Early
Levels 7-12

At the Early stage, children are actively using their knowledge
of letter-sound relationships and context to decode unfamiliar words.

They demonstrate a greater confidence in their abilities as a reader. Children have acquired a small core of high-frequency words that they can read and write.

They are beginning to monitor their reading to make sure that it makes sense and sounds like language. Early readers need ample opportunities to practise their developing reading strategies on simple, predictable texts of increasing
complexity.

The Early stage features:
• Extension of content from personal experiences to new contexts
• More variety in sentence patterns
• Blend of language structures
• Longer and more complex sentences
• Specialised vocabulary
• Moderate picture/text support
• Non-fiction features: glossary, table of contents, index