Text Leveling System

Fraidy Cats

RDQ:	273	Max Word/Sent	18	Total Words	489		Diff Words	203
Lex	520	Ave Word/.Sent	5	Hi Freq occurs	270	55.2%	Hi freq	77	37.9%
AR	2.1	Long Sentences	0	Low Freq occurs	16	3.3%	Low freq	10	4.9%

One dark night when the wind blew hard, the Fraidy Cats got ready for bed. 
Scamper checked in the closet. Nothing was there. 
Sorry checked under the beds. Nothing there, either. 
They checked behind the curtains and the door. All was well. 
They crawled into their beds and fixed the covers. 
""Good night,"" said Scamper. 
""Pleasant dreams,"" said Sorry. 
Then they heard a noise. Tap, Tap, Tap! 
""I hear a dog,"" said Sorry. ""A big hairy dog."" 
""Is it friendly?"" Scamper asked. 
""No,"" said Sorry. ""It likes to chase cats."" 
She jumped up and shut the door. 
Hissss! ""I hear a snake,"" said Scamper. ""It scared the dog away.""
"" Is it a cute little garden snake?"" Sorry asked. 
""No,"" said Scamper, ""It's a long giant snake - and it hasn't eaten in a week."" 
He got up and pushed a blanket in the crack under the door. 
Screech! ""I hear an eagle,"" said Sorry. ""It scared the snake away."" 
""Is it a gentle baby eagle?"" asked Scamper. 
Sorry shook her head. ""It's a fierce mountain eagle, swooping down from the clouds to carry something back to its rocky nest."" 
She ran to the window and shut it. 
Woooo! Woooo! ""I hear a wolf,"" said Scamper. ""It scared the eagle away."" 
""Is this a wolf that only likes to eat three little pigs?"" asked Sorry. 
""Oh, no,"" said Scamper. ""This is a wolf with many sharp teeth. It will eat almost anything it sees."" 
He ran to the window and shut the curtain. 
Roooor! ""I hear an elephant,"" said Sorry. ""It scared the wolf away."" 
""Is this a tame elephant that ran away from the circus?"" Scamper asked. 
""No,"" said Sorry. ""This is a wild elephant with legs like tree trunks. It crushes things that get in its way."" Scamper and Sorry looked at each other and dove under their beds. 
Boom! Boom! ""I hear a dinosaur,"" said Scamper. ""It scared the elephant away."" 
""Is this a small dinosaur the size of a lizard?"" Sorry asked. 
Scamper bit his lip. ""It is as big as a house,"" he said. ""And there's nothing left to close or lock or hide under. We can't stop it."" 
Sorry poked her head out. ""Wait a minute,"" she said. ""What kind of dinosaur is it?"" 
Scamper wasn't sure. 
Boom! Boom! Boom! The room shook. The windows rattled. ""It must be an ultrasaurus,"" said Sorry. ""The biggest, heaviest dinosaur that ever lived. We're doomed."" 
Scamper frowned. ""Wait a minute. I've read about ultrasaurs.They only ate plants."" 
""Are you sure?"" 
""Positive."" 
""No cats?"" Scamper shook his head. 
Sorry smiled. ""Then the ultrasaurus will stay in the garden.""  
""And, it will scare away anything else that comes by,"" said Scamper. ""We're safe at last."" 
The night was still dark. The wind still blew hard. The Fraidy Cats didn't care. They got back into bed and fixed the covers. 
""Good night!"" they said together, and then fell fast asleep.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Concept: Fanciful

Features

Topic

Fears

Dinosaurs

Imagination

*Feelings, Behaviors

Night

Noises

Low Frequency Words

curtain	curtains	fraidy	heaviest	pleasant
positive	scamper	screech	ultrasaurs	ultrasaurus