How do you know which reader is right for your students? There are a lot of factors to consider:
- What is the reading level?
- What is the total word count?
- What is the unique word count?
- What tenses are used?
These are just a few of the questions you need to ask before choosing the next book for your class library. The answers, however, are not always simple. How was the reading level determined? What about the unique word count? There are as many methods as there are authors and books, and there is no single right or wrong way to do it.
To help you answer some of these questions, we worked with veteran educators to create the following guidelines for readers published by Classroom Voces®, Teacher’s Discovery®, and Flangoo®. Our goal is to be as transparent as possible so you can get the right readers for your students and set them up for success.
Note that, as of August 2026, all new Teacher’s Discovery readers will follow these guidelines. Some previously published readers were evaluated using different criteria, and we are working to review and align those titles as needed.
Reader Details
The following information is included for every reader:
- Reader Level
- Total Word Count
- Unique Word Count*
- Tenses Used
*Both our proprietary method and the author’s original assessment, if provided and different.
Reader Levels
Reader levels cannot be determined by unique word count alone. You will also need to consider additional factors, such as the topic of the reader, repetition, sentence length and complexity, verb tenses, and the frequency of vocabulary words. However, you can use the following as a basic guide to get started:
| Reader Level | Approximate Unique Word Count |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | ~150 words or less |
| Level 2 | ~150–300 words |
| Level 3 | ~300–500 words |
Teacher Tip: The “five finger rule” is a simple way for students to choose their next book for independent reading. Allow them to choose a book and turn to any page. As they read that page, they hold up one finger for every word they don’t know. If they finish reading the page and have five fingers up, that particular book may be too difficult for them right now—but, with a dedicated reading practice, it won’t be for long!
Unique Word Count
The below method was developed specifically to clarify some of the issues in understanding what goes into determining unique word count. It takes into account a variety of factors, from common best practices to acknowledging the fact that students may not recognize non-standard forms as the same word.
| Counts as One Word | Exceptions |
|---|---|
| Standardized m./f. and plural versions of the same noun | Non-standard forms of the same word count as one word each. Ex. œil = 1 word, yeux = 1 word |
| Standardized m./f. and plural versions of the same adjective | Non-standard forms of the same word count as one word each. Ex. beau, beaux = 1 word; bel, belle, belles = 1 word |
| Each infinitive and conjugation for all verbs, including irregular verbs | |
| Personal subject pronouns | |
| All definite articles | |
| All indefinite articles | |
| All partitive articles |
The following words are excluded from the unique word count:
| Excluded | Exceptions |
|---|---|
| English/familiar foreign loan words | |
| True cognates | |
| Proper nouns | For proper nouns that contain an unfamiliar word(s), we count each instance of the unfamiliar word(s). Ex. “Museo Cerralbo,” museo = 1 word |
Glossaries and Glossed Words
Every reader published by Classroom Voces®, Teacher’s Discovery®, and Flangoo® includes a thorough glossary that defines all or most of the words from the text.
Many of the readers also include glossed words and phrases, which provide support to students as they read. Some examples are: conjugated irregular verbs in lower level texts, constructions above the overall level of the reader, the first instance of idiomatic phrases, and unfamiliar Indigenous or foreign words.
Choosing the Right Reader
The above explanations are provided to give you a starting point for choosing the right reader for your class. They are not, however, written in stone. These determinations are an art, rather than a science, and we rely wholly on expert opinions and feedback to inform our methods.
More importantly, you know your students better than anyone, and you know best which books will be the most appropriate for them. With this information in hand, you can build your class library and help instill in your students a love of both language and reading.
Teacher Tip: For more guidance, read How to Choose the Right Spanish Reader for Your Classroom: A Teacher's Guide by teacher Kristin Archambault.
