reading task level b1

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How to Check the Reading Level of a Book

The reading level of a book is one way parents and teacher can gauge whether a child can read a particular book independently. There are several ways to calculate reading levels. These programs take into account factors like vocabulary and sentence length to assign a reading level to a book.

Accelerated Reader Bookfinder

Accelerated Reader is a program designed to support students during independent reading. Students choose books within a suggested range of reading levels. After reading the book, they take a comprehension test and earn points for each completed book. Teachers and parents can use the points to create a reward system that encourages independent reading.

Each book in the AR program has an assigned reading level. For example, a book with an AR level of 5.7 should be suitable for a student in the seventh month of fifth grade. To find the AR reading level of a book, parents, teachers and students can search for a book’s title, author’s name or topic in the Accelerated Reader Bookfinder database on the program’s website.

Five Finger Rule

Sometimes finding the reading level of a book is challenging. If you cannot find a specific book in one of the known reading level databases, you can use the Five Finger Rule. Students read a page of the book and count the number of words on the page they don’t know. If they find more than five unfamiliar words, the text may be too complex for the student to read independently.

Fry Readability Graph

If you want to find the reading level of a non-fiction book, you can use the Fry Readability Graph. Choose a 100-word section of the book and count the number of sentences and the number of syllables in the section. You can determine the approximate reading level by comparing these numbers on a graph.

The Lexile Framework for Reading is a popular tool used in schools to measure students’ reading progress. Students take an assessment to determine their Lexile levels. They can then use the Find a Book feature on the company’s website to find books that suit their Lexile levels. The database lets them search for books that are easy to read, just right to read or difficult to read.

Scholastic Book Wizard

Scholastic’s Book Wizard lets students sort books by reading levels from different systems, such as Guided Reading, DRA, Lexile and grade level equivalent. Students can search for books with a reading level that corresponds to their grade level. This is a useful tool for teachers, parents and students who want to purchase books. The Book Wizard also gives them the option to search for books using the title, author or keyword so they can find the book’s grade level.

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Are you a learner at B1 English level (intermediate) ? This section offers reading practice to help you understand texts with everyday or job-related language. Texts include articles, travel guides, emails, adverts and reviews.

Each lesson has a preparation task, a reading text and two tasks to check your understanding and to practise a variety of reading skills. Make a start today.

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A conference programme

Read the programme for a management conference to practise and improve your reading skills.

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A flyer for a gym

Read a flyer promoting a new gym to practise and improve your reading skills.

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A travel guide

Read a travel guide about Bangkok to practise and improve your reading skills.

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An email request for help

Read an email asking for help from another department to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Digital habits across generations

Read an article about how people at different ages use computers and smartphones to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Encyclopedia entry

Read an encyclopedia entry on the Taj Mahal to practise and improve your reading skills.

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How to spot fake news

Read some tips for spotting fake news to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Innovation in business

Read a blog post about being innovative in business to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Planning an event

Read a dialogue where three people negotiate who does what to achieve a task.

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Robot teachers

Read an article about robot teachers to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Social media influencers

Read a blogpost about the impact of social media influencers in the business world to practise and improve your reading skills. 

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The legend of fairies

Read a text about the legend of fairies to practise and improve your reading skills.

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The Martian: a book review

Read a review of the book 'The Martian' to practise and improve your reading skills.

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Learn to read English with confidence

Our online English classes feature lots of useful learning materials and activities to help you develop your reading skills with confidence in a safe and inclusive learning environment.

Practise reading with your classmates in live group classes, get reading support from a personal tutor in one-to-one lessons or practise reading by yourself at your own speed with a self-study course.

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Are you an intermediate (CEFR level B1) learner of English? Practise and improve your reading skills with these texts and exercises.

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Adventure travel

Check out this brochure with some of the most exciting adventure holidays around the world and improve your reading skills. Are you ready for this?

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An Olympic blog

Imagine you're looking for information online about the Olympic Games and you find this very old blog post from 2012! Check out this blogger's memories of the 2012 London Olympics.

Food and restaurants

Do you like eating out? Check out these reviews of the trendiest places to eat and improve your reading skills.

Foreign exchange emails

Look at these emails between a student and his friend who is studying in Scotland, then do the exercises to improve your reading skills.

Friendship quiz

Are you really a good friend? Would you always be there when your friends need you? Try this quiz to find out!

How to be a safe and smart searcher

Can you always find what you want to find on the internet? These eight easy-to-remember tips will help you to become a safe and smart searcher!

Interview with Henry Smiles

Check out this interview with Henry Smiles from Two Direction and complete the tasks to practise and improve your reading skills.

Job adverts

Do you need some cash? Are you looking for work? Well, look at these job adverts and do the exercises to improve your reading skills.

Do you like spending time with your mates? How do you organise a night out? Look at the phone chat and do the exercises to improve your reading skills.

Skills for the 21st-century workplace

Have you got the skills you need for the 21st-century workplace? Read about what employers are looking for and test yourself to see if you are prepared!

The noticeboard

What's going on in your local area? Look at the different notices on the noticeboard and do the exercises to practise and improve your reading skills.

Tips for being a super-organised student

Are you a super-organised student? How do you make sure you get your homework in on time? Read the blog post and tips to see if you agree with them.

Travel guide

Look at this guide for tourists visiting California, then do the exercises to improve your reading skills.

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Learn Vocabulary

Learn English Vocabulary Through Pictures with 150 Topics

Vocabulary Exercises A1

English Vocabulary Exercises for A1 with Answers.

Vocabulary Exercises A2

English Vocabulary Exercises for A2 with Answers.

Vocabulary Exercises B1

English Vocabulary Exercises for B1 with Answers.

Vocabulary Exercises B2

English Vocabulary Exercises for B2 with Answers.

FULL Grammar Exercises

FULL English Grammar Exercises with Answers

Verbs and Tenses Exercises

English Verbs and Tenses Exercises with Answers and Explanations

Grammar Exercises A1

English Grammar Exercises for A1 with Answers

Grammar Exercises A2

English Grammar Exercises for A2 with Answers

Grammar Exercises B1

English Grammar Exercises for B1 with Answers

Grammar Exercises B2

English Grammar Exercises for B2 with Answers

Listening Exercises A1

English Listening Exercises for A1 with Answers

Listening Exercises A2

English Listening Exercises for A2 with Answers

Listening Exercises B1

English Listening Exercises for B1 with Answers

Listening Exercises B2

English Listening Exercises for B2 with Answers

Listening Tests A1

Practice Listening Tests for A1 with Answers & Transcripts

Listening Tests A2

Practice Listening Tests for A2 with Answers & Transcripts

Listening Tests B1

Practice Listening Tests for B1 with Answers & Transcripts

Listening Tests B2

Practice Listening Tests for B2 with Answers & Transcripts

Word Skills Exercises A1

English Word Skills Exercises for A1 with Answers

Word Skills Exercises A2

English Word Skills Exercises for A2 with Answers

Word Skills Exercises B1

English Word Skills Exercises for B1 with Answers

Word Skills Exercises B2

English Word Skills Exercises for B2 with Answers

Reading Exercises A1

English Reading Exercises for A1 with Answers

Reading ExercisesC A2

English Reading Exercises for A2 with Answers

Reading Exercises B1

English Reading Exercises for B1 with Answers

Reading Exercises B2

English Reading Exercises for B2 with Answers

Speaking Exercises A1

English Speaking Exercises for A1 with Answers

Speaking Exercises A2

English Speaking Exercises for A2 with Answers

Speaking Exercises B1

English Speaking Exercises for B1 with Answers

Speaking Exercises B2

English Speaking Exercises for B2 with Answers

Writing Exercises A1

English Writing Exercises for A1 with Answers

Writing Exercises A2

English Writing Exercises for A2 with Answers

Writing Exercises B1

English Writing Exercises for B1 with Answers

Writing Exercises B2

English Writing Exercises for B2 with Answers

Practice KET Listening Tests with Answers & Audioscripts

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Practice FCE Listening Tests with Answer & Audioscripts

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With answers, generations.

I can understand a text about a famous family.

Leisure time

I can understand a text about a sports charity.

The human body

I can understand a text about teenagers and sleep.

I can understand an article about alternative houses.

I can understand a text about robot footballers.

High flyers

I can understand a text about a young entrepreneur.

I can understand a text about street art.

I can understand a text about social media texts.

I can understand texts about mistakes.

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Exam English ✓

• B1 Listening
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Free Practice Tests for learners of English

B1 is one of the CEFR levels described by the Council of Europe.

This page will help you practise for the PET and PTE exams

Job application Read a job application and answer questions about it

Education 1 Read about opportunities for students aged sixteen and answer some questions.

Education 2 Read about MOOCS (massive open online courses) and choose the correct location in the text to put the missing sentences.

Hotel reviews Read 4 reviews for a hotel. Which reviewer says the following? Choose ‘two reviewers’ when two reviewers agree, and ‘all reviewers’ if all reviewers agree.

Free time Make the Most of your Free Time. Choose the best title for each paragraph.

Holidays Read some real complaints that holidaymakers have made to holiday companies. Match the beginning to the end of each complaint.

Travel Read the text about travel to a hospital and answer the questions.

Health Read about the illness Norovirus. Choose the correct question for each paragraph.

Villages - True or False Read about some English villages and answer the questions.

Madagascar Read about the climate in Madagascar on a travel website. Then choose true or false.

B1 Reading topics

• Job application  
• Education 1  
• Education 2  
• Hotel reviews  
• Free time  
• Holidays  
• Travel  
• Health  
• Villages  
• Madagascar  
• Country kids  

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Reading Test - B1 level

Intermediate English reading

Linguapress.com.

• English grammar
• Advanced reading
• Intermediate reading
• Language games and puzzles

Reading texts for intermediate  English - CEF levels B1 and B2

1.  topics about life in britain, britain in general.

• NEW   Charles III, his coronation and the future   New  audio
• NEW   London Fashion - London is the world capital of fashion
• NEW   Remembering Queen Elizabeth - simple English   New  audio
• NEW   Britain's new king  With  audio - Queen Elizabeth II has died. God save the King.
• The Commonwealth .  After the United Nations, it is the world's largest grouping of nations ..
• Britain - a nation of cat-lovers  -  New  audio A touching story about an old lady and her cats: interactive
• The tradition of Christmas cards .  People have been sending Xmas cards in England since 1843.
• Christmas in England With  audio - Christmas is the biggest... and longest... festival in the year.
• Christmas shopping  For many people, it is the most important aspect of Christmas.
• Britain, that island   With  audio - Why did Britain vote for Brexit? Is Britain really so different ? Easy intermediate English
• Living in the Highlands. What is it like to live in the Highlands of Scotland, specially for young people?
• The wind farm controversy - Conservationists oppose plans to modernise a wind farm.
• Moving to the Country - With  audio   More and more people want to live the rural life, but....
• Leaving home - Leaving home is part of the teenage dream, particularly in Britain. But the dream is often a long way from reality.
• Black and British; an extended document .  A full Focus on minorities in Britain.
• No more Fish 'n' Chips?  a look at Britain's original fast food
• Scouting moves ahead . The scout movement is over 100 years old, and still going strong.
• English ghost stories   New  audio Fact or fiction?
• The Mother of Parliaments!  The English / British parliament is almost 1000 years old. 
• Cambridge new and old - The historic university city is the heart of Britain's "Silicon Fen".
• NEW   Polluting for pleasure ? - B1 - a dialogue in simple English
• Pollution - someone else's problem - a humorous dialogue on a serious subject.
• Dialogue: School uniforms  With  audio -  British school pupils discuss the pros and the cons
• Dialogue: Work  British school pupils talk about work
• Dialogue: Drugs  British school pupils discuss drugs – now less cool than they used to be
• Dialogue: Talking about "culture"  What is culture? And do teenagers get enough of it?
• Dialogue: Are you a brand slave? British teens discuss designer clothes
• Dialogue: Fast food, OK ?  With  audio - British teens discuss fast food. 
• NEW   Black taxis going green .  London's iconic black taxis are changing.
• My name is Bond .  An imaginary interview with James Bond.
• New Life for Big Ben.  With  audio . London's iconic clock is being renovated.
• Charlie Chaplin and the Little Tramp .  A classic story of "rags to riches".
• Sherlock Holmes is getting old  - The famous detective first appeared in 1887. - over 130 years ago.
• Music : the Beatles - Fifty years on, they are still among the best-selling groups in the world.
• Robin Hood - Fact or fiction ?  Did this popular hero really exist?
• The Loch Ness Monster - does it really exist?
•   Who is James Bond ?
•   The story of the BBC - Britain's main broadcaster is one of the most important in the world
•   The men who guard the Queen With  audio - who are the red-coated guards outside Buckingham Palace ?
• New Life for Big Ben.  With  audio .  London's iconic clock has been renovated.
•   London in the Sea ? - Britain's capital city is at serious risk from rising sea levels.
• The story of London - Britain's capital city, once the biggest city in the world, is over 2000 years old.
• Big red London buses  With  audio   -  the story of London's famous routemaster buses
• London : Madame Tussaud's -  Where you can be sure to see the celebrities every day
• London: the Lord Mayor's show .  One of the biggest free shows in the world.
• London: the Great River Race  London's other marathon
• Britain: sport cuts crime.  In Bristol, a new football league is making its mark
• Sport: The story of the Derby - With  audio - The oldest and most famous horse race in the world.
• Sport: The story of football and rugby - and how football came from England to Brazil.
• More resources coming

2. Topics with a North-American theme

• NEW    American Indians -  New  audio - Also known as Native Americans, they are the original inhabitants of the USA 
• Alcohol, Prohibition and Al Capone B1 level, a simple but interesting text with interactive worksheet.
• Profession : Cowboy New  audio   There are still cowboys working today in the American west
• George Washington  -  With  audio - the story of America's first president
• Hollywood & Superheroes    New  audio

• USA: Still looking for Gold  Out west, the gold rush is not yet over...
• USA: who was Buffalo Bill? With  audio - Remembering one of America's great folk heroes .
• USA: Team sports, American style  Why do the USA and Europe have different sports?
• Elvis - he's still the "King" and his home Graceland, in Memphis, is a major tourist attraction.
• The story of Silicon Valley  What is Silicon valley, where is it, and why ?
• The story of Coca-Cola.   New  audio  The name "Coca-Cola" is the best-known name in the whole world.
• The story of Blue Jeans. The world's most popular garment was first created in 1873
• Hollywood - its life and times A short story of Hollywood, in easy English.
• America's oil - a love affair Americans use a lot of energy; but the cost of oil is going up.
• USA: Winter sports USA  Americans love winter sports, because their winters are so cold
• USA: Close encounters with a Twister  -  A tornado strikes....
• Go West, young man! The phrase that built America  - With  audio
• Plastic pollution; how can we stop it? - With  audio

3. Other resources - short stories, technical English, songs, cartoons

•  Looking for the yeti .  Does this legendary creature really exist ?
•   Humour and jokes .  in easy English

Short stories - teenage fiction  ( ► see also short stories )

• NEW    Short story: Dr. Trelew's Encounter - (B1) a Victorian mystery with worksheet and  audio
• NEW    Short story: Dance Macabre  - (B1) a short story from the USA with worksheets and  audio
• NEW   Short story: Driftwood  - (B2) a short story from England with worksheet and  audio
• Short story: the Wimp .  Teenage fiction, in two parts, with worksheets and  audio
• Short Story - The Girl in the Denim Jacket , a story in two parts with worksheets and  audio
• Short Story - The Trap , a story in two parts
• Mystery : The Titanic and the Temple of Doom  Did this really happen ?
• Short story: the Box  - a short story in two parts with worksheets and  audio
• Short Story - One Foggy Night - teenage fiction -  a short story in two parts with worksheets and  audio
• Short Story - The path to High Crag , a story in two parts
• Song: I would if I could.  An English learning song; theme, modal verbs (+ audio )
• Song: the Titanic.   A popular folk song, with words (+  audio )

Technical subjects

• NEW   Storing electricity - the big challenge . The sun doesn't shine at night, and sometimes the wind stops blowing....
• NEW   Climate change: can we stop it ? -  Or are we heading for disaster? With  audio
• Polluting for pleasure ? -  a dialogue in simple English
•   Short text: The car of the future?  An easy text in semi-technical English.  With  audio
•   Will there be life after oil?  What will happen when the oil runs out ?  With  audio
•   Short text: Holidays in space  With  audio   An easy text in semi-technical English
•   The story of Silicon Valley  What is Silicon valley, where is it, and why ?
• Short text: Living without energy  A short text in semi-technical English
• The legendary Mini Cooper - Semi-technical English
• The story of the bicycle - semi technical English
•    Cartoon - MacBrain & MacBrawn 1 - Fiona McBelle -          MacBrain & MacBrawn - cartoon 2 : A Walk in the hills         MacBrain & MacBrawn - cartoon 3 : The Sales         MacBrain & MacBrawn - cartoon 4 : Wishful thinking          MacBrain & MacBrawn - cartoon 5 : The motorbike          MacBrain & MacBrawn - cartoon 6 : Another dinner date          MacBrain & MacBrawn - cartoon 7 : African safari ?          MacBrain & MacBrawn - cartoon 8 : A new job...          MacBrain & MacBrawn - cartoon 9 : Hang-gliding champion...    and more to come.

4.  Go to > Intermediate Puzzles and word games

English for a2 b1 and b2 levels. intermediate english reading resources .

Simplified English ?

Schools, teachers .

Intermediate Level Practice

• Vocabulary Skills
• Grammar Skills
• Writing Skills
• Speaking Skills
• Air Travel Exercises
• Animals and Pets
• British and American English
• Chinese New Year
• Computer Exercises
• Easter (A2 – B1 Levels)
• Entertainment
• Environment
• Environmental Issues
• Finance Exercises
• Food and Drink
• Leisure and Hobbies
• Money Exercises
• Phoning and Texting Exercises
• Places and Buildings
• Relationships
• Transport and Travel
• Work and Jobs
• Phrasal Verbs
• Past Simple
• Past Perfect
• Past Continuous
• Order of Adjectives
• Linking Adjectives
• Compound Nouns
• Adverbs of Frequency
• Email – Holiday in Thailand
• Article – The Countryside
• Letter – Most Important Time
• Short Story – The Angel
• Email – School Holidays
• Report – Eating out in Berlin
• Blog Post – A New Life in Japan
• Short Story – In Free Fall
• Email – New School
• Email – Holiday Plans
• Email – Subject Choices
• Speech – Course Introduction
• Article – Schools for Boys and Girls
• Email – Party Invitation
• Article – The Cardboard Bike
• Article – Work of Art
• News Report – Bank Robbery
• Article – Being Famous
• Email – Visiting a relative
• Email – Summer School
• Short Story – Talent Contest
• Short Story – Computer Problems
• Short Story – Art Competition
• Movie Review – Ted
• Email – Saving Energy
• Email – Favourite Film
• Book Review – The Call
• Email – Borrowing
• Email – Barbecue Invitation
• Report – Features of Glaciers
• Email – Computer Games
• Email – about University
• French words using [Ch]
• Crosswords Puzzles
• Word Searches
• Word Puzzles
• Air Travel Crossword
• Computer Crossword
• Crime Crossword
• Entertainment Crossword
• Financial Language Crossword
• Food Crossword
• Health Crossword
• Home Crossword
• Language Crossword
• Leisure Crossword
• Money Crossword
• Natural World Crossword
• Places Crossword
• Shopping Crossword
• Sports Crossword
• Technology Crossword
• Texting Crossword
• Time Crossword
• Transport Crossword
• Travel Crossword
• Work and Jobs Crossword
• Adjectives with -ing Word Search
• Art Word Search
• Bonfire Night Word Search
• Buildings Word Search
• Classical Music Word Search
• Countryside Word Search
• Drama Word Search
• Education Word Search
• Entertainment Word Search
• Fast Food Word Search
• Feelings Word Search
• Food and Drink Word Search
• Football Word Search
• Gambling Word Search
• Haunted House Word Search
• Health Word Search
• Home Word Search
• Internet Word Search
• Language Word Search
• Leisure Word Search
• Natural World Word Search
• Shopping Word Search
• Sports Facilities Word Search
• Sports Word Search
• Sushi Word Search
• Technology Word Search
• Time Word Search
• Town and City Word Search
• Travel Word Search
• Weather Word Search
• Work Word Search
• Clothes Word Puzzle
• Color Word Puzzle
• Communication Word Puzzle
• Easter Word Puzzle
• Education Word Puzzle
• Entertainment Word Puzzle
• Environment Word Puzzle
• Food Word Puzzle
• Health Word Puzzle
• Hobbies Word Puzzle
• Language Word Puzzle
• Medicine Word Puzzle
• Natural World Word Puzzle
• Technology Word Puzzle
• Time Word Puzzle
• Weather Word Puzzle
• Reading Part 1 & 2
• Reading Part 3 & 4
• Reading Part 5 & 6
• Writing Part 1
• Writing Part 2

Part 1 - Read five real-world notices, messages and other short texts for the main message.

• Notices and Messages How to Video
• Notices and Messages Set 1
• Notices and Messages Set 2
• Notices and Messages Set 3
• Notices and Messages Set 4
• Notices and Messages Set 5
• Notices and Messages Set 6
• Notices and Messages Set 7
• Notices and Messages Set 8

Part 2 - Match five descriptions of people to eight short texts on a particular topic, showing detailed comprehension.

• Films at the Cinema
• Summer Camps
• Trip to London

Part 3 - Read a longer text for detailed comprehension, gist, inference and global meaning, as well as writer’s attitude and opinion.

• Being Special
• Night Shift Work
• Procedures for Part 3
• Rock climbing
• The Zookeeper

Part 4 - Read a longer text from which five sentences have been removed. Show understanding of how a coherent and well-structured text is formed.

• Keep on Running
• Student Budget
• The Olympic Flame
• The Puzzle Maker

Part 5 - Read a shorter text and choose the correct vocabulary items to complete gaps.

• Book Recommendation
• Mountain Climbing
• Playing Computer Games
• Popular Website
• Saving a Tree
• Single or Mixed-gender Schools
• Work of Art

Part 6 - Read a shorter text and complete six gaps using one word for each gap.

• Hometown Changes
• Music Preferences
• New Year’s Day
• Party Invitation
• Special Bike
• Subject Choices
• The First Day of Spring
• The Oldest University in the World

Write about 100 words, answering the email and notes provided.

• Birthday Money
• Learning a language
• New Cooking Club

Write about 100 words, either an article or story.

• Being Healthy
• Festival in Thailand
• Learning and the Internet
• Music Lover
• Playing Games

Short Stories

• A Broken Train
• A Phone Call
• Surprised Teacher
• Weather Warning
• Woke up late
• Part 3 - Listening
• Part 4 - Listening

Part 3 - Gap-Filled Exercise

• Competition
• Shopping Centre Visit

Part 4 - Multiple Choice Exercise

• A Coach Trip
• Fashion Designer
• Talking about a Journey

The B1 Preliminary Speaking test has four parts and you take it together with another candidate. There are two examiners. One of the examiners talks to you and the other examiner listens.

• Kenza and Mohammed
• Roberto and Simone

We also provide free resources across the full range of levels to provide the tools to communicate in English well.

Starters | Beginner | Elementary  | Intermediate | Upper Intermediate | Advanced

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This website is no longer being updated. Please visit vic.gov.au/education for information about early childhood, primary and secondary school, or schools.vic.gov.au for resources to support school staff.

Level B1 Reading and Viewing

The student work samples on this page are also available to download:

• B1RV_ReadingActivitiesOnWhatsMyJob_1.docx
• B1RV_ReadingActivitiesOnWhatsMyJob_2.docx
• B1RV_ReadingOfSpecialLittleSeahorse.docx
• B1RV_SequencingTextEveryoneShouldLearnHowToSwim.docx

B1 Reading and Viewing proficiency levels and Achievement Standard

The students' performance in these tasks suggest that they are working within the range of Level B1 in Reading and Viewing. The assessing teacher will need to consider a range of student samples in order to determine whether each student is at the beginning of B1, consolidating B1 or at the B1 standard in Reading and Viewing.    

At beginning Level B1 students :    

• show interest in print and recognise some environmental print including their name, can recognise and name some letters
• show an interest in books and focus on illustrations
• demonstrate reading-like behaviour such as holding a book, sitting and looking at a book, turning pages and looking at pictures watch and listen as texts are read aloud to them but may not join in
• rely on peer or teacher support to complete structured activities.

At consolidating Level B1 students:   

• show beginning understanding of the sound–symbol relationships of English
• read some familiar words and phrases in context, and recognise, can name, and know the sounds some common letters and letter groups usually make
• focus on illustrations and other non-print features when reading
• retell a simple familiar story, and sequence a simple familiar process with sentences and pictures
• show early understanding that texts are written for a variety of purposes
• read a wide range of familiar, short, simple, repetitive, fictional and everyday texts, and complete simple, structured activities based on them
• recognise that meaning is carried by intonation, and they listen for key words and for repetition of words and phrases in texts read aloud
• use word lists and personal dictionaries to assist them to read new words.

At Level B1 Achievement Standard students:   

• read short familiar texts, based on simple language structures and features, common vocabulary and familiar contexts
• retell simply, predict likely outcomes, sequence ideas, and complete basic comprehension activities. These texts may be print or digital, including visual, multimodal and interactive.
• show understanding of the basic purposes of texts, and choose texts appropriately
• read and gather basic information from simple, accessible texts, with support
• combine their basic knowledge of English letter–sound relationships, their developing oral and sight vocabulary, their beginning knowledge of the conventions of text organisation, and their emerging knowledge of English grammar as they read
• use appropriate intonation and phrasing when reading aloud, showing an understanding of the text's meaning and the function of basic punctuation
• show a beginning understanding of the purposes of text organisational features such as headings, labels, diagrams and contents pages.

Informative text - Reading activities on What’s My Job? (1)

Student information.

The student is 11 and eight months old and has been in Australia for ten months. He is from Afghanistan and Dari is his home language. In Afghanistan, the student had three years of interrupted schooling and there was a gap of almost three years between his schooling in Afghanistan and his arrival in Australia. He has been attending an English language school for ten months in a Year 6 class.   

The class had been learning about different occupations and jobs. The students had learned the vocabulary and read a variety of texts about different people and their work. Students had also delivered oral presentations to the class about the work done by people in different occupations. There are three parts to this reading activity. The first is a shared class reading of a book which describes different occupations. As a class, the students then match flashcards with descriptions of various occupations with the title of the occupation in the second activity. Finally, the students independently match the names of the occupations with descriptions of the role. In this reading task the teacher is assessing how well the student recognizes and gains meaning from short texts to demonstrate his understanding of the texts. She is observing the extent to which the student uses sight vocabulary of familiar topic-related words to comprehend texts, as well as how successfully the student can read and understand sentences that use a basic subject-verb-object pattern. The teacher is specifically interested in how well the student can:   

• complete a simple task to demonstrate his comprehension of a text
• sequence and recreate a text that had been cut up
• use key words in understanding a text
• independently read sentences about different occupations related to his community
• read aloud in order to demonstrate his reading skills.

In the transcript, the words spoken by the student being assessed are in bold . The words spoken by other students and the teacher are in normal font.

0:06-2:06

Okay children, we looked at this book this morning, now we're going to look at it this afternoon and you're going to try to do some reading from it, okay? What's the title of this book please? Have a look. What's the title? Ali?   

"My Job."    

It does say 'My Job'. Well done Ali, yeah.     

"What's My Job?"    

Oh.    

"What's My Job?" No, what you said was fine Ali, but the whole title is "What's My Job?" And the author's name is down the bottom, and the author's name is Wendy Blaxland. So she wrote the story and the story is going to be about this. What's My Job?  Okay, now you two boys have to share, share. Shah, you have this one yourself. Did I hear 'thank you'?     

[together] Oh, thank you Miss.    

Oh, I should think so. Okay, don't forget to let Naita look on too please, alright? Alright, let's turn into the first page.  Have a look at this Shah, this one here. Shah? This one. What can you see in the picture? What do you think this man up the top is with his white hat and his white coat on? And you should know Tom.   

Cook.    

A cook or a…?   

Baker.    

…a baker. And what about this lady in here please? Alireza?   

A dancer.    

A dancer. Oh, what about this person down the bottom? Have a look at him. Let this girl look please, both look. This one here. He works under the ground. Can you remember what we called him? It stated with an 'M', mmm.   

Mmm…    

Mine…    

Mine.    

Men.    

Oh, nearly right.   

Miner.    

Nearly right, he's a miner. Everyone say it.   

[together] Miner.    

2:07-2:42

I'm, oh yeah, I'm, I'm a fireman.    

Farmer.   

I'm a farmer.    

See the farmer up here Ali, with his sheep?   

Can I read that?    

Yes, that's yours. Hold the book.   

I…    

J, j.   

I jump…    

Jog.   

…jog and wor…    

Work.   

…work. We are play…    

What's this thing here?   

Hm?    

What's in the picture? With a…?   

Ball. What's my job?    

What job would you like? Now I really want you to think about that because this book has told us about many jobs, but when you grow to be a man or a lady what would you like to do? Now I'm going to ask you, Ali? I know what you're going to say, but what is it?   

Soccer player.    

I thought so, you'd like to be a sports person. Right, now that book was all about the different people in our community and the jobs that they do, and here I've got some names of some of the people and we're going to try and read both parts of the sentences so that we can match them up so that we can put them together and it makes sense, alright?  Oh, you want to have a try? Okay, you can Ali, go.   

Ba…    

Bakes.   

Bake ba, bake, ba    

What do we bake?   

Bake…    

In the oven?   

Bakes…    

And you eat it for lunch.   

Mm.    

It's round and it's flat. B, b, b…   

B…    

Bread.   

Bread, and cakes.    

That's right, well done. So the last one, and now you've got to try and read the whole thing without Mrs Richmond helping you.   

A bread…    

…a baker. Baker…    

Bake bread, bakes bread and…    

Cake.    

…cakes.    

Okay, Van I think Ali could hear you a little bit because you were trying to read it too, but that's okay, alright?

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

• Use a range of cues to support reading and viewing (VCEALL290)
• Use some of the terminology of reading (VCEALL282)
• Read sentences that use basic subject, verb and object patterns, where content and vocabulary are familiar (VCEALL283)
• Identify common syllables and patterns within words (VCEALL288)
• Read some familiar words and phrases (VCEALL286)
• Understand the sequence of key words, phrases or ideas in a familiar text (VCEALL281)

Possible next steps for this student's learning

• Identifying initial and final sounds through onset and rime to help decode new words (VCEALL288)  
• Practising using visual clues to support reading unfamiliar content words (VCEALL290)   (VCEALL287)

Pathways and transitions considerations

A Year 6 student working within the range of Level B1 in any one language mode is not ready to transition to the English curriculum regardless of their proficiency in the other two language modes. This student will continue on Pathway B of the EAL curriculum in all language modes.   

Informative text - Reading activities on What’s My Job? (2)

The student is almost 11 years old and has been in Australia for about six months. Her first language is Vietnamese and she attended school for five years in Vietnam prior to coming to Australia. She has been attending an English language school for five and a half months.

The class had been learning about different occupations and jobs. The students had learned the vocabulary and read a variety of texts about different people and their work. Students had also delivered oral presentations to the class about the work done by people in different occupations. There are three parts to this reading activity. The first is a shared class reading of a book which describes different occupations. As a class, the students then match flashcards with descriptions of various occupations with the title of the occupation in the second activity. Finally, the students independently match the names of the occupations with descriptions of the role. In this reading task the teacher is assessing how well the student recognises and gains meaning from short texts to demonstrate her understanding of the texts. She is observing the extent to which the student uses sight vocabulary of familiar topic-related words to comprehend texts, as well as how successfully the student can read and understand sentences that use a basic subject-verb-object pattern. The teacher is specifically interested in how well the student can:

• complete a simple task to demonstrate her comprehension of a text
• independently read sentences about different occupations related to her community

In the transcript, the words spoken by the student being assessed are in bold . The words spoken by other students and the teacher are in normal font.

0.06-2.06   

I am a cook. I move my hand and fist to music. What my job?    

Mm hm, turn over. What about you?     

A teacher.    

A teacher, and what about you Naita?   

Dancer.   

Huh?   

Dancing.    

A dancer? Right now that book was all about the different people in our community and the jobs that they do, and here I've got some names of some of the people and we're going to try and read both parts of the sentences so that we can match them up so that we can put them together and it makes sense, alright? Now your job is, you have to think about what these four people do and we're going to look here at the sentence and see if we can match it up with the name of the person in the community. So let's have a look at this one. Van?   

Make beautiful music.    

Makes beautiful music. Go and see, which do you think? Put it next to it so it makes a whole sentence, on the floor.  Now can you read the whole thing please?   

Musician make beautiful music.    

Absolutely. Lovely reading, thank you Van.

What's this one please?     

Before…    

A nurse look after sick people.    

Okay, what's this one, all of this word?   

Looks.    

Yeah, don't forget to say the sound on the end, will you, otherwise it doesn't sound right. Okay, yeah.   

A pilot flies flame.    

P, p, p, p.   

Planes.    

Planes. What's this one?     

Mechanic fixes your car.    

That's right, okay.

• Self-correct with guidance (VCEALL291)
• Recognise the function of capital letters and full stops, and use them (VCEALL289)
• Reread familiar texts to increase accuracy and fluency and to enhance understanding (VCEALL293)
• Practising reading through and pronouncing all the sounds in English words, especially consonant sounds that do not exist in her home language (VCEALL288)  
• Re-reading familiar sentences to increase accuracy and fluency (VCEALL293)
• P ractising reading familiar vocabulary in different contexts, for example a simple fiction text with a jobs and occupations theme (VCEALC264)

A Year 6 student working within the range of Level B1 in any one language mode is not ready to transition to the English curriculum regardless of their proficiency in the other two language modes. This student will continue on Pathway B of the EAL curriculum in all language modes.

Imaginative text – Reading of Special Little Seahorse

The student was born in Iran and speaks Persian at home. They had age-equivalent schooling in Iran and came to Australia 4 months ago. They are in Year 5 and currently in a new arrivals program.

The students recently participated in an excursion to the beach as part of a wider unit of work about the beach, in which they learned about sea creatures and the marine environment as well as beach and water activities. In the task, the student was asked to read an unseen narrative text, Special Little Seahorse , then retell and answer simple comprehension questions. The task was completed one-to-one in a familiar environment.  

The teacher is assessing the student’s ability to: 

• use key words understand a simple text
• read aloud in order to demonstrate their reading skills 
• retell main events from a story in sequence
• respond to a text by talking about what characters learned.

The words spoken by the student being assessed are in bold . 

00:06 – 04:00  

Do you know which sea creature this one is?  

Yeah.   

What's this one?  

Sea creature for ... yeah.   

Yeah, what's the sea creature? Do you know the name of this one?  

No.   

No? This one is called a seahorse.  

Seahorse.   

Yeah, do you know what seahorses are?  

Have you seen a seahorse before?  

In TV.   

On TV? Wow.  

Yes said father seahorse. Come on we will go over to the coral where the seahorse play…  where's the seahorse play. Father seahorse and little seahorse went over to the coral and her cr-, her is so shin- sh- shinny too. Shiny too.   

Yes, yeah.  

Oh dear said little horse. My cr- crown is not big and my crown is not sh-shiny. Little seahorse said father s-seahorse look at your especal tail. It is long and it is strong. Then little seahorse look at, at a spotty seahorse. The spotty seahorse is esplan-  especal sh-  she said and I am, I am especal too.   

The one seahorse loved to play in the coral and he going in the next to the coral he want to play. But he see one very cool seahorse.   

... and, and he want to play with ... mmm, cool seahorse. And he love… he says I'm not f- funny and good seahorse and he ... sh-, it is he or she?   

Mm-hmm.  

It is he or she?   

Looks like a she.  

She said, she said and after that she seed- she's tail is, it's long and ta- taily.   

Ah, so she had a very long tail.  

And she play with the cool seahorse.   

Uh-huh. And where's this book ... where is the setting? So where's this book? Is it at the park, or at the beach?  

It's in..   

It's in the sea.   

Oh, it's in the-  

Ocean.   

In the ocean. Great. Why did little seahorse think that spotty seahorse wouldn't want to play with her?  

Play with spotty seahorse.   

Hmm. Why do you think that spotty seahorse wouldn't want to play with her?  

It's think ... um, I’m, my tail, it's not good for play .  

Oh, I see. Yep. And what lesson did little seahorse learn?  

Learn...   

What lesson?  

Lesson. Your, your, your tail, it's long and ... taily.   

Your tail's long.  

Your tails  it's long and good.   

Yeah.  

... for swimming.   

Inaudible   

Thank you.  

• Acquire some information from a small range of images (VCEALC266)
• Respond to familiar and new content in texts (make connection between text and own experience) (VCEALA273)
• Understand a range of simple texts based on predictable language structures and vocabulary (VCEALC264)
• Provide responses to texts (VCEALC268)
• Use key words to understand the main idea in short texts (VCEALC265)
• Starting to make simple predictions or inferences about a text (VCEALC269)

Possible next steps for this student’s learning

• Participate in shared reading, practising making simple predictions or inferences about a text (VCEALC269)
• Continue to build a vocabulary that draws on words of interest, topic words and sight words (VCEALL287)
• Build knowledge of common syllables and patterns within words and apply this knowledge when reading (VCEALL288)
• Practise using capital letters and full stops when reading (VCEALL289)

Pathways and transitions considerations

A Year 5 student working within the range of Level B1 in any one language mode is not ready to transition to the English curriculum regardless of their proficiency in the other two language modes. This student will continue on Pathway B of the EAL curriculum in all language modes.

Persuasive text – Sequencing text Everyone Should Learn How to Swim

This student was born in China and speaks Chinese as their home language. They had age-equivalent schooling in Iran and have been in Australia for 5 months. They are in Year 5 and currently in their first term of a new arrivals program. 

The students recently participated in an excursion to the beach as part of a wider unit of work about the beach, in which they learned about sea creatures and the marine environment as well as beach and water activities and water safety. In the task, the student was asked to read an unseen persuasive text, Everyone Should Learn How to Swim , then sort and sequence sentences to reconstruct the text. Two students worked together to complete the task in a familiar environment.   

• use key words to locate information
• sequence ideas within a paragraph
• use knowledge of persuasive genre to organise sentences into a whole text.

The words spoken by the student/s being assessed are in bold .

0.00 -4.50 

(together) First is ... title. Good ... and after the title? (together) Introduction. Good! ... and then we have? (together) Series of arguments. Good.

(together) And conclusion. And the conclusion. We need to find the title.

Title. This is the title. What's the title? (together) Everyone should learn how to swim. Very good. The introduction… Introduct... ... will tell us the three arguments that will be in our persuasive text. This is the first one... Very good. Can you find a sentence that has those three reasons? Three reasons. Here. Do you want to read it for us, Jamie? I beli- believe that everyone should learn how to swimming because it w- will ... will... will help to keep you safe. It is good for you ... Health. ... health, and the- it is a fun activity to do.

Where are we going to put that one, Jamie? This ... Where does it go? Um, here. Now we need our ...? (together) Series of arguments. How many paragraphs are we going to have here? (together) Three. Three paragraphs. How are you going to find the first one? Firstly ... Is this argument finished? Nope.

No. If- I think if this ... Can you read it for us, Jamie? ... so it is important to learn this ski- skill, as it co- could save your... leef. Life.

So we have firstly, it will help to keep you safe. What was the second argument? (together) It's good for your health. Can you find the second argument? Okay. What was the third, or the last, argument? Finally ... Finally, it is a fun activity. Now, we need to put these sentences into the arguments. I think, I think ... [crosstalk]

Finally ... Finally, learning to swim can be a lot of ... (together) Fun. Can you find some examples of swimming being fun? Is…is this ...? Uh. Can you read your sentence, Jamie? There are many activities you can do with friends in the water, like surf- surfing, kayaking, and a watersports. Okay. Um- Why did you choose this one? Because this is about ... mm, the swimming is so fun.

Very good. In Australia, many people drowned last year because they didn't know how to swim. So this is an example that should go with one of our series of arguments. We have keeping safe, good for your health, and a lot of fun. Which paragraph does this belong to? I think it's this, because when I read this… What's this paragraph about, Jamie? It's about swimming safe. Being safe. Being safe. Does this example talk about why it's important to be safe? Yes. Because they didn't know how to swim. We need to find the conclusion. Conclusion ... is this. What do you think? Is this. Why did you choose that one, Jamie? Because it's in clusion. It has “in conclusion”.

• Participate in simple group activities on shared texts, with some support  (VCEALC270)
• Understand the purpose and basic organisational features of simple text types (VCEALL280)
• Build a vocabulary that draws on words of interest, topic words and sight words (VCEALL287)
• Use knowledge of base words to read new forms - attempting to read new forms of familiar words, and self-correcting using knowledge of base words and common morphemes, such as ‘walk, walked, walks’ (VCEALL285)
• Understand a range of simple texts based on predictable language structures and vocabulary - demonstrating understanding of simple factual or fictional texts by performing a task (VCEALC264)
• Continue to read a range of short texts and use key words to understand and talk about the main ideas (VCEALC265)
• Continue to participate in simple group activities on shared texts, with some support, and practise constructing brief comments or responses to questions (VCEALC270)
• Identify and compare differences between text types (VCEALL279)
• Continue to build independence in reading familiar texts, and ability to understand the sequence of key words, phrases or ideas (VCEALL281)
• Continue to build vocabulary drawing on words of interest, topic words and sight words (VCEALL287)

Related pages

Student work samples: Level B1 Speaking and Listening Student work samples: Level B1 Writing Student work samples: Level B2 Reading and Viewing Student work samples: Level BL Reading and Viewing

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