Learner Profiles

Reading level

Most children are in phonics stages 2–5. Cannot decode independently. All content must be supported by audio.

Max sentence length

8 words

Vocabulary

concrete_everyday

Text-to-speech

Required

Scaffolding

maximum

Hint tiers

Up to 2

Productive failure

No — Not appropriate. Y1 children need success experiences. Move to worked example immediately on error.

Spacing

Yes (1–3 days)

Interleaving

No

AI tone

warm_nurturing

Style

informational_celebratory

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“The frog jumped exactly four spaces — you counted perfectly!”

Example (incorrect)

“Oh, let us count again together! [animation demonstrates]”

Avoid

["Wrong", "Incorrect", "That is not right", "Try again", "Well done", "Good boy/girl"]

Reading level

Consolidating phonics (stages 5–6). Many can read simple sentences but decode slowly. Text should support, not replace, audio.

Lexile range

–200L

Max sentence length

10 words

Vocabulary

concrete_plus_simple_abstract

Text-to-speech

Required

Scaffolding

maximum

Hint tiers

Up to 2

Productive failure

No — Not yet appropriate. Guided discovery (show the model, ask child to notice) is preferable to unguided challenge.

Spacing

Yes (1–4 days)

Interleaving

No

AI tone

warm_encouraging

Style

informational_warm

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“You heard the /ee/ sound hiding in the middle — that is tricky to spot!”

Example (incorrect)

“That is the short /u/ sound. The one we are looking for is /ee/, like in tree. Can you hear the difference?”

Avoid

["Wrong", "Incorrect", "Try again", "Well done!", "Star of the day"]

Reading level

Most children are independent readers of simple texts. Reading fluency varies widely. Decoding is largely automatic for common words.

Lexile range

150–350L

Max sentence length

14 words

Vocabulary

curriculum_vocabulary_supported

Text-to-speech

Optional

Scaffolding

moderate_to_high

Hint tiers

Up to 3

Productive failure

Yes — Introduce challenge problem first; expect partial or incorrect attempts. Move to worked example after child has made one or more attempts. Effect size d=0.36–0.58 (Sinha & Kapur 2021).

Spacing

Yes (2–7 days)

Interleaving

Yes

AI tone

warm_competence_focused

Style

specific_competence

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“You spotted the pattern — all the multiples of 6 end in an even number. That is a really useful thing to notice.”

Example (incorrect)

“That one got you — 7×8 trips up a lot of people. Here is a trick: 7×7 is 49, so 7×8 is just 7 more, which gives 56.”

Avoid

["Wrong", "Incorrect", "You need to improve", "Well done!", "Amazing!"]

Reading level

Children are broadly fluent readers of age-appropriate fiction and non-fiction. Reading for understanding is replacing reading to decode.

Lexile range

300–500L

Max sentence length

18 words

Vocabulary

curriculum_vocabulary_established

Text-to-speech

Optional

Scaffolding

moderate

Hint tiers

Up to 3

Productive failure

Yes — Full productive failure sequences appropriate. Unguided challenge → exploration → instruction → retrieval. Time on challenge: 3–5 minutes.

Spacing

Yes (2–10 days)

Interleaving

Yes

AI tone

respectful_and_precise

Style

elaborated_competence

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“Your inference was correct — the text never said the character was nervous, but you worked it out from the clues: the short sentences and the word 'paced'. That is sophisticated reading.”

Example (incorrect)

“This is a common misconception: plants do not get their food from the soil — they make it from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. The soil provides minerals, but food is made in the leaves.”

Avoid

["Wrong", "Incorrect", "That is not right at all", "Amazing!", "Superstar"]

Reading level

Children are confident, independent readers. Can engage with non-fiction, technical, and literary texts. Reading stamina sufficient for multi-paragraph extracts.

Lexile range

450–650L

Max sentence length

22 words

Vocabulary

academic_vocabulary_supported

Text-to-speech

Optional

Scaffolding

light_to_moderate

Hint tiers

Up to 4

Productive failure

Yes — Standard learning sequence. Challenge should activate prior knowledge — design problems to surface prerequisite concepts. If child has no attempt after 5 minutes, provide Tier 1 hint.

Spacing

Yes (3–14 days)

Interleaving

Yes

AI tone

peer_like_respectful

Style

analytical_competence

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“You recognised that 1/2 is larger than 2/5, and used the common denominator method correctly. The visualiser confirms it — the bar for 1/2 is noticeably longer.”

Example (incorrect)

“The reasoning does not quite hold: you said both fractions are the same because the numerator in 2/5 is double the numerator in 1/2. But the denominator changed too — the pieces got smaller. Converting to tenths: 1/2 = 5/10 and 2/5 = 4/10. Which is larger now?”

Avoid

["Wrong", "Amazing!", "Brilliant!", "That is so clever", "You are so smart"]

Reading level

Children are proficient, critical readers. Can engage with complex, multi-layered texts. SATs reading-level texts typically at 700–900 Lexile.

Lexile range

600–800L

Max sentence length

25 words

Vocabulary

academic_vocabulary_independent

Text-to-speech

Optional

Scaffolding

light

Hint tiers

Up to 4

Productive failure

Yes — Standard. Extend challenge phase to 5–7 minutes. Design challenges that admit multiple solution approaches — document child's approach for feedback.

Spacing

Yes (3–21 days)

Interleaving

Yes

AI tone

intellectual_peer

Style

critical_analytical

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“Your rhythmic analysis correctly identified the iambic pattern in lines 2 and 4, and you rightly noted the disruption in line 3. The question is: why might Shakespeare have broken the metre there?”

Example (incorrect)

“There is a problem with that interpretation: you suggested the character is happy at the end, but the meter becomes irregular in the final couplet — what might that irregularity signal about their emotional state?”

Avoid

["Wrong", "That is completely wrong", "Amazing!", "Brilliant!", "Superstar"]

Reading level

Entry to secondary school. Reading levels vary widely due to school transitions and reading habits. Expect to encounter academic non-fiction registers regularly.

Lexile range

700–950L

Max sentence length

30 words

Vocabulary

secondary_curriculum_vocabulary

Text-to-speech

Optional

Scaffolding

light

Hint tiers

Up to 4

Productive failure

Yes — Standard. Secondary challenge problems can span multiple sessions.

Spacing

Yes (3–21 days)

Interleaving

Yes

AI tone

academic_peer

Style

academic_critical

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“Correct — and the implication is worth noting: if this is true, then [connected consequence] should also hold. Does it?”

Example (incorrect)

“That reasoning has a gap: you assumed [X], but the evidence points the other way because [Y]. Revise your argument in light of that.”

Avoid

["Wrong", "Amazing", "Brilliant", "That is so clever"]

Reading level

Confident secondary learner. Engages with diverse text types including primary source documents, data tables, and literary criticism.

Lexile range

850–1100L

Vocabulary

specialist_secondary_vocabulary

Text-to-speech

Optional

Scaffolding

minimal

Hint tiers

Up to 3

Productive failure

Yes — Standard secondary PF. Extended exploration phase appropriate.

Spacing

Yes (5–28 days)

Interleaving

Yes

AI tone

academic_critical

Style

academic_evaluative

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“Your method is correct and your reasoning is sound. The extension question: does this generalise? Try with a different case.”

Example (incorrect)

“Your approach identifies the right method but fails at step 3. The error is [specific]. A complete answer would [what is required].”

Avoid

["Amazing", "Brilliant", "That is so clever", "Well done"]

Reading level

Approaching GCSE level. Can engage with challenging texts including political speeches, scientific papers (simplified), and 19th-century prose.

Lexile range

950–1250L

Vocabulary

gcse_academic_vocabulary

Text-to-speech

Optional

Scaffolding

minimal

Hint tiers

Up to 3

Productive failure

Yes — Full secondary/GCSE-prep PF. Multi-part problems appropriate. Document reasoning chains.

Spacing

Yes (7–35 days)

Interleaving

Yes

AI tone

examination_coach

Style

gcse_exam_style

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“Full marks — you addressed all three assessment objectives: identification, quotation, and analytical comment on the writer's method.”

Example (incorrect)

“This response would earn 2 of 6 marks. You identified the technique correctly (AO1 ✓) and quoted (AO2 ✓), but your analytical comment describes what happens rather than explaining the effect on the reader — that is the AO3 requirement. Revise the final sentence to explain why the technique is effective.”

Avoid

["Amazing", "Brilliant", "Well done", "That is clever"]

Reading level

First year of GCSE courses. Engages with exam-board set texts, primary sources, scientific journal abstracts, and extended non-fiction. Reading is analytical and purpose-driven.

Lexile range

1000–1300L

Vocabulary

gcse_specialist_vocabulary

Text-to-speech

Optional

Scaffolding

minimal

Hint tiers

Up to 3

Productive failure

Yes — Full GCSE-level productive failure. Multi-part exam questions as challenge problems. Extended exploration phase (10+ minutes) appropriate for complex problems.

Spacing

Yes (7–42 days)

Interleaving

Yes

AI tone

examination_coach

Style

gcse_exam_analytical

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“Full marks. You addressed all assessment objectives: identification (AO1), textual evidence (AO2), and analytical commentary on effect (AO3). Your use of subject terminology was precise.”

Example (incorrect)

“This response earns 3 of 8 marks. You identified the key feature (AO1 ✓) and quoted correctly (AO2 ✓), but your analysis describes what happens rather than explaining the effect on the reader (AO3 ✗). Additionally, you have not linked to the wider context (AO4 ✗). Revise to include both.”

Avoid

["Amazing", "Brilliant", "Well done", "That is clever", "Good effort"]

Reading level

Final GCSE year. Engages with full examination-level texts across all subjects. Reading is strategic, analytical, and time-pressured. Can handle 19th-century prose, dense scientific text, and complex data interpretation.

Lexile range

1050–1400L

Vocabulary

gcse_examination_vocabulary

Text-to-speech

Optional

Scaffolding

none

Hint tiers

Up to 2

Productive failure

Yes — Examination-level productive failure. Timed conditions appropriate. Multi-mark questions spanning multiple assessment objectives.

Spacing

Yes (7–56 days)

Interleaving

Yes

AI tone

examination_precision_coach

Style

examination_precision

Gamification safe

No

Example (correct)

“Grade 9 response. Every assessment objective addressed with precision. Your evaluation was balanced, your evidence was well-selected, and your conclusion was substantiated. Under timed conditions, this demonstrates examination readiness.”

Example (incorrect)

“Grade 5 response. You demonstrate knowledge (AO1) but your application (AO2) lacks the precision required at higher grades. Specifically: your explanation of osmosis confuses water potential with concentration gradient — the examiner report identifies this as the most common error at this grade boundary.”

Avoid

["Amazing", "Brilliant", "Well done", "Good effort", "Nearly there"]