Resources
Click on a story to preview it.
Resource Themes
- Social & Emotional
- Work
- Health & Wellbeing
- Everyday
Levels
Our stories are designed to accommodate different proficiency levels, ranging from pre-beginner to intermediate. Each story is told at five distinct levels, which are indicated in small font on both the front and back covers of the book. This discreet labeling ensures that learners feel comfortable and confident as they progress through the levels. We developed our unique proficiency levels using a range of Australian English as an Additional Language (EAL) Frameworks. To learn more about how our levels compare to these frameworks, simply click on the button below.
Levels Guide
Pre-Level 1
Text
- 40-70 words
- 1 sentence per page
-
Large 30pt font
Vocabulary
- High frequency vocabulary
- Limited use of adjectives
- Literal meaning only
Language
- Simple present tense
- Simple sentences S-V-O
- Noun-Pronoun references
- Limited use of adverbial phrases
- Capital letters and full stops
Level 1
Text
- 150-350 words
- 1 sentence per page
-
Large 28pt font
Vocabulary
- High frequency vocabulary
- Some simple adjectives used
- Literal meaning only
Language
- Simple present tense
- A range of simple sentences
- Noun-Pronoun references
- Dialogue
- Common negatives & contractions (can’t, don’t).
- Full stops, speech marks and occasional use of exclamation marks
Level 2
Text
- 400-700 words
- 2-3 sentences per page
- Large 20pt font
Vocabulary
- Mostly high frequency vocabulary
- Some simple adjectives (excited, stressed)
- Literal meaning only
Language
- Simple present tense, continuous and simple past tense
- Simple and compound sentences using common conjunctions
- Some adverbial phrases and common time markers
-
Dialogue using limited verbs (asks, says)
-
Full stops, commas, speech marks and exclamation marks
Level 3
Text
- 700-1000 words
- 4 sentences per page
- Medium 16pt font
Vocabulary
- Increased descriptive vocabulary (adjectives, adverbs)
- Mostly literal meaning with some inferencing
Language
- Simple past and some perfect tenses used.
- Simple, compound and some complex sentences using a range of conjunctions.
- A greater use of adverbial phrases and time markers
- Dialogue using varied verbs (explains, replies)
- A range of punctuation marks
Level 4
Text
- 1000-1500 words
- 5-6 sentences per page
- Small 14pt font
Vocabulary
- Lots of detail and description (similes, idioms, colloquialisms)
- Some inferencing required
Language
- A variety of verb tenses
- Simple, compound and complex sentences using a wide range of conjunctions.
- A range of extended adverbial phrases and time markers.
- Dialogue using varied verbs (explains, replies)
- A large range of punctuation marks
About the Writer
My name is Lauren Piovesan and I am an English as an Additional Language (EAL/D) teacher. I have worked with EAL/D students across primary, secondary and senior secondary schools in Australia. I worked predominantly with refugee background students who had beginner levels of literacy.
I have a passion for literacy and believe that is essential for students to read age appropriate, accessible reading texts at their level to ensure growth in reading and writing skills. Upon working in this field, I struggled to find quality EAL/D resources for an older cohort, especially when it came to reading material. I frequently found myself writing these texts from scratch late into the night and thinking, “There has to be a better way!” This is when ESL Reads was born.
I hope you find these resources useful, time saving and enriching for your classes.
Acknowledgements
I would like to sincerely thank and acknowledge the guidance, advice and support of the various EAL authors, EAL teachers and professionals, teacher’s aides and multi-cultural aides, volunteer supervisors, community members and of course, students, that I have had the pleasure of working with to create these resources. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences, and for your contributions to ESL Reads.