As children progress in their reading, the level of complexity in the texts they read increases. When we are looking at your competition entries we’ll be assessing them for suitability for becoming stories that are between Chapter One reading platform’s green and purple levels. The progression is as follows: green, orange, turquoise, purple.

Below are two example skeleton texts that give our budding prospective writers an indication of how the levels progress.

The Flute

The Flute is green level - the lowest level to aim for

Page 1
Here is Wade. Wade has a flute. Wade plays a note on the flute.

Page 2
I like to hum. I hum with Wade’s flute. We made the same notes.

Page 3
Now we will trade. I will play the flute, and Wade will hum.

Page 4
The flute is mute! “How do I play a note on the flute?” I ask.

Page 5
“Don’t bite the flute!” Wade laughs. “See the hole?” Wade helps me play the flute.

Page 6
I play a note. It has a good tone. Now Wade can hum, and I will play the flute.

Page 7
Now we are done. Wade puts the flute away. I hum as I go home.

The Rover has Lift Off!

The Rover has Lift Off! is a purple story – the highest level to aim for

Page 1
In February of 2021, space scientists landed a rover on Mars. The rover was called Perseverance.

Page 2
What is a Rover? A rover is like a car. It can drive on other planets and moons. It’s also a robot. Scientists on earth can direct where it goes and what it does in space. It’s like a remote-control car!

Page 3
Scientists from NASA made the rover. NASA is a United States government group. It sends people to space. NASA uses rovers to collect dirt, rocks and air.

Page 4
Rovers can go to places in space that humans can’t. They can go to places that are very far away. They can go to places that are too hot or too cold for humans.

Page 5
Why Explore Mars? Why did scientists send a rover to Mars? Scientists are looking for signs of life. They think there were living things on Mars a long time ago. The living things were probably very small, like germs.

Page 6
Other rovers have been to Mars. They found really exciting things! They found clues that Mars used to have water.

Page 7
Water and living things can go together. Germs might have lived in the water. Scientists wanted to look for more signs of life on Mars. That's why they made Perseverance.

Page 8
The scientists built the rover. Then they built pieces around it to make a rocket.

Page 9
They put all the rocket pieces together. The rover went at the very top. The scientists were excited. Perseverance is the first rover with the job of looking for signs of life.

Page 10
Perseverance Lifts Off - Perseverance lifted off from a NASA station in Florida, USA in July 2020. It took a long time to get to Mars. It took almost seven months!

Page 11
Perseverance had to land on Mars by itself. Scientists didn’t have control over what it did. But they used a camera on the rover to see where it was going.

Page 12
The camera video didn’t get to scientists right away. It had to go through space! It took over 11 minutes for the video to get from Mars to Earth. Scientists had to land Perseverance and then wait to see if it was safe!

Page 13
The video came to NASA. The rover landed safely! The scientists cheered with excitement!

Page 14
The Rover Explores Mars. Now Perseverance will do many tests and collect clues about Mars. It landed in a spot where there might have been a river. Scientists think there could be clues about life there.

Page 15
What kinds of amazing things will Perseverance find? We will have to wait to find out! Maybe humans will find life on Mars because of Perseverance!