Text Leveling System

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

RDQ:	1361	Max Word/Sent	40	Total Words	1647		Diff Words	632
Lex	800	Ave Word/.Sent	9	Hi Freq occurs	1099	66.7%	Hi freq	272	43%
AR	4.2	Long Sentences	2.8	Low Freq occurs	113	6.9%	Low freq	69	10.9%

Good Luck Signs
Sadako was born to be a runner. Her mother always
said that Sadako had learned to run before 
she could walk.
One morning in August 1954 Sadako ran
outside into the street as soon as she was dressed.
The morning sun of Japan touched brown high-]]
lights in her dark hair. There was not a speck 
of cloud in the blue sky. It was a good sign. Sadako 
was always on the lookout for good luck signs.
Back in the house her sister and two brothers 
were still sleeping on their bed quilts. She poked 
her big brother Masahiro.
"Get up lazybones!" she said. "It's Peace 
Day!"
Masahiro groaned and yawned. He wanted 
to sleep as long as possible but like most fourteen-
year-old boys he also loved to eat. When he 
sniffed the good smell of bean soup Masahiro got 
up. Soon Mitsue and Eiji were awake too.
Sadako helped Eiji get dressed. He was six 
but he sometimes lost a sock or shirt. Afterward 
Sadako folded the bed quilts. Her sister Mitsue 
who was nine helped put them away in the 
closet.
Rushing like a whirlwind into the kitchen 
Sadako cried "Oh Mother! I can hardly wait to 
go to the carnival. Can we please hurry with 
breakfast?
Her mother was busily slicing pickled 
radishes to serve with the rice and soup. She]]
looked sternly at Sadako. "You are eleven years old 
and should know better" she scolded. "You must 
not call it a carnival. Every year on August sixth 
we remember those who died when the atom 
bomb was dropped on our city. It is a memorial 
day."
Mr. Sasaki came in from the back porch. 
"That's right" he said. "Sadako chan you must 
show respect. Your own grandmother was killed 
that awful day."
"But I do respect Oba chan" Sadako said. 
"I pray for her spirit every morning. It's just that 
I'm so happy today."
a matter of fact it's time for our prayers 
now her father said.
The Sasaki family gathered around the little 
altar shelf. Oba chan's picture was there in a gold 
frame. Sadako looked at the ceiling and wondered 
if her grandmother's spirit was floating somewhere 
above the altar.
"Sadako chan!" Mr. Sasaki said sharply.
Sadako quickly bowed her head. She fidgeted 
and wriggled her bare toes while Mr. Sasaki spoke. 
He prayed that the spirits of their ancestors were]]
happy and peaceful. He gave thanks for his 
barbershop. He gave thanks for his fine children. 
And he prayed that his family would be protected 
from the atom bomb disease called leukemia.
Many still died from the disease even though 
the atom bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima
nine years before It had filled the air with radiation
-a kind of poison-that stayed inside people
for a long time.
At breakfast Sadako noisily gulped down 
her soup and rice. Masahiro began to talk about 
girls who ate like hungry dragons. But Sadako 
didn't hear his teasing. Her thoughts were dancing 
around the Peace Day of last year. She loved 
the crowds of people the music and fireworks. 
Sadako could still taste the spun cotton candy.
She finished breakfast before anyone else. 
When she jumped up Sadako almost knocked 
the table over. She was tall for her age and her 
long legs always seemed to get in the way.
"Come on Mitsue chan" she said. "Let's 
wash the dishes so that we can go soon.."
When the kitchen was clean and tidy 
Sadako tied red bows on her braids and stood]]
impatiently by the door.
"Sadako chan" her mother said softly "we 
aren't leaving until seven-thirty. You can sit quietly 
until it is time to go."
Sadako plopped down with a thud onto the 
tatauzi mat. Nothing ever made her parents hurry. 
While she sat there a fuzzy spider paced across the 
room. A spider was a good luck sign. Now Sadako 
was sure the day would be wonderful. She cupped 
the insect in her hands and carefully set it free 
outside.
"That's silly" Masahiro said. "Spiders don't 
really bring good luck."
"Just wait and see!" Sadako said gaily.]] 
PEACE DAY
When the family started out the air was already 
warm and dust hung over the busy streets. Sadako 
ran ahead to the house of her best friend Chizuko. 
The two had been friends since kindergarten. 
Sadako was sure that they would always be as 
close as two pine needles on the same twig.]] 
Chizuko waved and walked toward her. 
Sadako sighed. Sometimes she wished that her friend 
would move a bit faster. "Don't be such a turtle!" 
she shouted. "Let's hurry so we won't miss 
anything."
"Sadako chan go slowly in this heat" her 
mother called after her. But it was too late. The 
girls were already racing up the street.
Mrs. Sasaki frowned. "Sadako is always in 
such a hurry to be first that she never stops to 
listen" she said.
Mr. Sasaki laughed and said "Well did you 
ever see her walk when she could run hop or 
jump?" There was pride in his voice because 
Sadako was such a fast strong runner.
At the entrance to the Peace Park people 
filed through the memorial building in silence. On 
the walls were photographs of the dead and dying 
in a ruined city. The atom bomb-the Thunderbolt
-had turned Hiroshima into a desert.
Sadako didn't want to look at the frightening 
pictures. She held tight to Chizuko's hand 
and walked quickly through the building.
"I remember the Thunderbolt" Sadako]] 
whispered to her friend. "There was the flash
 of a million suns. Then the heat prickled my 
eyes like needles.
"How can you possibly remember 
anything?" Chizuko exclaimed. "You were only a 
baby then."
"Well I do!" Sadako said stubbornly.
After speeches by Buddhist priests and the 
mayor hundreds of white doves were freed from 
their cages. They circled the twisted scarred 
Atomic Dome. Sadako thought the doves looked 
like spirits of the dead flying into the freedom 
of the sky.
When the ceremonies were over Sadako 
led the others straight to the old lady who sold 
Cotton candy. It tasted even better than last year.
The day passed too quickly as it always did. 
The best part Sadako thought was looking at 
all the things to buy and smelling the good food. 
There were stalls selling everything from bean 
cakes to chirping crickets. The worst part was 
seeing people with ugly whitish scars. The atom 
bomb had burned them so badly that they no 
longer looked human. If any of the bomb victims]] 
came near Sadako she turned away quickly.
Excitement grew as the sun went down.
When the last dazzling display of fireworks faded 
from the sky the crowd carried paper lanterns 
to the banks of the Ohta River.
Mr. Sasaki carefully lit candles inside of six 
lanterns-one for each member of the family. The 
lanterns carried names of relatives who had died 
because of the Thunderbolt. Sadako had written 
Oba chan's name on the side of her lantern. When 
the candles were burning brightly the lanterns 
were launched on the Ohta River. They floated 
out to sea like a swarm of fireflies against the dark 
water.
That night Sadako lay awake for a long time 
remembering everything about the day. Masahiro
was wrong she thought. The spider had brought 
good luck. Tomorrow she would remind him 
about that.]] 
SADAKO'S SECRET
It was the beginning of autumn when Sadako 
rushed home with the good news. She kicked off 
her shoes and threw open the door with a bang. 
"I'm home!" she called.
Her mother was fixing supper in the kitchen.
"The most wonderful thing has happened!"]] 
Sadako said breathlessly. "Guess what!"
"Many wonderful things happen to you 
Sadako chan. I can't even guess."
"The big race on Field Day!" Sadako said. 
"I've been chosen from the bamboo class to be on 
the relay team." She danced around the room 
gaily swinging her school bag. "Just think. If we 
win I'll be sure to get on the team in junior high 
school next year." That was what Sadako wanted 
more than anything else.
At supper Mr. Sasaki made a long speech 
about family honor and pride. Even Masahiro 
was impressed. Sadako was too excited to eat. 
She just sat there grinning happily.
From then on Sadako thought of only one 
thing-the relay race. She practiced every day at 
school and often ran all the way home. When 
Masahiro timed her with Mr. Sasaki's big watch 
Sadako's speed surprised everyone. Maybe she 
dreamed I will be the best runner in the whole 
school.
At last the big day arrived. A crowd of 
parents relatives and friends gathered at the school 
to watch the sports events. Sadako was so nervous]]
she was afraid her legs wouldn't work at all. 
Members of the other team suddenly looked taller 
and stronger than her teammates.
When Sadako told her mother how she felt 
Mrs. Sasaki said "Sadako chan it is natural to 
be a little bit afraid. But don't worry. When you 
get out there you will run as fast as you can."
Then it was time for the relay race. 
"Just do your best" Mr. Sasaki said giving
Sadako's hand a squeeze. "We'll be proud of 
you."
The kind words from her parents made the 
knot in Sadako's stomach loosen. They love me 
no matter what she thought.
At the signal to start Sadako forgot everything 
but the race. When it was her turn she 
ran with all the strength she had. Sadako's heart 
was still thumping painfully against her ribs 
when the race was over.
It was then that she first felt strange and 
dizzy. She scarcely heard someone cry "Your 
team won!" The bamboo class surrounded Sadako 
cheering and shouting. She shook her head a few 
times and the dizziness went away.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Story/Poem

Inferences: Several Implications

Complexity: Several ideas - closely related

Concepts: Abstract/Complex Social

Table of Contents

Chapters

Prior Knowledge: Familiarity

Features

Simple Plot

Mood/tone

Difficult names

Foreign words

Topic

Body

*History

Death

Doctors

Hospitals

War

*Human Body & Health

*Family & Friends

*Global Issues

Low Frequency Words

altar	ancestors	atom	atomic	breathlessly
busily	carnival	ceremonies	disease	dizziness
eiji	fidgeted	freed	freedom	frightening
gaily	gulped	hiroshima	honor	impatiently
impressed	junior	kindergarten	lantern	lanterns
leukemia	loosen	masahiro	memorial	mitsue
noisily	oba	ohta	paced	painfully
peace	peaceful	photographs	pickled	practiced
prayers	prickled	priests	relatives	relay
respect	sadako	sadako's	sasaki	sasaki's
scarcely	scarred	slicing	speech	speeches
stalls	sternly	stubbornly	surrounded	swarm
tatauzi	teammates	thumping	thunderbolt	tidy
whirlwind	whitish	wriggled	yawned