Text Leveling System

Thanksgiving is ...

RDQ:	265	Max Word/Sent	24	Total Words	353		Diff Words	155
Lex	520	Ave Word/.Sent	7	Hi Freq occurs	169	47.9%	Hi freq	38	24.5%
AR	2.1	Long Sentences	8.5	Low Freq occurs	25	7.1%	Low freq	14	9%

It is the fourth Thursday in November, 
and so it is Thanksgiving. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... 
a long word to spell ]]
longer than pilgrim
or 
mayflower
or even 
New England.]]
Thanksgiving is ... 
many travelers on a small ship. ]]
Some are Pilgrims. Some are not. 70 men and women, 32 children, 2 dogs, no cats, and a few hens ]]
all on the Mayflower, together. The year is 1620. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... tall hats with brims, and ties on shoes, cloaks in the wind, and long aprons, too. Thanksgiving is ... stiff, wide collars, some white on gray. ]]
And Thanksgiving is ... a land left behind so Pilgrims can worship the Pilgrim way. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... a long, long trip. Some travelers are cold. Some are wet. Some are sick. ]]
And Thanksgiving is ... land at last. A new land. New England. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... a hard winter in a cold land. It is a lot of work for all! ]]
Pilgrim fathers cut down trees. 
Pilgrim brothers gather thatch. 
Pilgrim sisters help Pilgrim mothers. 
And all pray for help from God. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... men with muskets, off to hunt. Bang! Bang! Bang! 
Guns glint in the sun. Fresh meat at last. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... Samoset and Squanto, the Pilgrims' first friends. 
Thanksgiving is ... corn seed in hills and nets in the sun. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... many hands: Pilgrim hands, and indian hands, 
and big hands, and small hands, ]]
And Thanksgiving is ... many hands together. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... a Pilgrim harvest in the fall. 
And the harvest is good! Baskets of corn, baskets of nuts, bushels of beans and squash. ]]
Fish salted for winter, then placed in casks. Wild fowl and ducks on spits. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... a feast for three days, after the harvest. 
And Thanksgiving is ... Pilgrims and Indians together. ]]
Thanksgiving is ... gifts without ribbons, more than 300 Novembers ago. 
Thanksgiving is ... land and harvest. ]]
Thanksgiving today is from Thanksgiving back then. ]]
It is grandmas and grandpas, uncles and aunts! 
It is turkey and gravy and pumpkin pie. It is football, and friends, and big parades! 
It is a day to say thanks for blessings, all over our land.]]
It is the fourth Thursday in November and so it is Thanksgiving.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Unconventional format

Several repetitions of phrases or refrains

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Difficult

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Features

Unconventional punctuation

Topic

Thanksgiving

*History

Pilgrims

*Holidays, Events, Cele

Low Frequency Words

bushels	casks	fowl	glint	harvest
mayflower	muskets	pilgrim	pilgrims	samoset
squanto	squash	thatch	worship