Step 2

5 Amazing Facts About Reading

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Public Step 2 Stories Styles February 25, 2020 4

What’s the best way to improve your English? Of course, there are many ways. But big, easy reading is one of the best. And it probably has the most research and evidence to support it. What is big, easy reading? First, you read lots of books and stories. That’s... Read more

The Seven Habits Made Easy

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Public Step 2 Stories February 25, 2020

Max is running late. He hurries out the door of his apartment, holding a cup of coffee. Then he sees his bus. “It’s leaving!” he cries. Max starts to run, but he trips over a rock and falls. His coffee flies out of his hands and spills all over... Read more

Grow Your Mindset!

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Public Sciences Step 2 Stories February 25, 2020

Mike waited and waited. Was it going to be good news or bad news? Who would be in, and who would be out? Would he make the team or not? Finally, the coach put two lists on the door of the school gym. Mike looked at the list for... Read more

Drifting Cowboy: Hank Williams

Arts B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Public Step 2 Stories Top Picks February 25, 2020 0

Hank would never make it to the concert. There were too many problems. It was icy cold outside. He sat under a cover in the back of his light blue Cadillac car. He was heading to the city of Canton, Ohio, to give a big concert on New Year’s... Read more

Story Power

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Courses Ideas Movies Step 2B Public Step 2 Stories February 25, 2020

Dorothy looked up into the sky. And she started to sing. Her soft voice rose up gently in the air. Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue And the dreams that... Read more

The Boy on Graves-End Road

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Public Step 2 Stories Story February 25, 2020 3

By Caty Weaver Kelly Ryan was making dinner. Her ten-year-old son Benjamin was watching television in the living room. Or, at least she thought he was. “Benny-boy, do you want black beans or red beans?” “Red beans, Mama.” Ben had come up quietly right behind her. “Don’t do that,... Read more

Sticky Communication

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Public Step 2 Stories February 25, 2020 1

The bell rang. Jim’s things were already in his red book bag, which looked brown under the white lights of the classroom. Zip! Zip! He closed the bag. He stood up and let out a sigh, “Ahhhh.” It was loud enough that other students and the teacher noticed. Jim... Read more

Black History Month

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Courses Culture Step 2A Public Step 2 Stories Styles February 24, 2020 0

ReadOasis Step 2 February is Black History Month in the US. The month honors important people and events about Africans who are spread out around the world. This tradition began in the US. The US and Canada celebrate black history in February, and the UK does so in October.... Read more

The Love of a Patriot

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Listen!Protected Step 2 Stories February 19, 2020 3

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Hope filled the air on that famous day in August 1963. Over 200,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Abraham Lincoln's giant statue looked down quietly on the great crowd as Dr. Martin Luther King walked up to the... Read more

Bird Leg Test

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 2 Stories Story February 19, 2020

ReadOasis Step 2 It was three o'clock in the morning. And Jonah was tired. "I think I'm ready for the test," he said to himself. Then he fell asleep at his desk. When he opened his eyes, he saw the clock in front of his face. The red numbers... Read more

Slumdog Millionaire

Arts B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Courses Movies Step 2A Protected Step 2 Stories February 18, 2020 0

ReadOasis Step 2 The film Slumdog Millionaire is about an 18-year-old boy from Mumbai, India. He comes from a poor part of the city. And he wins a large cash prize on a TV game show. But after he wins, he is arrested by the police. The police think... Read more

Word Power is Life

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels NGSL Quizzes Public Step 2 Stories Styles Words February 18, 2020 0

ReadOasis Step 2 We all have something to say. A boy likes a girl, and so he says, “I like you!” A traveller gets lost, so he asks a stranger, “Can you show me the way?” A woman sees a man walk in front of a bus, and she... Read more

Culture as a Way of Life

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Step 2 Stories Styles February 18, 2020

ReadOasis Step 2 The last thing I remember before the car accident was music. My favorite song played on the radio. Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” exploded as an instant hit. He released the song in December 1991. And I fell in love with it immediately. Three weeks after... Read more

The iPhone

B2-Intermediate+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 2 Stories Tech February 18, 2020 2

ReadOasis Step 2 Apple Computer has revolutionized tech. In 1984, Apple released the Macintosh. It was the first successful personal computer with a mouse and menus. In 2001, Apple released the iPod. With the first iPod, you could carry "1000 songs in your pocket." Today an iPod can hold... Read more

A Library with No Books

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 2 Stories Styles February 18, 2020 0

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) It was dark outside and freezing. Ice and snow shined gray and white under the light of the moon and the lights on the streets. In the surrounding valley, an icy breeze blew through the trees and over the cold waters of the Susquehanna... Read more

The Dog and His Shadow

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Public Step 2 Stories Story February 18, 2020

ReadOasis Step 2 A big dog was walking through the streets one day. As he walked along, he passed the meat seller’s shop. And there he saw it: the best sight in the world. In front of the shop, was a table. And on the table were large, juicy... Read more

Henri Rousseau, Artist

Arts BNC Levels Protected Step 2 Stories Times February 17, 2020 1

ReadOasis Step 2 Henri Rousseau was born on May 21, 1844. He was a famous French painter. At first, he worked as a government official. But he retired in 1893 so he could focus on painting. He created bold and colorful paintings. His paintings showed imaginative dreams and unusual... Read more

The Rules of Elite Success

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Sciences Step 2 Stories Top Picks February 17, 2020 1

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) The computer sat in a funny little room at the Lakeside School in Seattle. It was a gift from the Mother’s Club. Costing $3,000, it was expensive at the time. But the mothers wanted the students to have a computer so they could have... Read more

James Hogg and His Dog

A2-Beginner+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 2 Stories Story February 17, 2020

ReadOasis Step 2 There was a poor man who lived in Scotland. His work was to care for the sheep. His name was James Hogg. His family also worked as shepherds. He took care of a rich man’s sheep. They belonged to Eric Water. Sometimes he had many baby... Read more

The Golden Rule

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Listen!Protected Step 2 Stories February 17, 2020 0

ReadOasis Step 2 What is the Golden Rule? Some people say, "If you have the gold, you make the rules!" But seriously, the Golden Rule is a guide for behavior that we find in almost all cultures, religions, and moral systems. This rule has two basic forms. A negative... Read more