Text Leveling System

Say Cheese

RDQ:	822	Max Word/Sent	15	Total Words	3441		Diff Words	742
Lex	700	Ave Word/.Sent	5	Hi Freq occurs	2386	69.3%	Hi freq	340	45.8%
AR	3.3	Long Sentences	0	Low Freq occurs	60	1.7%	Low freq	44	5.9%

Emily Arrow raced her rubber unicorn across her desk.
"Go, Uni," she said under her breath.
"Line up," said Ms. Rooney. "Two by two." Emily put Uni in her pocket.
She stuck her hand in her desk and pulled out her looseleaf book.
She held it upside down.
Last night's homework floated out. So did Monday's math.
But no library card.
"Hurry," said Ms. Rooney. "We have to be there at ten o'clock."
Emily raced into the coatroom. She opened her lunch bag.
It smelled of cheese.
She dumped the whole thing on the floor.
A sandwich with orange cheese sticking out on the side.
Squished strawberries in a Baggie. No library card.
"Let's go," said Ms. Rooney. "Last one out close the door."
Emily looked around her desk.
She remembered she was the fish monitor. She ran back to feed Drake and Harry. She made a fish face at them.
Then she took a quick look at the skink tank. The skink was sound asleep.
"June is the best month," said Ms. Rooney after lunch.
She sniffed the roses on her desk. Emily took out paper.
She folded it into fours.
"It's my birthday month," Jill Simon said. "Lovely," said Ms. Rooney.
"And the end of school," said Beast. "I hope I don't get left back again."
"Work hard this month," said Ms. Rooney.
Emily picked at her pencil point. She wished she could sharpen it. But sharpening time was in the morning. She tried to think of what she'd write.
"We're going on a picnic," said Ms. Rooney. "In a couple of days."
"Great," said Matthew. "Great," said Beast.
"I'll take class pictures," said Mrs. Stewart, the student teacher. She used to be Miss Vincent before she was married.
Emily smoothed out her paper. Dawn:
How about being best friends? Sined
Emily (Your best friend)
"Can we bring food?" Matthew wanted to know.
"Of course," said Ms. Rooney. "We'll barbecue. We'll take a bus and spend the day at Grant Park."
Emily looked at the note again. She picked up her pencil.
We can be bus partners.
"All right," said Ms. Rooney. "Two minutes to get ready for work."
Emily looked up.
She didn't need two minutes. She was ready for everything. She folded the note into a little square.
Then she leaned over. She put the note on Dawn Bosco's desk:
"Book-sharing time," said Ms. Rooney. Emily sighed.
She had forgotten about book sharing. She reached into her desk.
Her book wasn't there.
She took a quick look over at Dawn. Dawn was opening the note.
Emily hurried into the coatroom. The book wasn't there either.
She poked her head out of the coatroom.
Beast was raising his hand. "I left my book home," he said.
Matthew raised his hand too. "I forgot to start mine. "
Ms. Rooney frowned. "There's still two more weeks of school. Try to get with it."
Emily came out of the coatroom. She hoped she could find her book.
She didn't want Ms. Rooney to say "Get with it" to her.
Ms. Rooney never said "Get with it" to Dawn Bosco.
"I left my book outside," Emily said. "May I - "
"Go ahead," Ms. Rooney said. Emily dashed out of the room. She hurried down the stairs.
Then she raced around the side of the school. Her book was lying on the cement.
She sat down and leaned against the brick wall.
She counted the pages. Fourteen to go.
That was a lot for two minutes. That was even a lot for two days. She'd never do it.
Maybe Ms. Rooney wouldn't call on her.
It would be terrible to say she hadn't read this skinny-minny book.
And in front of Dawn Bosco!
Maybe Dawn wouldn't want to be best friends.
Emily opened the book to page fourteen. She read fast.
As fast as she could.
Then she heard clapping sounds.
It was the sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Kettle. She was poking her head out the window. "Young lady," she said. "School is inside." Emily stood up.
She marched around the side of the school. She kept reading.
She finished page fifteen.
Then she opened the classroom door.
Ms. Rooney looked up. "Good, Emily," she said. "Let's hear from you."
Emily went to the front of the room. She stood next to Ms. Rooney's desk.
"My book is about best friends," Emily said. "It's about how to get one."
She opened the book. She held it up.
She looked at Dawn Bosco.
Dawn was wearing a new Day-Glo shirt.
Emily wished she weren't wearing her stretchy old T-shirt. It had red and yellow hearts all over it.
"Yes," said Ms. Rooney. "What else?" "Well," said Emily. She looked at the pictures quickly.
"Emily," said Ms. Rooney. "Did you read the book?"
"Yes," Emily said. "All of it?"
Emily looked at her sneakers. There was a little hole in the toe.
She could see her green sock underneath. "Some of it," she said.
Ms. Rooney shook her head. "Get with it," she said.
Emily went to her desk.
She didn't look at Dawn Bosco. Not for the rest of the afternoon.
She was sorry she had sent the note.
Dawn wouldn't want to be best friends now. And Emily didn't blame her one bit.
It was going to be a hot day.
Everyone was in the schoolyard early. Emily looked around.
Everyone but Dawn Bosco.
Emily was one ender on the jump rope. Linda Lorca was the other.
"Do it even," Sherri Dent said. "I don't want to miss."
Emily nodded.
She and Linda turned the jump rope in a nice wide loop.
The rope slapped against the ground. Sherri Dent jumped in.
TICK. TACK. CLIMB THE STACK. Emily took a quick look at the gate. Still no Dawn Bosco.
Emily was glad.
If only she hadn't sent that note.
Dawn probably thought she was a big dummy. A wack-o.
Emily's arm was getting tired. She switched to the other. JUMP UP. COME ON BACK. Sherri tripped.
"Out," yelled Linda Lorca.
Sherri came over. She took Emily's end. "Your turn," she said.
Emily rubbed her hands on her shorts. She jumped in.
Everyone started to shout:
TEDDY BEAR, TEDDY BEAR. TURN AROUND. TEDDY BEAR, TEDDY BEAR. TOUCH THE GROUND. Emily stepped on the rope.
"Ouch," she said.
"You're out," said Sherri Dent. Emily looked 'at the gate.
No Dawn.
Maybe she was absent.
By tomorrow she'd forget about the note. Emily pushed her hair off her neck.
The sun was hot.

Emily tapped on the tank.
The skink moved his greeny-gray tail. It opened one eye.
Then it went back to sleep again. Emily hurried out the door.
She was last.
Nobody was left to be her partner.
Richard "Beast" Best and Matthew Jackson were in front of her.
Beast was making shooting sounds. "Puquing, puquing. "
"Good shot," said Matthew. "You got Ms. Rooney right in the knee."
Emily tapped Beast. "Did you see a library card?"
"Puquing," Beast said again. At the same time he shook his head.
"How about you, Matthew?" Emily said. "Nah," said Matthew.
They marched down the hall. They passed the office. They went out the door.
"Breathe in deep," said Ms. Rooney. "Smell that June air."
Emily breathed in deep. But not too deep. Sometimes Matthew wet the bed. Sometimes he smelled terrible.
Emily wondered what she should do about the library.
They'd be there any minute.
Everyone was supposed to bring her card. Days ago Ms. Rooney had told them. Suddenly Emily remembered.
The librarian had taken her card away. How could she have forgotten?
She owed forty cents on a book.
She couldn't get the card back. Not until she paid.
The whole library trip was spoiled. She leaned forward. "Beast?"
Beast was swatting at the bushes. "How come I never find a ball?" he said. "Wayne always finds stuff. "
"Lend me forty cents?" she asked. "Are you kidding?" he said.
"Look in your pockets," Emily said.
Beast didn't answer. He was pushing Matthew into the bushes.
Then Emily remembered Linda Lorca. Linda owed her two quarters.
She could see Linda at the front of the line. She and Jill Simon were laughing at something. Emily quick-stepped up the line.
She slid into place behind Linda. "Hey," she said.
Linda and Jill turned around.
"Remember those quarters I lent you? For ice cream?"
Linda raised one shoulder. "I think I gave them back. "
"No," Emily said. "I don't think so. " "Yes," said Linda. "I'm sure of it." "Listen," Emily said. "I really need-" Linda shook her head. She turned around again. "I gave them to you," she said. "And that's that. "
Emily looked at the back of Linda's neck. It was long and skinny.
"Noodle neck," Emily told her. Linda didn't turn around. Emily walked slower.
She let the rest of the kids get ahead of her. Now there was a space between her and the class.
Nobody cared that she didn't have any money. Nobody cared that she was going to be in trouble.
They were all noodle necks. The line turned the corner.
A woman was sweeping her front path.
She stopped and looked at Ms. Rooney's class.
Emily walked a little faster.
She didn't want the woman to see she was by herself .
The woman looked at her when she passed. She smiled a little.
Emily didn't smile back.
She stretched her head up. She stared at a couple of birds.
Halfway down the block she put her head down again.
She rubbed her neck.
She could see the library up ahead.
Matthew turned around. "I can lend you four cents," he said.
"No, thank you," Emily said. She sniffed a little.
Four cents was no good. No good at all.
The library was dark and cool.
Mrs. Beach was waiting for them. Emily kept her head down.
She didn't want Mrs. Beach to see her.	' She didn't want Mrs. Beach to think about the forty cents.
Emily hurried to the back. The baby books were there.
That's just about what she could read, she thought.
Little skinny-minny baby books. She poked her head out.
Mrs. Beach was standing up in front.
The rest of the kids were sitting at the tables. Mrs. Beach slapped the card catalogue. "The names of the books are all in here," she said. "In A-B-C order," said Ms. Rooney.
Emily sank down on the floor. She hated A-B-C order.
Ms. Rooney was always giving them skillions ()[words for A-B-C order.
"Anything you want to know is right in here," said Mrs. Beach. "Anything in the world." Emily picked at her red sneaker. The rubber was coming off a little.
She bet you couldn't find out everything in the world.
She bet you couldn't find out how to get forty cents.
She pulled a long strip of rubber. She let go,
It snapped back against her sneaker. "Wack-o," she said.
"Young lady," said a voice. Emily stood up quickly.
It was Ms. Rooney. "What are you doing back there?" she asked.
Emily kept her head down. She could see feet.
Timothy's sneakers. Wayne O'Brien's work boots.
She walked toward their table. One seat was left.
She slid into it.
Mrs. Beach started to talk again.
Timothy Barbiero leaned across the table. "Wack-o," he said.
He started to laugh a little.
Emily puffed out her cheeks. She opened her mouth.
Then she closed it with a pop. "Fish face," she whispered.
She looked across at Dawn Bosco and Sherri Dent.
They were playing tic-tac-toe.
Linda Lorca and Jill Simon were at the next table.
Linda was trying on Jill Simon's birthday ring.
"All right," said Mrs. Beach. "You can look for books now."
Everyone stood up.
Dawn and Linda went to the storybook section. Emily watched out of the corner of her eye. Dawn took a big fat book off the shelf.
It probably had a hundred pages. Maybe two hundred.
Snaggle doodles.
Then Emily saw Mrs. Beach coming toward her.
Emily stepped around the table.
She went over to the card catalogue. She ducked down behind it.
Suddenly she felt a hand on her head.
"Don't you owe money?" Mrs. Beach asked. Emily looked up. "I guess so," she said. Ms. Rooney came over. "How much?"
"Uh . . . " Emily began.
"Forty cents," said Mrs. Beach. She frowned at Emily.
Ms. Rooney reached into her pocket. "Pay me back," she said.
"I will," Emily said. "Don't do it again." Emily shook her head. "I won't." Emily gave the money to Mrs. Beach.
She looked at the card catalogue for a minute. Then she pulled open the F drawer.
F for friend.
That's what she needed. Ms. Rooney was her friend. But that didn't count.
That didn't count at all.
Ms. Rooney's class stood outside the nurse's office.
Today was height and weight day. Emily made sure she was first in line. She stood up and down on tiptoes.
She stretched her neck as hard as she could. She hoped she had grown a lot since last year. After a while she got tired of stretching.
She took Uni out of her pocket. She raced him along the wall.
Mrs. Ames, the nurse, was taking a long time to call them.
Emily tried to peek in the door. It had frosted bathroom glass. It was hard to see.
She leaned against the wall.
She thought about her book. A Best Friend. She had read page one and page two last night. The part about how to pick a good friend. That's what she'd do first.
Pick someone. A girl someone. The boys were out. Beast was a great boy. But he was always fooling around with Matthew. Timothy called people wack-o.
And Alex had picked his nose in reading last week.
Emily looked over her shoulder.
Matthew was tossing a ball from one hand to the other.
He dropped the ball.
Ms. Rooney shook her head. Matthew dived for the ball. He crashed into Emily. "Hey," Emily said.
"Sorry," Matthew said. He scooped up the ball and went to the back.
Emily looked after him. Matthew looked different today. She wondered why.
He had on the same old T-shirt. The same old jeans.
"Ouch," said Sherri Dent. She rubbed at her sneakers. "He stepped on my toe."
Emily looked at Sherri.
Maybe Sherri could be a best friend. Sherri was a little bossy.
But not too bossy.
Emily remembered what the book said. Be friendly yourself.
Emily put on a friendly smile.
She thought about what to say to Sherri. The book didn't say anything about that.
"I guess I'm a little taller than you are," she told Sherri.
Sherri didn't look friendly. "I don't think so," she said. "I'm taller."
Emily made her smile more friendly. "That's because you have puffy hair."
Sherri frowned.
"It's very nice hair," Emily said. "It just stands up high."
Sherri stuck out her tongue. It was long and pointy.
"Hair like a giraffe," Emily said. She faced front again.
Just then Mrs. Ames opened the office door. It smelled of throw-up inside.
"You're first, Emily," said Mrs. Ames. Emily marched inside.
"Slip out of your sneakers," Mrs. Ames said.
Emily bent over.
Her shoelaces were broken. She had knotted them together. Now she tried to pull them apart. It was one big mess.
"I don't have all day," Mrs. Ames said. "Next. "
Sherri Dent came in.
"You've grown a lot this year," Mrs. Ames told Sherri. "I can see that."
"I'm probably the tallest girl in the class," Sherri said.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Mrs. Ames said.' "Puffy hair," Emily said under her breath. She yanked on her lace as hard as she could.
It broke.
She pulled off her sneaker. She started on the other one.
Sherri stepped on the scale.
"Nice gain this year," Mrs. Ames said. Emily looked up.
Sherri was standing as high as she could. She was almost on tiptoes.
"Lovely height too," said Mrs. Ames. "For tiptoes," Emily said in a low voice. Sherri walked past Emily. "I told you I was taller," she said.
Jill came in next.
Tears were sliding down her fat cheeks. "What's the matter?" Mrs. Ames said.
"I'm afraid I'm going to get a shot," Jill said.
"Don't be silly," said Mrs. Ames. "Just step on the scale."
Emily pulled off her second sneaker. She wondered how much Jill weighed. A lot.
Probably as much as Emily and Sherri put together.
Jill walked out the door.
Emily stood up. She tried to see what the nurse had written on Jill's health card.
Probably a zillion pounds. The nurse frowned.
Emily made believe she was looking out the window.
At last it was her turn.
"Nice gain, Emily," Mrs. Ames said. "Nice height too. Almost as tall as Sherri Dent." Emily went outside again.
She knew one thing.
She didn't want to be best friends with Sherri Dent.
And she knew something else.
Noodle neck Linda Lorca was out too. She still owed her two quarters.
Emily bent over to knot her sneakers again. Jill wasn't such a hot best friend either. She was always crying over something.
It would have to be Dawn. Dawn Bosco.
Emily stood on the D-O-N-K-E-Y line.
She was reading A Best Friend at the same time.
Mrs. Paris, the reading teacher, walked by. "Hi, kids," she said.
She winked at Emily. "Am I glad to see you with a book in your hand!" she said.
Emily smiled back at her.
"You're next, Emily," Dawn Bosco said. Emily put her book down.
She slid a stick between pages nine and ten. She rubbed the ball against her jeans. D-O-N-K-E-Y was her favorite game.
She hardly ever missed. It was easy.
All you had to do was wham the ball at the wall. Then you'd jump over the ball when it bounced back.
Jill was sitting at the side.
She had missed six times. She had D-O-N K-E-Y.
She was out.
Emily waited to throw the ball.
She wanted to make sure Dawn Bosco was watching.
"Let's go," said Sherri Dent.
Emily threw the ball against the side of the school.
It came back at her.
She jumped over it.
"Not bad, Emily," Dawn Bosco said. Emily grinned. She picked up her book. "My turn," Dawn said. "Hold these?" Emily took the roses Dawn had in her hand. June roses.
Wrapped in foil.
"They smell wonderful," Emily said.
"You can have one," said Dawn. "You can give it to Ms. Rooney too."
Emily nodded. Dawn had been a good pick. She was going to ask her to be best friends at lunchtime today.
Emily went to the end of the line. She opened the book with one hand. She read page ten. Then she started page eleven. Dawn came around in back of her.
"Did you miss?" Emily asked.
Dawn didn't answer. She took the roses. "Ouch," she said. "Lots of thorns."
"Did you miss?" Emily asked again. "Yes," Dawn said.
"What do you have now?"
Dawn made believe she was thinking. "D-O;" she said.
Emily turned the page. "I have D," she said. "What's the name of your book?" Dawn asked.
"A Best Friend," said Emily.
"I read Ellen Tebbits, " Dawn said. "It has a hundred and sixteen pages."
Snaggle doodles, Emily told herself. Dawn was always saying what a good reader she was. "How many pages does your book have?" Dawn asked.
"I don't know," Emily said. "I didn't look yet. "
"Looks like about . . . " Dawn looked up at the sky. She squinted a little. "About thirty-one pages. " Emily made believe she was reading.
There were only twenty-seven pages. She had looked the other day.
"I guess I could read that book in two minutes," Dawn said.
Emily turned the page. "I could read it in two minutes too. But I don't like to read fast." "Really?" Dawn said.
"Really," Emily said.
She tried to read as fast as she could.
Then it was her turn for D-O-N-K-E-Y again. "Want me to hold your book?" Dawn asked. ``That's all right," Emily said.
"I don't mind," Dawn said. "It's not very big." "I'm going to hold it under my arm," Emily said.
"Wow," said Jill from the side. "Emily's good. "
Emily smiled at Jill.
Jill had a dirty line down her fat cheek.
She must have been crying.

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: No support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Dialog: Unlabeled Speaker

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Story/Poem

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Chapters

Features

Character traits

Simple Plot

Topic

Friendship

*Family & Friends

Relationships

Low Frequency Words

breathed	coatroom	drawer	foil	frosted
grant	greeny	height	jeans	knotted
lent	librarian	linda's	looseleaf	monday's
monitor	nah	owe	owed	paris
partner	partners	pockets	puquing	raising
schoolyard	section	shoelaces	skillions	skink
sliding	smoothed	snaggle	squinted	squished
stewart	stretchy	tebbits	timothy's	unicorn
wack	weighed	yanked	zillion