Story Seekers Series 2 - Reading level of 7 to 7.5 years

Story Seekers Series 2 is written specifically for students aged 8 to 11 years who have a reading age of 7 to 7.5 years. It features high-interest fiction storylines and non-fiction topics to maintain engagement while improving literacy outcomes. With well-considered text, high quality images and associated literacy activities, the readers can be used in a guided reading setting, as independent readers, or ESOL support resources.

Each Series 2 title has an accompanying teacher book, reducing preparation time. The teacher books include:

  • a short phonics lesson plan based on a programme-wide scope and sequence
  • a range of comprehension questions that encourage higher order thinking and rich discussion about the text
  • vocabulary questions that prompt discussions to clarify less familiary words, reinforce parts of speech and make morphological links
  • questions that test students' phonological knowledge in context
  • answers to independent activities

An activity book to extend students’ comprehension, vocabulary and decoding skills while catering to diverse learning styles, is also available.

Single books: $13.50
Title Set (6 student copies and 1 teacher copy of the same title): $87.50
Series Pack (6 student copies and 1 teacher copy of each of the 21 titles plus the Series 2 Activity Book): $1,690.00

Ages: 8-11 years

Buy entire series

Payback Time - Title Set Book
$94.50 AUD $87.50 AUD
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What a Tail!
Animals in Danger
Mysterious Lights in the Night
Deep Dreams
Wild, Wild Weather
Skate Mates
Story Seekers Activity Books - Series 2: Release 2
Billy Saves the Beach
Max and the War Box
Geocaching – Online Treasure Hunt
Amazing Festivals Around the World
Adventure in the Park
The Mystery of the Ice Man
Watch Out in the Sea!
Payback Time
Story Seekers Activity Books - Series 2
Teeth Talk
The Mud Run
Chariot Race!
Know Your Robots
Getting Around
Food from There to Here
Billy Saves the Beach - Teacher edition
Max and the War Box - Teacher edition
Geocaching – Online Treasure Hunt - Teacher edition
Amazing Festivals Around the World - Teacher edition
Adventure in the Park - Teacher edition
The Mystery of the Ice Man - Teacher edition
Payback Time - Teacher edition
Teeth Talk - Teacher edition
The Mud Run - Teacher edition
Chariot Race! - Teacher edition
Know Your Robots - Teacher edition
Getting Around - Teacher edition
Food from There to Here - Teacher edition
Watch Out in the Sea! - Teacher edition

About the Authors

Picture of Philippa Werry

Philippa Werry

Philippa lives in Wellington and writes fiction, non-fiction, poetry and plays for children and young adults. Her books have been shortlisted for a number of awards and prizes. Her work has also appeared in various anthologies and has been broadcast on radio. She maintains several writing blogs and is a frequent speaker at schools with the Writers in Schools programme. For further information, see philippawerry.co.nz.
Picture of Marie Langley

Marie Langley

Marie Langley’s experience in education includes 19 years teaching in secondary and area (Years 1 to 13) schools, 10 years as head of an English department, and seven years as a deputy principal. Her published works include a thesis for a Master of Teaching and Learning degree, magazine articles, short stories, poetry, picture books, a junior novel and numerous educational resource texts. She currently lives and works in Golden Bay in the top north-west corner of the South Island of New Zealand.

Dawn McMillan

Dawn McMillan is a children’s author with work published world-wide. After 30 years of a wonderful teaching career she moved into writing full time. Dawn has had 230 educational scripts published, including readers and activity cards, and over thirty picture books published with more in process. She won the Children’s Choice NZ Post Award in 2003 and has since won two Notable book Awards. Some of her fiction work is fun, some serious in content. She loves the challenge of non-fiction work.When she is not glued to the computer, or sitting on the beach creating stories, Dawn loves to spend time with family and friends. She walks, gardens and enjoys craft work. Dawn lives with her husband Derek, and their cat Lola, in a small coastal village on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. Form more information, her website is www.dawnmcmillan.co.nz

Heather Haylock

Heather Haylock is an author based in Auckland. She has an academic background in geography, natural hazards and disasters, climate change and environmental planning. She has worked as a town planner and an environmental resource management planner. More recently, she spent over ten years working as a literacy teaching assistant in a Papatoetoe primary school. Heather writes fiction and non-fiction and is the author of the award-winning Granny McFlitterpicture book series. A new story, Koro Weta and the Gumboot Battle has been chosen as the text for the 2022 Storylines Gavin Bishop Award. Heather talks to students about her writing at school visits including some in different parts of the country as part of the Storylines National Story Tours. She lives in a 100 year old house with her husband and two nearly-grown-up children and one persnickety pussy cat. For more information, her website is: www.heatherhaylock.nz
Picture of Frances Adlam

Frances Adlam

Frances Adlam, a highly experienced and creative educator and therapist, has 20 years of teaching experience, is considered a “gifted teacher” by many, and for over 15 years has been involved in teaching the arts, creativity, multiple intelligences and working with creatively gifted children. She has lectured in New Zealand and been an adviser for teachers in the aforementioned areas. She is also a published children’s author, a dancer and a playwright. She currently works as an educator and therapist for children in her private practice, Out of the Box, where she specialises in working with children who are on the spectra of dyslexia, ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome and autism. Frances has written many resources for Essential Resources, some of which are under her former name, Frances Reed. You can find out more about Frances at www.outofthebox.net.nz.

Picture of Bronwen Wall

Bronwen Wall

Bronwen writes and edits full time from her home among the trees in hilly Wellington, New Zealand. She has written for the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s Ready to Read, Junior Journal, School Journal and Connected series. Her non-fiction children’s book Explore! Aotearoa, about incredible New Zealand explorers, won a Storylines Notable Book Award and was a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults in 2018. And when Bronwen isn’t writing, she is often out exploring herself, looking for more information for her next piece of writing.

Helen McEwen

Helen had forgotten about her childhood love of writing until, on a whim, she decided to enter a short story in a radio competition. Since then, she has written everything from lesson plans to lecture notes, marketing spiels to project proposals, website guides to literacy resources. She loves hearing about kids who have come to enjoy reading and writing as much as she does.
Picture of Paul Mason

Paul Mason

Inspired by his own family and from his time as a primary school teacher, Paul likes to write stories that get young readers turning pages. Paul has an extensive body of published work crossing a range of genres, including the novels The International Yeti Collective and Shadowspring. He lives on an island in Aotearoa New Zealand, and can be found with a little book and a fountain pen in his hands, catching ideas before they disappear.