Text Leveling System

The Art Lesson

RDQ:	436	Max Word/Sent	35	Total Words	1028		Diff Words	365
Lex	620	Ave Word/.Sent	10	Hi Freq occurs	634	61.7%	Hi freq	166	45.5%
AR	2.5	Long Sentences	8.9	Low Freq occurs	36	3.5%	Low freq	21	5.8%

Tommy knew he wanted to be an artist when he grew up.
He drew pictures everywhere he went. It was his favorite thing to do.]]
His friends had favorite things to do too. Jack collected all kinds
of turtles. Herbie made huge cities in his sandbox. Jeannie
Tommy's best friend could do cartwheels and stand on her head.]]
But Tommy drew and drew and drew.]]
His twin cousins who were already grown up were in art
school learning to be real artists. They told him not to copy and
to practice practice practice. So he did.]]
Tommy put his pictures up on the walls of his half of the bedroom.]]
His mom put them all around the house.]]
His dad took them to the barber shop where he worked.]]
Tom and Nana Tommy's Irish grandfather and grandmother
had his pictures in their grocery store.]]
Nana-Fall River his Italian grandmother put one in a special frame
on the table next to the photograph of Aunt Clo in her wedding dress.]]
Once Tommy took a flashlight and a pencil under the covers
and drew pictures on his sheets. But when his mom changed the
sheets on Monday and found them she said "No more drawing
on the sheets Tommy."]]
His mom and dad were having a new house built so Tommy
drew pictures of what it would look like when it was finished.]]
When the walls were up one of the carpenters gave Tommy 
a piece of bright blue chalk.
Tommy took the chalk and drew beautiful pictures all over the
unfinished walls.
But when the painters came his dad said "That's it Tommy.
No more drawing on the walls."]]
Tommy couldn't wait to go to kindergarten. His brother Joe
told him there was a real art teacher who came to the school
to give art lessons!
"When do we have our art lessons?" Tommy asked the 
kindergarten teacher.
"Oh you won't have your art lessons until next year" said
Miss Bird. "But we are going to paint pictures tomorrow."]]
It wasn't much fun.
The paint was awful and the paper got all wrinkly. Miss Bird
made the paint by pouring different colored powders into different
jars and mixing them with water. The paint didn't stick to the
paper very well and it cracked.]]
If it was windy when Tommy carried his picture home the
paint blew right off the paper.
"At least you get more than one piece of paper in kindergarten"
his brother Joe said. "When the art teacher comes you only
get one piece."]]
Tommy knew that the art teacher came to the school every
other Wednesday. He could tell she was an artist because she
wore a blue smock over her dress and she always carried a big
box of thick colored chalk.]]
Once Tommy and Jeannie looked at the drawings that were
hung up in the hallway. They were done by the first graders.
"Your pictures are much better" Jeannie told Tommy. "Next
year when we have real art lessons you'll be the best one!"]]
Tommy could hardly wait. He practiced all summer. Then on
his birthday which was right after school began his mom and
dad gave him a box of sixty four Crayola crayons. Regular boxes
of crayons had red orange yellow green blue violet brown
and black. This box had so many other colors: blue violet
turquoise red orange pink and even gold silver and copper.]]
"Class" said Miss Landers the first grade teacher "next
month the art teacher will come to our room so on Monday
instead of singing we will practice using our crayons."]]
On Monday Tommy brought his sixty-four crayons to school.
Miss Landers was not pleased.
"Everyone must use the same crayons" she said.
"School crayons."
School crayons had only the same old eight colors.
As Miss Landers passed them out to the class she said
"These crayons are school property so do not break them
peel off the paper or wear down the points."]]
"How am I supposed to practice being an artist with
school crayons?" Tommy asked Jack and Herbie.
"That's enough Tommy" Miss Landers said. "And I want
you to take those birthday crayons home with you and 
leave them there."
And Joe was right. They only got one piece of paper.]]
Finally the day of the art lesson came. Tommy could hardly
sleep that night.
The next morning he hid the box of sixty-four crayons under
his sweater and went off to school. He was ready!]]
The classroom door opened and in walked the art teacher.
Miss Landers said "Class this is Mrs. Bowers the art teacher.
Patty who is our paper monitor this week will give out one
piece of paper to each of you. And remember don't ruin it
because it is the only piece you'll get. Now pay attention to
Mrs. Bowers."]]
"Class" Mrs. Bowers began "because Thanksgiving is not too
far away we will learn to draw a Pilgrim man a Pilgrim woman
and a turkey. Watch carefully and copy me."]]
Copy? Copy? Tommy knew that real artists didn't copy.
This was terrible. This was supposed to be a real art lesson.
He folded his arms and just sat there.
"Now what's the matter?" Miss Landers asked. Tommy looked
past her and spoke right to Mrs. Bowers.
"I'm going to be an artist when I grow up and my cousins told
me that real artists don't copy. And besides Miss Landers won't
let me use my own sixty-four Crayola crayons."]]
"Well well" Mrs. Bowers said. "What are we going to do?"
She turned to Miss Landers and they whispered together. Miss
Landers nodded.
"Now Tommy" Mrs. Bowers said. "It wouldn't be fair to let
you do something different from the rest of the class.]]
But I have an idea. If you draw the Pilgrim man and woman
and the turkey and if there's any time left I'll give you another
piece of paper and you can do your own picture with your own
crayons. Can you do that?"
"I'll try" Tommy said with a big smile.]]
And he did.]]
And he did.]]
And he still does.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Dialog: Two speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Inferences: Some implications

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Features

Simple Plot

Topic

Colors

Drawing

Artists

*Arts & Crafts

*Feelings, Behaviors

*Schools & Education

New School

Low Frequency Words

bowers	cartwheels	chalk	collected	cousins
grocery	irish	kindergarten	landers	monitor
photograph	pilgrim	pouring	powders	practiced
property	smock	sweater	turquoise	unfinished
wrinkly