Text Leveling System

Make Way for Ducklings

RDQ:	657	Max Word/Sent	33	Total Words	1155		Diff Words	391
Lex	670	Ave Word/.Sent	9	Hi Freq occurs	741	64.2%	Hi freq	165	42.2%
AR	3.0	Long Sentences	13.8	Low Freq occurs	46	4%	Low freq	26	6.6%

Mr. And Mrs. Mallard were looking for a place to live. But 
every time Mr. Mallard saw what looked like a nice place 
Mrs. Mallard said it was no good. There were sure to be ]]
foxes in the woods or turtles in the water and she was 
not going to raise a family where there might be foxes or 
turtles. So they flew on and on. ]]
When they got to Boston they felt too tired to fly any 
further. There was a nice pond in the Public Garden with 
a little island on it. "The very place to spend the night" 
quacked Mr. Mallard. So down they flapped. ]]
Next morning they fished for their breakfast in the mud 
at the bottom of the pond. But they didn't find much. ]]
Just when they were getting ready to start on their way a 
strange enormous bird came by. It was pushing a boat full 
of people and there was a man sitting on its back. "Good 
morning" quacked Mr. Mallard being polite. The big bird 
was too proud to answer. But the people on the boat threw 
peanuts into the water so the Mallards followed them all 
round the pond and got another breakfast better than 
the first. ]]
"I like this place" said Mrs. Mallard as the climbed out 
on the bank and waddled along. "Why don't we build a 
nest and raise our ducklings right in this pond? There are 
no foxes and  no turtles and the people feed us peanuts. 
What could be better?" 
"Good" said Mrs. mallard delighted that at last Mrs. Mallard 
had found a place that suited her. But - ]]
"Look out!" squawked Mrs. Mallard all of a dither. "You'll 
get run over!" And when she got her breath she added: "This 
is no place for babies with all those horrid things rushing 
about. We'll have to look somewhere else." ]]
So they flew over Beacon Hill and round the State 
House but there was no place there. ]]
They looked in Louisburg Square but 
there was no water to swim in. ]]
Then they flew over the Charles River. "This is better" 
quacked Mr. Mallard. "That island looks like a nice quiet 
place and it's only a little way from the Public Garden." 
"Yes" said Mrs. Mallard remembering the peanuts. "That 
looks like just the right place to hatch ducklings." ]]
So they chose a cozy spot among the bushes near the water 
and settled down to build their nest. And only just in time 
for now they were beginning to molt. All their old wing 
feathers started to drop out and they would not be able 
to fly again until the new ones grew in. ]]
But of course they could swim and one day they swam 
over to the park on the river bank and there they met a 
policeman named Michael. Michael fed them peanuts and 
after that the Mallards called on Michael every day. ]]
After Mrs. Mallard had laid eight eggs in the nest she 
couldn't go to visit Michael any more because she had to 
sit on the eggs to keep them warm. She moved off the nest 
only to get a drink of water or to have her lunch or to 
count the eggs and make sure they were all there. ]]
One day the ducklings hatched out. first came Jack then 
Kack and then Lack then Mack and Nack and Ouack and 
Pack and Quack. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were bursting with 
pride. It was a great responsibility taking care of so many 
ducklings and it kept them very busy. ]]
One day Mr. Mallard decided he'd like to take a trip to 
see what the rest of the river was like further on. So off 
he set. "I'll meet you in a week in the Public Garden" he 
quacked over his shoulder. "Take good care of the 
ducklings." 
"Don't you worry" said Mrs. Mallard. "I know all about 
bringing up children." And she did. ]]
She taught them how to swim and dive. ]]
She taught them to walk in a line to come when they were 
called and to keep a safe distance from bikes and scooters 
and other things with wheels. ]]
When at last she felt perfectly satisfied with them she 
said one morning: "Come along children. Follow me." 
Before you could wink an eyelash Jack Kack Lack Mack 
Nack Ouack Pack and Quack fell into line just as they 
had been taught. Mrs. Mallard let the way into the water 
and they swam behind her to the opposite bank. ]]
There they waded ashore and waddled along till they 
came to the highway. ]]
Mrs. Mallard stepped out to cross the road. "Honk honk!" 
went the horns on the speeding cars. "Qua-a-ack!" went 
Mrs. mallard as she tumbled back again. "Quack! Quack! 
Quack! Quack! went Jack Kack Lack Mack Nack ]]
Ouack Pack and Quack just as loud as their little 
quackers could quack. The cars kept speeding by and 
honking and Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings kept right 
on quack-quack-quacking. ]]
They made such a noise that Michael came running waving 
his arms and blowing his whistle. ]]
He planted himself in the center of the road raised one 
hand to stop the traffic and then beckoned with the other 
the way policemen do for Mrs. Mallard to cross over. ]]
As soon as Mrs. Mallard the the ducklings were safe on 
the other side and on their way down Mount Vernon 
Street Michael rushed back to his police booth. ]]
He called Clancy at headquarters and said: "There's a family 
of ducks walkin' down the street!" Clancy said: "Family of 
what?" "Ducks!" yelled Michael. "Send a police car quick!" ]]
Meanwhile Mrs. Mallard had reached the Corner Book 
Shop and turned into Charles Street with Jack Kack 
Lack Mack Nack Ouack Pack and Quack all marching 
in line behind her. ]]
Everyone stared. An old lady from Beacon Hill said: 
"Isn't it amazing!" and the man who swept the streets 
said: "Well now ain't that nice!" and when Mrs. 
Mallard heard them she was so proud she tipped her 
nose in the air and walked along with an extra swing 
in her waddle. ]]
When they came to the corner of Beacon Street there 
was the police car and four policemen that Clancy 
had sent from headquarters. The policemen held back the 
traffic so Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings could march 
across the street ]]
right on into the Public Garden. ]]
Inside the gate they all turned round to say thank you
to the policemen. The policemen smiled and waved 
good-by.]]
 When they reached the pond and swam across to the 
little island there was Mr. Mallard waiting for them 
just as he had promised. ]]
The ducklings liked the new island so much that they 
decided to live there. All day long they follow the swan 
boats and eat peanuts. ]]
And when night falls they swim to their little island 
and go to sleep.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Two speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Some Long/Complex

Text structure: Story/Poem

Inferences: Some implications

Concept: Fanciful

Features

Simple Plot

Topic

Water

Growth/Growing

Cities

Babies

Policemen

Habitat

Helping

*Animal Life

Birds

Low Frequency Words

beacon	beckoned	dither	further	hatched
headquarters	horrid	louisburg	mallard	mallards
meanwhile	molt	mount	nack	opposite
policemen	public	quackers	responsibility	satisfied
suited	swan	swept	vernon	waddled
walkin