternative endings to chapters that they have read.
Get them to present this to the class. Ideas can be serious, weird or comical – it’s their
ending and their choice! There are no right or wrong answers.

Activities after reading

Ask your learners to draw posters or cartoon strips of the story. They can either orally
describe what is happening in their poster, or they can draw speech bubbles in their cartoon
strip that show the characters speaking.

Mini plays are also useful for checking how much a learner has understood of the
story. Divide the class into groups and ask each group to act out a chapter.
Allocate the task in front of the other groups, and don’t give any advance warning
(this will help you to see who has fully understood the contents of the graded
reader).

Lastly, you can make flashcards with the titles of each chapter, or with a sentence
describing the main idea in a chapter. Get your learners to put them into the correct order.
Encourage your learners to swap their flashcards with each other.

Playing is to children what extensive reading should be to language learners: fun, whilst
learning stuff along the way! So, make sure to give these activities a go and let us know
how you get on!

https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2017/08/14/activities-for-graded-readers-and-
extensive-reading-in-the-efl-classroom/
Extensive reading, or graded reading, is an important reading component for learners of
additional languages. It allows for them to read a variety of genres, read large amounts of
simple text within their current reading ability and for them (as opposed to the teacher) to
choose their own material (Waring, 2000). The latter is important because encouraging
learner autonomy through giving students the opportunity to select their own learning
(reading) materials assigns students an active role in their learning process (Ellis & Sinclair,
1989). However, choosing books can be daunting and students may often feel overwhelmed
by the choices they are faced with. Furthermore, it is not always apparent how learners
independently approach the task. The purpose of this report is to draw upon some
preliminary research investigating how students select learning materials in order to help
them to do so more efficiently.

Literature Review

Extensive reading is beneficial for learners since it allows them to meet language in a
natural context, helps them to develop reading fluency and speed, assists with vocabulary
attainment and has been shown to increase learner motivation and enjoyment of reading
(ERF, 2011). Furthermore, Day and Bamford (2002) state that by allowing learners to
select materials that they want to read at their own ability level and that is of interest to
them, learners are able to also increase their reading confidence. However, Waring (2000)
states that in order for reading fluency and confidence to develop, learners need to read at
or below their comfort level. Since selecting material may prove to be a daunting task, Day
and Bamford (2004) recommend that learners use books or magazines that have been
specifically written for language learners at different ability levels. Graded readers are
therefore a suitable choice for language learners. Thus, extensive reading is often referred
to as graded reading (Waring, 2000).

According to the ERF (Extensive Reading Foundation), students are best at judging their
own comfort zone with respect to their level (2011). In fact, in literature showing how
graded readers have been implemented into university level reading/writing courses in
Japan, studies have often focused on the need for learners to make autonomous choices
(Cheetham, Elliot, Harper, & Sato, 2017; Harrold, 2013; O’Loughlin, 2012). Harrold’s
(2013) study indicated that when students self-selected books, they tended to enjoy them
more than the class sets that had previously been assigned by their classroom teachers.
However, even after being given an orientation to graded readers, when given the power to
choose, it remains unclear how learners make decisions when they self-select books or how
they make subsequent choices. This appears to be an important area to investigate.

https://sisaljournal.org/archives/sep2017/barr_lyon/
Using Graded Readers with Young Learners: Choosing a Reader
4 April 2011 by Oxford University Press ELT 3 Comments

In his first guest post, David Dodgson, a teacher to young

learners in Ankara, Turkey, gives his advice on how choose a Graded Reader that is not
only suitable for young language learners, but will also motivate them to read more.

Stories are undoubtedly an important part of children’s literacy development. They offer a
rich source of vocabulary and familiarity with narrative structure. In the classroom, they
can also add colour to a lesson and provide motivation for kids to read more. However,
reading in a second language is a complex process, especially when dealing with young
learners, and the stories and books we use need to be carefully considered.

Before reading on, just take a moment to consider what criteria you or your school use for
choosing readers for primary aged learners (if you haven’t selected any storybooks for use
in class before, think about what those criteria might be). What is your main
consideration?

Ready? Good. Now, I may be wrong (let me know in the comments section if I am) but in
my experience, most teachers’ first thought will be “Is it at the right level for my
students?” and by the ‘level’, they usually mean the language level. An analysis of the
grammatical structures in the book, the vocabulary and number of words will then follow.
Increasingly, the exam level the book is said to be suitable for is also a factor as schools
look to support children in preparation for tests such as Starters, Movers and Flyers.

But look at the above paragraph again and something seems to be missing, something
fundamental to any storybook. That’s right – the story! While the above considerations are
important, I can’t help but feel the content is often overlooked or a secondary factor. The
plot, the characters and the theme should all be relevant to and engaging for the age group.
If they enjoy the story and like the characters, they are much more likely to be motivated to
read.

Another important factor is the age of the learners. There is little point in introducing a
lengthy story in a foreign language to very young children who are still struggling to read in
their L1. This may sound paradoxical, but authentic picture books can be best for this age
group as the stories are straightforward with repetitive language and detailed pictures
offering rich context. If read aloud by the teacher, the storytelling experience can be a great
way to engage young children in the target language (see Carol Read’s excellent S is for
Storytelling post for more on this). Older children – Cameron (2001) suggests from about
10 years of age – are better suited to larger texts and this is where graded readers can play a
role. The right reader offers a way for them to read longer stories without being bogged
down by overly-complex language.

The grammar and vocabulary content of the books should be a lesser consideration when
selecting a reader. Of course, too much unknown language can put off budding readers but
we need to avoid the trap of over-simplification as well. The readers used should be a little
above the students’ level and push them to learn more. After all, as I said at the start of this
post, stories are a rich source of new vocabulary for children and as long as the new words
are supported by clear illustrations and context, they won’t cause a problem. Stories should
also offer a chance to introduce narrative tenses and on this point I agree with Cameron
(ibid.) – using present tenses robs young learners of a chance to see past forms in natural
use. There is no reason that use of tenses not yet formally introduced would impair
understanding of a story, especially as past tenses for narration are a feature of the vast
majority of languages.

What are your criteria for choosing storybooks and readers? Do you place more importance
on the content or the suitability of the language? What’s your position on use of simplified
and narrative tenses? I invite you to join the discussion through the comments.

https://oupeltglobalblog.com/2011/04/04/using-graded-readers-with-young-learners-
choosing-a-reader/
Graded Readers
Why They Are Useful and How to Use Them in Class

I'm sure most would agree that where language learning is concerned, exposure is
vital.

However, what happens very often is that our students are only able to dedicate 2 – 3 hours
a week to taking lessons, some a bit more, others a bit less. So, how can we solve the
problem of exposure? Well, mostly through exercises outside the classroom because our
students can do them in their own time. Among the many, many options we can find to
increase exposure, graded readers are a great. There is no arguing why reading is important
to our students and since we do very little reading in class, it certainly becomes a great
option. After all, the short texts normally covered in class are not enough to really get them
reading. Graded readers are an amazing complement since as we all know they are short
versions of books that have been adapted to different levels or are short books written for
specific levels. There is great variety in options too, so that also keeps students motivated.
You want your students to enjoy what they are learning, right? One of the main issues our
students face is anxiety. This has a direct effect on motivation. Graded readers are an
incredible option to keep in mind when the objective is to provide greater exposure to the
second language and keep anxiety low.

9 Reasons Why Graded Readers Are an Awesome Tool

 They help increase exposure to the language students are learning and since graded
readers are accessible, it is something that is easy to do out of class, anytime and
anywhere. It is something they can do on their own which encourages students to become
independent in their learning and to develop good English reading habits.
 They make literature accessible and enjoyable. Students feel frustrated when using
authentic texts. Sometimes they are simply much too difficult. Texts like articles can be
frustrating and demotivating.
 Graded readers are amazing for vocabulary acquisition. They show vocabulary in clear
contexts which allows students to read extensively. Since there are glossaries and
vocabulary is limited, this keeps anxiety low.
 They are available in almost any ESL proficiency level and the vocabulary is controlled
and recycled. Grammar is controlled and limited to each level as well.
 They improve proficiency, general knowledge, enjoyment and reading skills. This boosts
confidence.
 Reading becomes faster and more fluent. When we read in our own language we read in
chunks. Graded readers simplify and recycle language which makes it easier for students
to understand the text.
 Better understanding of how language works. Graded readers allow students to
understand how language is constructed. They can recognize real examples of how
 sentences are combined to form paragraphs and how paragraphs are arranged to form
texts. By reading longer texts students will have the opportunity to see language as a way
to communicate ideas and opinions.
 Writing skills also improve. Many have noticed that extended reading activities tend to
lead to improvements in other skills such as writing. More so if reading is followed by
writing activities.

9 Great Ideas How to Use Graded Readers

While students are reading a book it is important for teachers to provide activities that are
useful. These activities are meant to ensure students understand what they are reading.
They are also meant to encourage students to think about key facts, events or characters as
well as to make predictions.

There are many suggestions for activities that can be used to work with graded readers.

 Retelling the story by using a sequence of simple sentences. They can make the
sentences themselves or you can provide them and they put them in order.
 If the book has illustrations you can photocopy them and mount them on cards. You
then ask each student to retell the story in their own words. You can also provide some
words to help them if needed.
 Choose one of the characters and have the students tell the story from that character's
point of view.
 Write a summary of the story but make sure it contains mistakes. Have them read
through it and find the mistakes and later they can rewrite it.
 Have students write descriptions of places and or characters in the book. For advanced
students they can analyze the characters' personalities and their role in the story.
 Ask them to change the ending of the story so that it's completely different from the
original.
 Take one or two characters out of the story and ask them if the story would change and
how it would do so.
 Use key vocabulary from the story to practice questions. You can ask them questions and
afterwards they can ask each other.
 Choose a different title. Have students make up another title for the story/book. Explain
that the new title should be coherent.

Graded readers are an incredible way to make students work toward improving
their skills.

The best part is that they do most of the work outside the classroom which means they are
always productive and on their feet. Remember, busy teachers are always on the look out
for amazing.

https://busyteacher.org/22331-graded-readers-how-to-use-in-class.html