Ziptales offers its own mapping of reading - shown below - which references Reading Recovery, Lexiles and Flesch (the three major internationally recognised readability measures).
The 10 stage scheme starts at the very simplest ‘entry’ level, for young children, whose reading amounts to recognition of simple words and sentences - Zip Stage 1 … through to children who are capable of totally ‘independent’ reading of sophisticated texts - Zip Stage 10. The whole range of reading in a primary school is included - from Kindergarten (Foundation) through to Grade 6 and above.
These Zip Stage levels are to be found at the top of every page of the story itself. They are also referenced in the online ‘Program Details’ (below each content icon) and in the Ziptales: the Full Guide teacher manual.
No readability scheme is perfect, and this scheme should be treated as a suggestion only. The teacher is the one best placed to determine what texts a child will be able to read. Ziptales gives the teacher total control over what stories a child accesses. The ‘library’ has open access for all children, but under the personal guidance of the teacher.
All information about the Zip Stages can be found in the following links:
What’s my Ziptales reading level?
Ziptales has a ‘reading diagnosis test’ which allows teachers to easily determine what level of story is appropriate for a child. This is the Reading Level Test. It can be accessed on the Student Dashboard page.
It offers the teacher five test story titles, roughly aligned to age groupings.
Approximate year level correlations are as follows:
Age
Story
Foundation/Year 1
Tom and the Mouse
Year 2
Bad Dog
Years 3 & 4
Three Wishes
Years 5 & 6
Over the Rainbow
Advanced Readers
The Education of Amelia
| Age | Story |
|---|---|
| Foundation/Year 1 | Tom and the Mouse |
| Year 2 | Bad Dog |
| Years 3 & 4 | Three Wishes |
| Years 5 & 6 | Over the Rainbow |
| Advanced Readers | The Education of Amelia |
On the basis of the teacher’s knowledge of the child, one is selected for a self-test of comprehension.
This is how it works.
- The child enters the test. Click on ‘Continue’ to access the story selection page.
- The child picks the test story selected by the teacher.
Full scripts for all test passages, plus all the answers, are to be found at this link.
- The child reads the story, and answers the multiple choice questions which follow.
- The child’s score is then analysed by the diagnosis engine, and depending on what level of reading seems to be indicated, is cross-referenced to the different Zip Stage listings, and a recommended list is provided. The child is asked to inform the teacher, for his/her records and future reference.
The list generated is thus customised to the individual needs of the child. It could be list of very simple texts for a younger person, or a list of very advanced texts for highly able older readers.
The child does not see all the readability data. This is not appropriate for children. The Zip Stages are utterly free of any indication of grade level or hints about ability.
However, for the teachers, in the Staffroom, all such information is provided.
Like our reading scheme, this is a suggestion only. The teacher can choose to direct the child wherever seems suited to their interests and needs - to another level completely (up or down) as needed.
