ELLP Years1-4 - ESOL - Literacy Online - Te Kete Ipurangi

Stage 1A
The following sample text is at Stage 1A because it has only one short sentence per page. The
sentences are structurally repetitive and are simple, except for one compound sentence at the end.
Texts at Stage 1A tend to have the following characteristics:
– only one short sentence per page;
– good support from illustrations;
– repetition of language structures;
– use of high-frequency words and some topic words that are strongly supported
by the context;
– very little idiomatic language;
– mainly simple sentences with only one clause.
Other examples of texts at Stage 1A include those found at Red on the colour wheel in the Ready to
Read series books and their commercially published equivalents.
Sample text
Text: Meharry, Dot (2001). Going Fishing. Ready to Read series.
Wellington: Learning Media.
Topic: Preparing to go fishing
Text type: Recount
Audience: A very young reader (indicated by the use of the voice of the
young narrator and illustrations that attract young readers)
Topic development
The text is short, and the ideas are simple and repetitive.
Each character acts twice. The actions are presented in
sequence. The illustrations allow the reader to connect
with the characters. The text describes the steps taken
to prepare for an activity.
Language structures
The sentences are simple clauses (subject–verb–object)
except for the last sentence, which is a compound
sentence (two simple clauses joined with the
conjunction and). The actions and structures are highly
repetitive, but the subjects (I, Dad, my dog) and the
objects (fishing lines, bait, net, and so on) vary.
Going Fishing
I get the fishing line.
Dad gets the bait.
I get the net.
My dog gets the bucket.
Dad gets the lunch.
My dog gets in the car,
and we all go fishing.
The verb phrases are in the simple present. Three of the verb phrases are in the first-person
singular or plural (get, go), and four are in the third-person singular (gets). Only three verbs (get,
get in, 4 go) are used.
The noun phrases are single nouns (Dad), subject pronouns (I, we), or determiners and nouns
(the bait, my dog). There are no adjectives.
4 “get in” is often classed as a phrasal verb and, because the meaning of “get” in “get in the car” is different from the
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meaning of “get” in the other instances in the text, it is listed as a separate verb.