Text Leveling System

The Mixed-Up Chameleon

RDQ:	229	Max Word/Sent	14	Total Words	298		Diff Words	127
Lex	490	Ave Word/.Sent	8	Hi Freq occurs	170	57%	Hi freq	39	30.7%
AR	2.0	Long Sentences	0	Low Freq occurs	14	4.7%	Low freq	8	6.3%

On a shiny green leaf sat a small green chameleon. 
It moved onto a brown tree and turned brownish. 
hen it rested on a red flower and turned reddish. 
When the chameleon moved slowly across the yellow sand it turned yellowish. 
You could hardly see it. 
When the chameleon was warm and had something to eat it turned sparkling green. 
But when it was cold and hungry it turned grey and dull. 
When the chameleon was hungry it sat still and waited. Only its eyes moved - up down sideways - until it spotted a fly. 
Then the chameleon's long and sticky tongue shot out and caught the fly. That was its life. It was not very exciting 
But one day ...the chameleon saw a zoo! It had never seen so many beautiful animals. The chameleon thought: How small I am how slow how weak! I wish I could be big and white like a polar bear. And the chameleon's wish came true. But was it happy? No! I wish I could be handsome like a flamingo. I wish I could be smart like a fox. I wish I could swim like a fish. I wish I could run like a deer. I wish I could see things far away like a giraffe. I wish I could hide in a shell like a turtle. I wish I could be strong like an elephant. I wish I could be funny like a seal. I wish I could be like people. Just then a fly flew by. The chameleon was very hungry. But the chameleon was very mixed-up. It was a little of this and a little of that. And it couldn't catch the fly. I wish I could be myself. The chameleon's wish came true. And it caught the fly.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Simple phrases

Text structure: Oral/Natural

Concept: Fanciful

Features

Topic

Wishes

Zoos

Colors

Appearances

*Animals

Habitat

Low Frequency Words

chameleon	chameleon's	flamingo	grey	handsome
reddish	sideways	sparkling