Text Leveling System

Some Birthday!

RDQ:	682	Max Word/Sent	37	Total Words	1178		Diff Words	448
Lex	680	Ave Word/.Sent	9	Hi Freq occurs	853	72.4%	Hi freq	207	46.2%
AR	3.1	Long Sentences	7	Low Freq occurs	46	3.9%	Low freq	39	8.7%

My mom and dad were divorced.
My brother Rich and I lived with my mother except
that we spent every summer with Dad and Gramma my
dad's mother. Cousin Billy lived nearby.
Dad was a traveling salesman.
It was my job to get him up and to make sure his socks
matched. He was color-blind you see.]]
Before he went to work Dad and I would have breakfast 
together. We'd talk about everything in the world and he 
could always make me laugh. But today he wasn't saying 
anything-and it was my birthday!
"Anything special happening
today Daddy?" I asked hoping it
would help him remember.
"Nope honey. Today's about the
same as any other day I'd say."
Just as I was going to drop a big 
hint about the pedal pushers and 
blouse I wanted for my birthday 
he was out the door into his car 
and off to work.
"See you tonight honey" he
called out.]] 
That night when Dad came home I looked for a 
birthday present.
He read the paper like he always did. Then he 
started watching TV like he always did!]] 
Suddenly my dad sat up in his easy chair and got 
that look in his eye that usually meant he was up to 
something. "I think tonight might be the perfect night 
to do it" he said.
"Do what?" my brother and my cousin Billy asked. 
"I think tonight we should head down to the Clay Pit."]] 
"But Dad" I said "everybody knows 
that the Clay Pit is haunted!"
"I'm with you Dad" my brother said. 
"Me too" added Billy.
Not only had my birthday been 
completely forgotten but now we 
had to go to one of the scariest 
places on earth. . . and at night! 
"Tonight we're going to get the 
very first photograph ever 
taken of the Monster at 
Clay Pit Bottoms."
Even though I was scared 
I began to feel a little excited.]] 
"Okay Richie Boy you get the bait" Dad told my brother
as he read from a list he'd made. "Some smelly cheese will do." 
"I'll get some from the fridge" said Gramma.
"You get my camera Billy" said Dad.
"Okay Uncle Bill" my cousin called.
"Patricia you go get the flashlights."
"Got 'em" I called out as I held up two Everlast Midnight 
Specials.
"Hot dogs. Buns. Marshmallows" my dad read.
"I'll put them in a basket for you and the children 
William" said Gramma.
"If we each carry a blanket we'll be all set" said Dad.
We put on galoshes rain gear and woolen caps in case 
it got cold.]] 
We marched down the Street toward the bottomland 
at the edge of town.
"We're almost there" my dad called out in a kind of 
scary voice.]] 
As we came up to the edge of the water it looked 
black cold and very deep.
"I think I saw something" Billy whispered.
We all gasped and stood stock-still as we watched 
the water for a sign of the monster's approach.
"C'mon kids" my dad ordered. "We have to set up 
camp."
We threw our blankets over a low-hanging branch
and put rocks on the corners to make a tent. Then we 
all collected wood for our campfire.]] 
The fire looked warm and friendly.
"Let's eat" Dad said as he threaded hot dogs onto sticks. 
"We'll need our strength later."
What do you think the monster looks likes?" I asked 
my father.
He dabbed the mustard from the corners of his mouth. 
'Well" he began. "I've heard it's the ugliest meanest 
slimiest thing anyone ever saw. People say that if you look 
it in the eye. your hair turns white and you're never the 
same again
We all just looked at each other too scared to speak 
"I know that it loves things that smell bad. That's why 
you kids should never squawk about taking baths."
We all looked at the water for a long time.]]
"Do you think that if we get its picture it will get in
the papers Uncle Bill?" my cousin asked after a while.
"Sure! It'll make the State Journal...and we'll all be
heroes" my dad promised. "Now I think that this is just 
about the right time for us to begin."
"Begin what?" I said still scared.
Dad didn't answer.
"It ought to come for this alright" Dad said as he put
the smelly cheese on the edge of the pit. "My but you are
brave kids" he said. "Sure can't think of anyone that
I'd rather risk my hide with than you!"]]
Just then something rippled the surface
of the black water.
"See that?" my brother whispered.
"Something really big is out there " I squealed.
My dad's face became very serious. Maybe he was even
a little scared himself.
"What if it comes after us?" my cousin Bill cried.
"If it looks like it's going to come after us then run with
all your might for home. Don't look back...just keep
running!" my father told us.
Then there was a rustling in the bulrushes. The frogs
stopped croaking.]]
"I see it!" my brother yelled.
I wasn't sure but I thought I could see something big
gliding along the water straight at us!
Dad took the camera and walked into the darkness to
investigate.
Soon we heard snarling and growling. We started
screaming and hollering at each other. Then we heard
a loud kersplash.
I flashed the light at the sound and saw something
Big coming out of the water. It stood on two hind legs
and came right at us. It smelled awful!
Then there was a terrible howl.
"It's the monster. Let's get outa here!" my brother
shouted as he ran for home.
"The monster!" we all screamed as we ran up on our 
front porch.]]
Breathlessly we told my gramma what had happened.
"Well" he said. "I think your monster is coming through
the front door right now!"
There was my dad soaked to the skin smelling real
bad covered with bulrushes. "You should have seen it]]
Ma" my dad told Gramma between belly laughs. "Our
monster turned out to be a floating log. Then Harley
Beeches's bloodhounds found the cheese and got into a
fight. I tried to separate them slipped and fell into the
water..." Then my old man laughed so hard he cried.]]
"Some way to celebrate a certain little girl's birthday!"
said Gramma as she brought my birthday cake - a
whipped cream cake with a rubber monster and candles
on top.
Then everybody yelled happy birthday!
"You remembered" I said as I opened my dad's present.
"Just what I wanted." The pedal pushers and blouse didn't
match but who could complain ... this had been some
birthday!]]
"Daddy is there really a monster?" I asked.
"Of course there is!" my dad said between mouthfuls of
whipped cream cake. "Maybe next year" he said with a
wink "we'll get the picture."
Then everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me.
My dad sang the loudest - and off-key of course.
That's my dad.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Inferences: Some implications

Complexity: Several ideas - closely related

Concepts: Abstract/Complex Social

Sequence of Events: Chronological

Features

Character traits

Simple Plot

First Person

Topic

Monsters

Fathers

Birthdays

Fears

*Family & Friends

*Holidays, Events, Cele

Night

Low Frequency Words

approach	bottomland	breathlessly	bulrushes	c'mon
collected	everlast	galoshes	gliding	gramma
harley	haunted	heroes	hind	hollering
hoping	journal	kersplash	marshmallows	monster's
mouthfuls	mustard	ought	outa	photograph
pushers	richie	rippled	rustling	salesman
separate	slimiest	snarling	specials	squealed
stock	threaded	ugliest	whipped