Text Leveling System

Wild, Wild Rodeo

RDQ:	295	Max Word/Sent	17	Total Words	808		Diff Words	244
Lex	540	Ave Word/.Sent	4	Hi Freq occurs	407	50.4%	Hi freq	86	35.2%
AR	2.2	Long Sentences	0.6	Low Freq occurs	16	2%	Low freq	5	2%

Sparky and Eddie were excited. Today was the rodeo. It was Sparky's class against Eddie's. Sparky wore a vest with fringe, jeans, a string tie, and his father's boots. The boots were too big. He could hardly walk. But he didn't care. He was a cowboy and happy. Eddie wore a shirt with a cow, jeans, a red bandanna, and his father's hat. The hat was too big. He could hardly see. But he didn't care. He was a cowboy and happy. Sparky and Eddie galloped to school. They galloped on sock-headed horses. They smacked their jeans with their hands. Smack! Smack! Smack! They carried teddy bears. ""Ya- hoo!"" they yelled, all the way to school. Their classes gathered outside. All the kids were cowboys. Or cowgirls. They all had teddy bears. They all galloped around on sock-headed horses. They all smacked their jeans. Smack! Smack! Smack! They all yelled, ""Ya-hoo!"" ""Settle down,"" a teacher said. He gave them his settle-down look. Eddie didn't settle down. He kept galloping. Sparky wanted the rodeo to start. He wanted his class to win. ""Settle down,"" Sparky told Eddie. He gave Eddie his settle-down look. Eddie settled down. The principal said, ""Howdy. Welcome to the rodeo. We have three events. The class with the most points wins."" Then she yelled, ""Ya-hoo!"" The first event was Teddy Bear Roping. Really, it was stringing. The kids had to run to their teddy bears, then tie their bears' legs together with string. Kids set their teddy bear down. Sparky and Eddie did that, too. The principal called, ""One, two, three. Go!"" The ropers ran to their teddy bears. They grabbed their teddy bears. They tossed their teddy bears down. Then, loop, loop, loop, they tied some legs together. They tied fast. They tied so fast, some kids tied their fingers in with the teddy bear legs. Eddie tied his thumb. Sparky's class won. They got ten points. ""Ya-hoo!"" Sparky yelled. He liked to win. The Boot Search was next. Kids pulled off their boots and threw them in a pile. The pile was Boot Hill. Teacher mixed up the boots. The first class to find theirs and put them back on would win. The principal called, ""One, two, three. Go!"" The kids dashed and darted and dug for their boots. The screeched and screamed and scrambled for their boots. They hooted and scooted and rooted for their boots. Sparky's boots were so big, he found them first. His whole class found their boots first. They got ten points. ""Ya-hoo!"" yelled Sparky. He liked to win. The Tortilla Toss was last. At a signal, the teams tossed stale tortillas. Tortillas and tortillas and tortillas. They sailed through the air like thin, white Frisbees. Sparky's class was ahead. It was Eddie's turn. His tortilla was ready. Eddie was ready. But - his hat fell over his eyes. Eddie couldn't see. He tossed anyway. His tortilla sailed far. So far, his class won. They got twenty points. ""Pooh!"" Sparky said. He hated to lose. Now the points were even. The classes were tied. No one had won. The principal said. ""We'll have one more event. Whoever names the most uses for a bandanna wins the rodeo."" ""Uses for a banana?"" the kids asked. ""Bandanna,"" she said. Sparky's class huddled. They knew about bandannas. They yelled a bandanna list. Their teacher wrote it - fast. They yelled things like: They yelled fifteen things for their bandanna list. Eddie's class huddled. They didn't know about bandannas. They yelled a bandanna list. they yelled: ""We don't know!"" Eddie said, ""Wait."" Eddie liked to know stuff. He knew about bandannas. He yelled a new bandanna list for his class. The teacher wrote it - fast. He yelled things like: Eddie yelled thirty-four things for the bandanna list. Eddie's class won the rodeo. ""Ya-hoo!"" Eddie shouted. ""Ya-hoo!"" Eddie shouted. ""Ya-hoo!"" his class shouted.""Pooh!"" Sparky shouted. He was mad. He was so mad, he started to cry. He stomped off. He stomped off in his too-big boots to let his tears fall - alone. Eddie found Sparky. Eddie felt sad. ""Sorry I knew about bandannas,"" he said. Sparky looked at Eddie. ""You couldn't help it,"" Sparky said. ""You're a brain."" Then he said, ""Sorry I got mad. I'm glad you won."" ""You are?"" Eddie asked. ""Yes. I like you better than I like to win. You are my best friend."" Eddie felt happy then. He looked at Sparky's wet face. He smiled. ""I know one more use for a bandanna."" ""What?"" Sparky asked. ""To dry tears."" Eddie gave his bandanna to Sparky. ""Thanks."" Sparky smiled. Then they smacked their jeans. Smack! Smack! Smack! And the galloped their sock-headed horses to their rooms. ""Ya-hoo!"" they yelled. For they were cowboys and happy.

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Two speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: Easy

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Features

Topic

Competition

Winning/Losing

Friendship

School

Low Frequency Words

jeans

scrambled

smacked

tortilla

tortillas