Oxford Reading Tree Level 7 is the Class 1 reader in the Army Public Schools & Colleges System. The cover reads ‘4 Books in 1’, ‘Supplementary Reading Material’ and ‘For Grade 1’, and shows a boy in a yellow top with a golden dog. The stories are written by Roderick Hunt and illustrated by Alex Brychta, and the Oxford University Press copyright on the inside is 2025. Available to order now for the 2027-28 session.
It is the next rung on the reading ladder after the Pre 1 reader (Level 5): longer sentences, more adventure, and more words to sound out. The Oxford Reading Tree Level 7 stories in the Pakistan catalogue include Lost in the Jungle, The Lost Key, Red Planet and The Broken Roof; this school edition gathers four Level 7 stories into one volume.
What the first pages tell us
The book opens with a guide for parents and teachers, and the first story, according to that page, is about Mars, the red planet. The guide asks the adult to:
- Before reading: look at the cover and read the title together, talk about how Mars is sometimes called the red planet, explain that Earth is a planet and ask ‘Do you know the names of any other planets?’, and look through the pictures.
- About the words: the child will probably be able to read most words; encourage sounding out and blending the challenging ones (creatures, pieces, spacesuits, mountains).
- During reading: remind the child to blend unfamiliar words from left to right, say the whole word if it is too tricky, and re-read sentences to focus on meaning.
Because the child is expected to read most words independently, Level 7 is the first Oxford Reading Tree volume in the Army Public School series where the adult can step back a little.
Where this reader sits at Army Public Schools
Level 7 is the Class 1 step. Your child will have read Oxford Reading Tree Level 5 in Pre 1 before this, and next year’s reader is Level 8. Buying the level that matches the class means the difficulty rises gently each year, and nothing is too hard or too easy.
Questions to ask after each story
By Class 1 a child should be able to answer ‘why’ questions, not only ‘what’ questions. After each of the four stories, try these:
- Where did the children go, and how did they get there?
- What did they see that was strange or new? Describe it in your own words.
- In the first story, Mars is called the red planet. Can you name another planet?
- Which word was hardest to read (creatures, pieces, spacesuits, mountains)? How did you work it out?
- What was the best part, and what would you change if you wrote the story?
- What do you think the children learned at the end?
What changes from Pre 1 (Level 5) to Class 1 (Level 7)
The first guide page of Level 7 says the child will probably be able to read most of the words, and lists only four challenging ones: creatures, pieces, spacesuits and mountains. That is a real change from Level 3, where the guide lists many words for the adult to model. The child is now trusted to read, and the adult becomes a listener who asks questions. If your child reads this book quickly, ask them to read it again with more expression, as if they were reading the story to a younger cousin.
Who, when and how
Whom: Class 1 children (about six). When: as home reading through the year; ten minutes a night is plenty. How: ask the child to read a page, then ask one question about what happened; let them re-read favourite pages. Where: bedtime, a long car journey, the school library corner.
Frequently asked questions
What does ‘4 Books in 1’ mean?
Four separate stories are bound together in one volume.
Is it a textbook?
No. It is Supplementary Reading Material, for extra reading practice.
Is this the right level for Class 1?
The cover says ‘For Grade 1’.
Oxford Reading Tree Level 7 is available now. Order online, pay on delivery anywhere in Pakistan, or collect it in Lahore. Buying the whole class list? WhatsApp us the list and we will confirm every title in one go.
