Text Leveling System

Football Friends

RDQ:	407	Max Word/Sent	22	Total Words	1131		Diff Words	349
Lex	610	Ave Word/.Sent	5	Hi Freq occurs	694	61.4%	Hi freq	153	43.8%
AR	2.5	Long Sentences	0.5	Low Freq occurs	12	1.1%	Low freq	11	3.2%

""Let's play touch football. I'll be a captain,"" said Freddy. 
""Me, too,"" said Mark. ""I pick Carlos."" 
""Why did you go first?"" asked Freddy.
 ""Because I did,"" said Mark. 
Freddy was mad. He wanted Carlos because Carlos had the best throwing arm. 
""I pick Tommy,"" said Freddy. 
""Sara,"" said Mark. 
""No fair!"" said Freddy. He wanted Sara on his team. 
""Is too,"" said Mark. 
""Is not,"" said Freddy. ""I quit."" 
""You're a baby,"" said Mark.
Freddy jumped on Mark and threw him to the ground. Mark fought back. Freddy got dirt in his mouth and a bump on his head. 
Suddenly a whistle blew. An aide came over. ""Freddy and Mark, to the office,"" she said. 
Freddy and Mark were mad as tigers. 
""Fighting again?"" asked Mrs. Smith. She was the principal. 
""Freddy knocked me over,"" said Mark. 
""Mark called me a baby,"" said Freddy. 
Mrs. Smith looked at them. ""What's the difference between a big boy and a baby?"" she asked. 
Freddy and Mark didn't know what to say. 
""This is a baby,"" said Mrs. Smith. She waved her arms and made baby noises. 
Mark and Freddy began to laugh. 
Mrs Smith laughed, too. ""I'm glad we got that straight. Now tell me. What were you two really fighting about?"" ""We were going to play football,"" said Freddy. ""Mark and I were captains. But it wasn't fair. He had the better team. So I quit. That's when he called me a baby."" 
""And that's when you lost your temper,"" said Mrs. Smith. She looked worried. ""Is football too rough for you to play?"" 
""No!"" said both boys. ""We use a foam ball, and we just play touch. No one tackles. No one gets hurt."" 
Mrs. Smith smiled. ""I'm glad that you two agree on something. And usually you are friends, right?"" 
""Right,"" said Freddy and Mark. 
""Then why do you always fight when you play this game?"" she asked. Freddy pointed to Mark. ""He always gets the better team."" 
""He always loses his temper,"" said Mark. 
""That's because the teams are uneven,"" said Freddy. ""I have an idea,"" said Mrs. Smith. ""I'm going to give you football homework. I want you to work on it together. Your job is to make two even teams."" That night Freddy and Mark talked on the phone. Their homework was hard, but they did it. The next day they gave their lists to Mrs. Smith. Recess came. Kids met on the playground to play touch football. Mrs Smith came, too. She showed the kids the chart. ""Are these teams fair?"" she asked. ""Yes,"" said the kids. ""Fine,"" said Mrs. Smith. ""Then you may play touch football. But you must use these teams. And if there is any more fighting there will be no more football. Do you understand?"" Everyone said yes. The teams got set. Mark and Freddy were opposite each other. The game began. Freddy hiked the ball to Tommy. Tommy flipped it to Sara. The ball bounced off her hands. It flew into the air. Freddy caught it before it hit the ground. He ran all the way to the pavement and scored! The Cowboys were ahead 7-0. Each touchdown was worth seven points. There were no extra points in their playground game. The Raiders now had the ball. Mark hiked the ball to Carlos. Carlos ran to the left. He saw Mark on the other side of the field. Carlos threw a pass to Mark. Mark caught it and ran toward the end zone. Freddy ran as fast as he could after him. He wished he could run faster. He didn't want Mark to score. Freddy finally caught up with Mark. Freddy reached out to touch him. There! He touched him! But Mark kept running. He crossed the goal line. ""Touchdown!"" Mark shouted. ""No way!"" cried Freddy. ""I touched you!"" ""You did not!"" yelled Mark. ""I didn't feel a thing!"" Freddy ran to Mark and started to push him. ""Cut it out, Freddy!"" said Sarah. ""Mrs. Smith is watching. Don't you remember what she said? If there's fighting, no more football."" Freddy let up. But he was still mad. The score was now 7-7, and recess was almost over. Freddy wanted to win! The cowboys and Raiders lined up. Freddy and Mark were face-to-face. ""You're going to lose,"" said Mark, ""because you're a baby. I can say whatever I want because now you can't fight me."" Freddy gave Mark a shove. ""Time out!"" said Tommy. ""Huddle up, team!"" The Cowboys formed a circle. ""Freddy, keep your cool!"" hissed Sara. ""He called me a baby,"" said Freddy. ""What am I supposed to do? Say thank you?"" Sara was disgusted. ""He's just trying to get you mad so you won't play well."" ""Don't pay any attention to Mark,"" said tommy. ""Use your anger to run faster. Okay?"" The teams lined up. ""Baby,"" said Mark. ""Ga-ga. goo-goo!"" This really made Freddy mad. But instead of hitting Mark, he thought about Sara's words: He's just trying to get you mad so you won't play well. Her words made sense. Then he remembered what Tommy had said. Use you anger to run faster. ""Ga-ga. Goo-goo!"" said Mark again. Freddy pretended he didn't hear. But inside his rage burned. Freddy pretended it was the rocket fuel! He hiked the ball back to Tommy and ran toward the goal. He turned his head to look back. Tommy aimed and fired. The ball was coming right to Freddy! Freddy reached up for it. Freddy caught the ball and brought it down to his chest. Then he ran as fast as he could. He heard footsteps behind him. But Freddy was too fast for anyone to catch. He blasted into the end zone. ""Ga-ga. Goo-goo!"" Freddy shouted as he crossed the line. ""Ga-ga. Goo-goo!"" sang Sara and Tommy. The cowboys waved their arms and toddled like babies. It was the first football game they had won in a long time. It was also the first game without a big fight. Later, Mrs. Smith stopped Freddy in the hall. ""I want to talk with you,"" she said. ""I wasn't fighting!"" said Freddy. Mrs. Smith smiled. ""I don't only talk to kids when they've done something wrong. Sometimes I talk to them when they have done something right. I heard Mark tease you, and I saw what you did. You almost lost your cool. But then you controlled your temper."" Freddy blushed. ""My team helped me,"" he said. ""That's the way to handle teasers,"" she said. ""If you ignore them, they'll give up teasing you. That's one way to stay out of fights."" Freddy smiled. ""I don't think I'll mind if Mark teases me again,"" he said. ""Thanks to him, I scored a touchdown.""]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Inferences: Some implications

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Dialog: Unlabeled Speaker

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Features

Simple problem/solution

Topic

Sports

Teasing

Self Control

Friendship

Games

*Feelings, Behaviors

Low Frequency Words

aide	controlled	fuel	ignore	opposite
pavement	raiders	rough	shove	teasers
toddled	worth