How to Generate Reading Passages With AI

As a teacher, you know how exhausting it can be to create reading passages from scratch. You have to match the reading level, connect to learning goals, and keep students engaged. At the same time, you need to manage everything else on your plate.

It’s a lot, to say the least. And it’s probably why you’re here in the first place. So let’s explore two ways to create reading passages with AI. You’ll learn how to use both the standard prompting method and an effective AI-powered tool for teachers. Both methods will save you time and reduce stress.

Considerations to make your reading passage effective

Maybe you already consider several aspects in your preparation, but your AI tool of choice will need the context as well. So think how it can help with your requirements.

Topic or subject: What should the passage focus on (e.g., literature, science, geography)?

Each subject has its own key terms and way of thinking. In math, a reading passage might involve solving a real-world problem, like dividing a pizza. In history, it might describe what life was like in ancient Egypt. Matching the content area makes the reading meaningful and relevant. Is that something your AI tool can do?

Objective: What skills will this passage help your students with?

The passage should connect to what you want your students to learn. If the goal is to learn about volcanoes in science, the passage should explain how volcanoes work, not just tell a story about a mountain. A clear learning objective helps keep the focus on the right skills and content. Can your AI tool incorporate your objective?

Your students’ reading level: Are your students beginners, intermediate, or advanced readers?

You need to match the passage to your students’ reading level. If it’s too hard, they may get frustrated. If it’s too easy, they may get bored. Reading level includes vocabulary, sentence length, and complexity of ideas. For example, a 3rd-grade student may struggle with words like “photosynthesis,” but they’ll understand “how plants make food from sunlight.” Matching the level helps students build confidence and grow as readers. Can your AI tool customize a passage for your students’ needs?

Length: How long should the passage be?

Consider how much time you have and how long your students can focus. A short, focused passage may be better than a long one, especially for younger readers. If students only have 20 minutes to read and discuss, you should choose a passage that fits that time frame. This keeps the lesson smooth and stress-free. Can your AI tool stick to the length requirement?

These are the basics, but you can approach it more strategically. Explore these aspects for a moment.

Curriculum standards: What curriculum expectations should the passage meet?

Reading passages should connect to your school’s or state’s curriculum standards. These standards show what students should learn in each subject and grade. Using standards helps make sure your lessons are aligned and purposeful. For example, if a standard says “students will compare two characters,” your passage should include two characters with clear differences and similarities. Now, how can your AI tool help with curriculum standards?

Adaptability: How easy will it be to customize the passage if your students’ reading ability improves?

Students have different strengths and challenges. Some may need easier words or more support. Others may be ready for harder texts. You can provide different versions of the same passage, or add helpful tools like a vocabulary list, visuals, or sentence starters. This makes learning more fair and supportive for everyone. How effectively can your AI tool ensure differentiation needs?

Reusability: How does the passage fit in your collection of resources and overall workflow?

You should always try to create reading passages that you can use again later. This saves time in the future. For example, you might write a general story about teamwork that can be used for both ELA and social studies. You can also change the questions or activities to fit different lessons. How can your AI tool help you reuse a material?

Repeatability of the process: How consistently and quickly can you prepare similar reading passages?

The process may go like this. You start with the standard, then choose your objective, pick a topic, and write the passage. Add comprehension questions and supports last. Following the same steps each time makes planning faster and more consistent. You can even make a template to help you and your team create passages more smoothly. How can your AI improve this process?

Scope of today’s tutorial

You can guess from the previous section how dynamic your approach can be when it comes to creating reading passages with AI. For this tutorial, we’ll keep it simple so that the process remains easy to follow. However, the strategy we’re using here is pretty flexible. So adapt it as necessary. 

We’ll generate a reading passage for a group of 5-th grade students. The goal is to make them familiar with the work of Isaac Newton, and the passage length will be 300 - 400 words.

Now that we’ve set the scope, it’s time to start with the easiest way to get the task done.

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How to create reading passages with Monsha

1. Head over to Monsha and log in. (In case you’re a new user, you can sign up in less than 30 seconds)

2. Once you’re logged in, you'll see a list of different types of resources you can make, including lesson plans, worksheets, IEP goals, and more. Select Adaptive Reading Passage.

3. The next screen will let you assign your reading passage to a course, unit, or lesson. This option can help you keep all your resources organized if you plan your curriculum in Monsha. We’ll skip this for now.

4. Now comes one of the most interesting parts. You can base your reading passage on different types of source materials, such as existing texts or even something as simple as online links. The best thing is, even combining multiple sources is possible!

Considering our requirements, we’ll use the “Topic of your choice” option and type in “Isaac Newton and his contribution to science”.

5. On the next configuration screen, you’ll be able to specify your requirements, such as your students’ grade level, language, and passage length. You can even adapt your reading passage to well-known frameworks like Depth of Knowledge (DOK), Lexile, and Bloom’s taxonomy. More importantly, all you have to do to set these requirements is click on the relevant options.

Pretty powerful, isn’t it?

Here’s how we configured ours:

Grade: Grade 5

Approximate length of the passage: 300 - 400 words

Since our goal is to help our students understand better, we’re going with Bloom’s Taxonomy (Understand).

In case you want to add more context, type in additional instructions, but this step is optional.

6. Click Generate, and your reading passage will be ready in seconds!

This is what we received - a passage titled "Isaac Newton: A Scientific Pioneer":

What sets Monsha apart from other reading passage generators

There are plenty of tools out there that can create blocks of text for your use. And they are pretty good, especially when you need a random passage. However, you can take your reading passages to a whole new level with Monsha.

Here’s how.

Instantly customize your passage: Whether you want to change the difficulty level or increase the length or change the tone, you can do it with the Quick Actions feature; no manual editing required.

Edit your reading passage if needed: Sometimes you may want to make your passage more dynamic. In that case, add rich content like images, tables, and more. You don’t need any third-party editing tools to make the output perfect.

Differentiate for multiple groups of students: As you’ve seen in this exercise, you can configure your reading passage based on grade level, DOK levels, Lexile reading level, or Bloom’s taxonomy. The same feature is available even after your passage is generated. So create different versions of the same resource for different classes and students with diverse needs, incorporating AI-powered differentiated instruction in your workflow.

Export your passage in your preferred format: Save or share your passage in your preferred format, such as MS Word, PDF or Google Docs. You can even export your passage to Canva.

Create more sources based on the passage: You’ll probably need comprehension questions or worksheets along with your reading passage. Worry not. You can create them right away.

By the way, every reading passage or any other teaching resource you generate with Monsha will remain accessible via your Monsha account. So you can use them whenever needed.

How to generate reading passages with AI prompting

Proper prompting.

That’s the simplest way to put it.

Whether you use ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Copilot to generate reading passages, you have to start with giving it clear, specific prompts. Instead of simply asking for “a science-based passage for 5th graders,” try including key details like the grade level, subject, topic, reading level, and learning objective. For example, say, “Write an informational text for a 5th-grade science class about plant life cycles. Keep the vocabulary age-appropriate and include three comprehension questions.”

The more guidance you give, the better the output will match your teaching goals. And it will also reduce the number of edits you’ll need to make.

When you take the time to craft a thoughtful prompt, it can actually make your planning easier in the long run. Well-structured teaching-focused prompts help AI chatbots produce passages that are closer to being classroom-ready, which means less time spent rewriting, simplifying, or creating comprehension questions later. Over time, you can even reuse your best prompts like templates, adjusting only a few details for new lessons. This repeatable process helps you work faster and stay organized, especially when planning for multiple subjects or grade levels. Once you get comfortable with prompting, it becomes a reliable shortcut that reduces stress and frees up time for other tasks, like supporting students or designing follow-up activities.

Now let’s take a look at an AI prompt template and a few examples you can customize to generate your reading passages. In case you need more examples, we actually have an entire AI prompt collection for teachers.

Prompt template to create reading passages

Create a reading passage for a [grade level] [subject] class.

The passage should align with the standard: “[insert curriculum standard or learning objective]” and should target the skill “[insert focus: main idea, vocabulary, inference, comparison, etc.].”

The reading level should match students at [insert reading level or Lexile range].

The passage type should be [choose one: narrative, informational, persuasive, explanatory, or procedural].

Make sure the content is age-appropriate and culturally inclusive.

The topic is “[insert topic]”. Use real-world connections or examples to increase engagement.

Include support for differentiation, such as simplified vocabulary, extension prompts, or graphic organizer suggestions.

End with 3–5 comprehension questions that check understanding of [insert cognitive skill: main idea, cause-effect, opinion, etc.].

Provide ideas for how this passage can be reused across other lessons or grade levels.

Prompt example 1: Appropriate for Grade 3 – ELA – Narrative Reading

Create a narrative reading passage for a 3rd-grade English Language Arts class.

The passage should align with the standard: “RL.3.3 – Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.”

Reading level: Grade 3 (Lexile 600–700L).

The passage should be a fictional story about a child overcoming a challenge at school.

Use age-appropriate language and relatable characters.

Include support for ELL students, such as a short glossary of key terms.

End with 5 comprehension questions: 2 on character traits, 1 on sequence of events, and 2 on making inferences.

Suggest how this passage could also be used in social-emotional learning or in a writing lesson on problem/solution.

Prompt example 2: Appropriate for Grade 6 – Science – Informational Text

Write an informational text for a 6th-grade science class.

Standard: MS-ESS2-4 – “Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems.”

Reading level: Grade 6 (Lexile 900L).

Topic: The water cycle and its role in weather.

Provide clear descriptions, age-appropriate scientific vocabulary, and real-world examples like rain storms or floods.

Include a visual description of a diagram students could draw.

Add 5 comprehension questions, including cause/effect and vocabulary in context.

Suggest how this passage could be reused in a geography or environmental science lesson.

Prompt example 3: Appropriate for Grade 9 – Social Studies – Persuasive Text

Create a persuasive reading passage for a 9th-grade social studies class.

Standard: “Evaluate the arguments for and against the Electoral College system in the U.S.”

Reading level: Grade 9 (Lexile 1050L).

The passage should argue for keeping the Electoral College, using ethos, pathos, and logos.

Keep the tone formal and balanced, with strong examples from history and current events.

Include 5 questions: 2 on identifying persuasive techniques, 1 on author’s purpose, 2 on evaluating the argument.

Suggest how this passage could be reused as a model in a writing unit or in a civics debate activity.

When general-purpose AI chatbots may fall short

You can clearly benefit from general-purpose AI chatbots like ChatGPT, but creating effective reading passages can still be challenging.

The thing is, the quality of the output depends heavily on the quality of your prompt. Coming up with a detailed, thoughtful prompt that includes standards, objectives, reading levels, differentiation needs, and content accuracy takes time and effort. So you may find yourself spending extra minutes, or even longer, just planning what to include in the prompt before you even generate the passage.

Another challenge is that generating the first version of the passage often isn’t the end. You might have to revise or regenerate the content multiple times to get the tone, vocabulary, and structure just right for your students. For example, you may ask ChatGPT to write a 5th-grade science text on ecosystems, only to find that the vocabulary is too advanced or the reading too abstract. Adjusting and refining the prompt to fix these issues can become a complicated process.

There is one more thing that can add a layer to the complexity. Integrating content produced by ChatGPT or Gemini into your existing workflow requires thought. Even if the passage is strong, you may still need to format it, create matching worksheets, or adjust it for different groups of learners. Instead of replacing prep time, generic AI tools may sometimes shift where your effort goes. 

Rethink your approach

As you can see, you need a repeatable and reliable process that can reduce both your workload and extensive prompting requirements. Something that will give you classroom-ready reading passages without complicating the existing workflow. That’s where Monsha comes in. Since it’s designed for teachers like you, it understands your context better than general-purpose AI chatbots. So whether you need reading passages or a standards-aligned lesson plan, give it a try for free.

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