Every classroom has students reading at different levels. Addressing this variety of abilities is challenging, especially in non-ELA subjects such as science and social studies. Luckily, a solid reading-level text converter can make things a lot easier. Here’s an overview of how these work and our top picks to suit your classroom needs.
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All readings! Use these free reading logs to track how much your students spend in books, magazines, web articles and more.
What is a read-level text converter?
These tools use artificial intelligence (AI) to rewrite the text blocks to the specified reading level. They analyze the overall complexity of ideas and sentence structures, in addition to the words used. Next, make the necessary changes so that the text is appropriate for a new level of explaining the idea in different ways, using different words and sentence lengths.
Most teachers use these tools, also known as “text levelers,” to simplify reading texts for differentiation in the classroom. Because the original is written at a much higher level (as is the case with academic articles), a simplified version may be required to distinguish between different reading levels among students .
Example of read level conversion
Below is an example of reading about bird migration, originally written at the reading level of 9th graders.
Bird migration is when birds move between breeding and non-breeding sites to find food and suitable nesting sites. They often fly south in autumn for warmth, then return north in spring to raise young people. Different species have unique migration patterns. For example, Arctic terns travel around 25,000 miles per year between the Arctic and Antarctic. To navigate, birds use landmarks like the sun, stars, the magnetic fields of the Earth, mountains and rivers. Despite challenges such as bad weather, predators and fatigue, migration is essential for survival.
This is the same text, converted by Magicschool to first-grade reading levels.
Bird movement is the process of moving birds from one location to another to find a safe place to build a nest. In autumn, many birds fly south to find warm weather. In spring, they have baby birds back north.
Different types of birds travel in different ways. For example, Arctic terns come a long journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic, approximately 25,000 miles each year. Birds use the sun, stars, and even the magnetic fields of the Earth to help them find their own paths. They are also looking for things like mountains and rivers.
Birds face bad weather, dangerous animals and tired problems, but migration is extremely important for survival.
Reading Level Text Converter Tips
Know that all text converter tools are equipped with AI. Using AI to change the writing of others can be controversial, so be familiar with the laws and regulations that may apply before using these tools. Each converter tool produces a different response and may prefer more styles than others. Try some and find the tool you like the most. Always check the leveled text before sharing with students. Make sure the new reading passages are kept accurate and are written to a level that students can actually understand. Edit the text if necessary before sharing. Do not charge author credit for new text generated using the Text Leveler tool. Try crediting the source of the text, including a link to the original text, if possible. Use the texts leveled in the spirit they are intended to be: for educational purposes with your own individual students.
Best Reading Level Text Converter Tool for Teachers
To determine which of these tools are best, we looked into what each tool offers, how it works, and how it works for educators. We also looked at the overall cost and how easy each one is. I used this article from the Washington Post website to test each converter. This is what we like the most.
Active reading level chrome extensions
How it works:
Brisk’s reading-level text converter is a free Chrome extension that can be accessed from almost any web page by adding buttons to the toolbar. When you click the button, Brisk evaluates the current reading level of text on the page using the grade level. To convert the text, simply select a different grade level and Brisk opens a Google Doc, where you will provide a reading version of the reading passage.
What we think:
This tool is very easy to install and use. It is also versatile. There is no need to copy and paste the text. The converter does all the functions for you. The converted text is in Google Docs, making it easy to create additional necessary changes before sharing it with students. Bonus Features: Brisk’s converter tool can also convert text to over 20 different languages.
Accounts required:
yes
Fee:
Brisk is free for educators with several usage restrictions as part of a larger suite of educational AI tools. Pro-level plans add additional features starting at $9.99 per month.
Try it: Active Reading Level Text Converter
MagicSchool Text Leveler Tool
How it works:
Enter text on the Magicschool Text Leleter web page. To do this, you can copy and paste the text itself, upload a file, or enter the URL of the tool that pulls the text out. (There is also the option to record audio text that may help level your video transcripts.) Enter the grade level you want, copy and paste, save it to your account, or edit it with the provided tools. You can do it.
What we think:
The process of using this tool is a little more clunky than Brisk’s leveller, but it offers more options for entering the original text. Magicschool offers a vast suite of AI tools for teachers, including summaries and translations of tools that are useful when leveling text.
Accounts required:
yes
Fee:
Teachers with some usage restrictions are free. Additionally, accounts start at $12.99 per month with additional features and unlimited use.
Try it out: MagicsChool AI Text Leveler Tool
CogRader AI Reading Level Conversion Tool
How it works:
To use this very simple text converter, copy and paste the text into a field on a cograder web page. Next, enter the desired reading grade level,[送信]Click. In a few seconds, the leveled text will appear on the same page. You can copy and paste the text into the document if necessary.
What we think:
For occasional use, this text leveler is a good choice. There is no need to create an account. You can copy and paste the text yourself, allowing you to select exactly what you want to include additional information from your article or web page. However, it is worth noting that this tool requires more work to the user, as it requires copying and pasting rather than clicking on the button. If you don’t need to convert text frequently and don’t want to create an account, Cograder’s tools can work well.
Accounts required:
no
Fee:
free
Try it out: Cograder AI Reading Level Conversion Tool
diffit
How it works:
diffit creates AI-generated educational resources for any text, including leveled read passages. Enter text by copying and pasting, uploading a document, or providing a URL. This tool converts text to your desired grade level and provides text along with an array of resources such as summaries, quizzes and more.
What we think:
This text leveler tool has changed the original text more than any other text we tried. A unique interpretation of the material has also been added, with additional information for understanding. Depending on the source material and how you use it, this can be an advantage or drawback. Diffit had a hard time subtracting text from the test URL page. I had to copy and paste the text and make it work properly.
Accounts required:
yes
Fee:
Free text conversion for educators. Premium features are available starting at $14.99 per month.
Try it: diffit
chatgpt
How it works:
Basic AI chat tools allow you to level text following the prompts. In ChatGpt, copy and paste it into text, then tell them what grade or other reading level you want. You can copy the resulting leveled text and paste it into another document for your own use.
What we think:
It is important to note that ChatGpt is not specifically tailored to use as a text converter, so it may not be that accurate when meeting specific reading level needs. Still, it’s easy to use and quick. Just like any other text leveler, check the results to make sure they are suitable for your students.
Accounts required:
Yes, ChatGPT requires you to sign in to your Google account.
Fee:
free
Try it: chatgpt
