With little experience reading materials at their level, many university students in Japan have low self-efficacy and lack motivation. Subsequently, with poor comprehension, they read little and lack enjoyment in reading (Nuttall, 1996). After a one-semester introduction to online graded reading materials, a survey (N = 96) profiled baseline reading habits and captured learner self-beliefs and attitudes. Results revealed that students with limited proficiency and almost no previous experience with graded readers found online materials at the right level, 93% and 88% noticed improvements in their understanding and reading skills respectively, and 62.5% felt motivation to continue reading. Comments provided evidence of the metaknowledge learners gained about reading level-appropriate, graded content online. This interactive presentation also introduces the 14 principles for L2-reading curriculum design (Grabe & Stoller, 2020) as takeaways to examine how well reading activities align with these principles for core reading curriculum, reading skills development, and instructional design.