{"id":33485,"date":"2026-01-05T02:54:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T02:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/community\/?post_type=course&p=33485"},"modified":"2026-04-21T21:45:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:45:37","slug":"writing-graded-readers","status":"publish","type":"course","link":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/community\/course\/writing-graded-readers\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Graded Readers for ELT"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Create engaging ELT materials for fun and profit! This 6-week practical course explores the creation of graded\/leveled readers for English language learners, including original fiction, adapted classics, and non-fiction. Turn your classroom experience and creativity into materials to engage and motivate learners\u2014in your own classroom and beyond.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll explore these areas in depth:<\/p>\n

– The existing market for readers: What\u2019s out there, and what\u2019s selling?<\/p>\n

– What makes an engaging text<\/p>\n

– How to adjust grammar and vocabulary for different levels<\/p>\n

– How to write appropriate exercises and ancillary material to accompany the text<\/p>\n

– Options for getting your work published<\/p>\n

But we\u2019ll do more than just talk about all this\u2014each participant will plan and begin writing a graded reader during this course. Whether you finish it in 6 weeks is up to you, but you\u2019ll at least be well on your way!<\/p>\n

Each week combines live sessions on Zoom (always recorded and available forever) with hands-on workshop tasks that include analytical tasks and discussion, writing practice, and peer feedback.<\/p>\n

Six live online sessions<\/strong> will be held in the iTDi virtual classroom. Live sessions will happen at 04:00 UTC\/GMT, which will be Saturday in the Americas, and Sunday in Asia (and early Sunday in Europe). Don’t worry if the time doesn’t work out for you to join the live sessions. We will send all registered participants a recording and a copy of Dorothy’s slides after the session ends.<\/p>\n

Live session dates:<\/strong> February 15, 22, and March 1, 8, 15, and 22<\/p>\n

The live sessions on February 15, 22, and March 1 and 8 will happen before daylight saving time begins in the United States. The UTC time never changes. If you are affected by US daylight saving time, your time will change.<\/p>\n

Time for February 15, 22, and March 1 and 8<\/strong>: 04:00-05:00 UTC. <\/a>Check your local time<\/a><\/p>\n

Time for March 15 and 22: <\/strong>04:00-05:00 UTC. Check your local time<\/a><\/p>\n

Cost: $240 USD*<\/strong><\/p>\n

*We can provide receipts for research funds, if needed.<\/p>\n

Registration includes six live sessions, resources, unlimited discussion in a private forum, peer and instructor feedback in the forum and in a shared Dropbox folder, and access to Dorothy for six months after the course ends.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Course Overview<\/h3>\n

Week 1: The Graded Reader Landscape<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Definition and characteristics of a graded reader and a leveled reader<\/p>\n

\u2022 Overview of types of readers (adapted classics; original fiction; non-fiction)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Who uses readers and how they\u2019re used<\/p>\n

\u2022 Who publishes and distributes readers them<\/p>\n

Week 2<\/strong>: Vocabulary; Adaptations<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 How to adapt public domain literature: legalities, choosing appropriate titles; approaches for longer texts<\/p>\n

\u2022 How to level vocabulary: some common word lists, best practices, and pitfalls<\/p>\n

Week 3<\/strong>: Grammar; Non-Fiction<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 How to level grammar<\/p>\n

\u2022 Choosing an engaging topic<\/p>\n

\u2022 Where\/how to research information<\/p>\n

\u2022 Issues around using AI in creating readers<\/p>\n

Week 4<\/strong>: Original<\/strong> Fiction; Do\u2019s & Taboos<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Topics and genres for contemporary fiction<\/p>\n

\u2022 How to plot original fiction<\/p>\n

\u2022 Building in repetition for vocabulary and structures<\/p>\n

\u2022 Working with series<\/p>\n

Week 5<\/strong>: Exercises; Supplementary Material<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Pre-, during, and post-reading activities<\/p>\n

\u2022 To gloss or not to gloss?<\/p>\n

\u2022 Handling artwork and illustrations<\/p>\n

Week 6<\/strong>: Publishing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Working with traditional publishers<\/p>\n

\u2022 Apps and non-traditional platforms<\/p>\n

\u2022 Self-publishing<\/p>\n

\u2022 Writing blurbs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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About Advanced Skills Live Courses<\/h3>\n

Advanced Skills courses are workshops and tend to be very hands on. You learn skills and apply them in. In order to provide an exceptional experience, registration is limited to 25 participants. Registration includes six live sessions, unlimited discussions each week in a private forum, and access to a private Dropbox folder. Participants will be expected to submit work for peer feedback and provide feedback on other participants’ work, in Dropbox. If you are not planning to complete a book but wish to receive a certificate, you will be expected to submit an .epub of your project to demonstrate competency with the publishing tools.<\/p>\n

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As a registered participant, don\u2019t worry if you ever have to miss a class or if the time for the live sessions doesn’t work well for your time zone. You\u2019ll receive weekly recordings of each class, full transcripts of the text chat during class, assigned readings and a PDF of the PowerPoint slides. Furthermore, the online community will certainly become a wealth of ideas and information, and it will remain private and online for your use anytime in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Scholarships<\/h3>\n

iTDi believes that all teachers deserve the same opportunity to improve themselves. From our experience, teachers who pay something towards a course more often make greater effort and are more likely to complete the course. Therefore, we do encourage teachers to pay something toward the course if at all possible. We prioritize partial scholarships, but a limited number of full scholarships will also be available for this course. Please apply through our scholarship application. Scholarship will be awarded on February 1st.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n