How to Change the Reading Level of a Text With AI

Oct 21, 20267 min readBy Siqwes

One text, a class with a wide range of readers, and rewriting it twice by hand is a lot of work. Here's how to use AI to change the reading level of a text you're allowed to use, with every fact and key term kept and a list of changes to review.

Why is one text hard to use with every reader?

A class often spans a wide range of reading levels. A single text can be just right for some students and a stretch for others. Rewriting it twice by hand, while keeping every fact the same, is careful work that a clear prompt can share.

How do you change the reading level of a text with AI?

Paste your class profile, a text you're allowed to use and your learning goal into ChatGPT with the prompt below. It asks for three versions at different reading levels with every fact and key term kept, plus vocabulary, three questions and a list of wording changes. In the U.S., you can start the free version before creating an account.

FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of students' education records at schools that receive U.S. Department of Education funds. Your school or district decides which AI tools are approved and how these laws apply, so check its AI policy before you start. This routine is for your own teacher prep.

For ChatGPT, OpenAI's terms set the minimum age at 13, and anyone under 18 needs a parent's or guardian's permission.

What are the steps to level a text with ChatGPT?

Five steps take you from one text to three checked versions. Your school's AI guidance comes first. Levels describe the text, and you decide which students get which version, so the AI sees the text and your class profile only. Student names, scores and plans stay in your school's systems.

Check your school's AI guidance and the tools it approves for teachers.
Write a short class profile: course, unit, goals, period length and general needs, in general terms.
Pick a text you're allowed to use: your own writing, a public-domain text or material your school licenses for this.
Fill in the prompt below and paste it into ChatGPT with your profile and the text.
Check every version against the original (see below), then save the prompt as your Leveled Text Template.

AI tools' own terms say you need the rights to anything you paste in. If you're unsure whether a publisher's text may go into an AI tool, ask your school or the publisher.

Like we saw in Day 2 of our free educational series for educators, a class profile is a saved note that describes the course, so you can paste it into any prompt, and levels describe the text while you decide who gets which version.

What reading level prompt can you copy?

This prompt is written to sit under your class profile. It asks for Version A close to the original, Version B at a grade level you choose and Version C at a lower level with key terms in bold. It also asks for six vocabulary words, three shared questions and a list of wording changes that could shift meaning.

Try it

[Paste your class profile]

Here is a text I'm allowed to use in class:
"[paste text]"
Learning goal for this reading: [goal]

Please create:
1. Version A: close to the original, lightly edited for clarity
2. Version B: the same content at roughly a [grade level] reading level
3. Version C: the same content at roughly a [lower grade level] reading level,
   with short sentences and key terms in bold
Keep every fact, number, name, and key term the same as the original.
Do not add new facts. Then give me a list of 6 vocabulary words with
student-friendly definitions, and 3 questions that work for all three versions.
Finally, list every wording change that could change the meaning (even one
word, such as 'can' or 'try') and anything you left out. Write the
definitions using only the text, or flag any detail that isn't in it.

Click or tap the box to select the whole prompt, then copy it.

Why does each part of the reading level prompt matter?

Each part of the prompt protects the meaning of the text while the wording changes. Together they give you three versions and the tools to check them. Knowing what each part does helps you fill in the brackets well and check the results.

Your class profile. It describes the course in general terms, so the versions fit your grade and goals.
The keep-the-same line. Every fact, number, name and key term stays as it is in the original.
Vocabulary and questions. Six words and three shared questions give every reader a way into the same discussion.
The change list. Every wording change that could shift meaning, and anything left out, is listed for you to check.

How does a class profile make every prompt fit your class?

A second tool from the same lesson is the class profile: a saved note that describes your course in general terms. You paste it at the top of the prompt. Fill it in once, and every draft starts from your grade, unit and goals.

Try it: step 2

CLASS PROFILE (no student information)
- Course and grade: [e.g. 10th-grade English]
- Current unit: [e.g. argument writing]
- Standards or goals: [paste or describe]
- Period length: [e.g. 50 minutes]
- General needs to plan for: [the group in general terms, e.g. "a wide range of
  reading levels; some students are learning English"]
- Materials: [e.g. classroom set of the novel, projector, no 1:1 devices]
- How I like materials to look: [e.g. short directions, numbered steps]
- Avoid: [e.g. invented quotes presented as real, references to students]

Click or tap the box to select the whole prompt, then copy it.

Save the profile with your Leveled Text Template, so both are ready for the next text.

What does it look like in practice?

Say a 3rd-grade teacher pastes their own short text on how bees make honey. The three versions should come back with every key term kept, plus vocabulary, questions and a change list. If Version C swaps "pollen" for "dust," the change list should show it, and the teacher puts the key term back before printing.

Here is a before and after with placeholders:

Before: Version C of [your text] with [a key term] swapped for a simpler word.
After: Version C with [the key term] back in place and in bold, plus a student-friendly definition in the vocabulary list.

What are common snags with AI reading levels?

Most snags come from a simpler word that changes the meaning, or from a definition that adds a detail. Each fix below starts from the change list the prompt asks for. The original text stays the standard for every version you share.

If Version C swaps a key term for a simpler word, try putting the term back and defining it in the vocabulary list.
If a definition adds a detail, try trimming it to what the text says.
If Version C runs long, try the lesson's follow-up: "Make Version C shorter."

How do you check the leveled versions?

Compare each version with the original, starting with the AI's list of changes, because simplifying can shift meaning. Reading levels from AI are estimates, so your own judgment decides whether each version fits. Run this short check before you print or share the versions with your class:

Every fact, number, name and key term matches the original.
Each item on the change list is one you accept.
Definitions use only what's in the text.
Versions are named by reading level, and you choose who gets each one.

Where to look first: the change list, small words like "can" or "try," and the vocabulary definitions.

What do you get?

You get one text at three reading levels, each checked against the original with every key fact kept, plus vocabulary, shared questions and a template you can reuse with any text you're allowed to use. Your knowledge of your class decides which version each reader gets.

What do teachers often ask about AI reading levels?

Three questions come up often when teachers start leveling texts with AI. The short answers below come from the same lesson. Each one keeps the same habits at its center: a text you may use, levels that describe the text, and your judgment on who gets which version.

Which texts can I paste in?

Your own writing, a public-domain text, or material your school licenses for this.

How do I decide who gets which version?

You decide yourself, in your own planning.

Can I add more for younger readers?

Yes. For K–5, a read-aloud version and picture ideas suit younger readers.

What tip helps with the next text?

Save the profile, the prompt and each checked set of versions together. Next time, paste the profile, swap in the new text and goal, and start your check from the change list. The routine stays the same for every text you're allowed to use.