This is presentation showing what the African Storybook Project is looking for in reading levels

1. AFRICAN STORYBOOK PROJECT –
BEGINNING READERS and PROJECT
LEVELLING GUIDELINES
By Lorato Trok

2. KEEP IN MIND FOR BEGINNING
READERS
1. Active characters, always trying to solve
or deal with a situation. A child’s joy is
greater if he or she can solve the
situation.
2. Use a setting that makes you see, hear,
smell, touch and most importantly, feel
3. The plot (conflict, complications, and
climax) are in the form of small
increments. There is a lot of curiosity and
suspense (what if? What’s next? – this
promotes directional reading)

3. KEEP IN MIND FOR BEGINNING
READERS
4. Humorous and imaginative. In a child’s
worldview, everything is possible.
5. Simple words, short sentences, and
simple structures
6. Predicatable with patterns and repetition.
Don’t forget the surprise ending!
7. Pictures play and important part in the
story

4. Predictability and Patterns
1. Repetition
2. Opposites
3. Exaggerate
4. Association
5. Order and disorder

5. AFRICAN STORYBOOK PROJECT
LEVELLING GUIDELINES
We have specifically called the levelling of
our stories guidelines and we want to
emphasise to teachers and people on this
online course that they are not cast on
stone. They are a guide to levelling and
users are required to use their own
understanding of levels or levelling when
using or versioning stories.

6. Level 1: First words
• Single words, phrases,
or a short simple
sentence per page;
• Most of the information
carried by the
illustration;
• Some books will tell the
stories in pictures only.
Example
www.africanstorybook.or
g/stories/i-can-do-this

7. Level 2: First sentences
• Two or three sentences
per page;
• The illustrations
support the
understanding of the
text.
Example
http://www.africanstoryb
ook.org/book/read/2332
very tall man

8. Level 3: First paragraphs
• A short paragraphs with
an illustration per page;
• Not such a close
relationship between
the illustration and the
text.
Example
http://www.africanstoryb
ook.org/book/read/908
the teacher

9. Level 4: Paragraph stories
• Longer paragraphs;
• May not be a picture on
every page.
Example
http://www.africanstoryb
ook.org/book/read/1890