Text Leveling System

The Happy Hippopotami

RDQ:	571	Max Word/Sent	24	Total Words	254		Diff Words	172
Lex	650	Ave Word/.Sent	15	Hi Freq occurs	90	35.4%	Hi freq	30	17.4%
AR	2.9	Long Sentences	43.8	Low Freq occurs	47	18.5%	Low freq	45	26.2%

Happy hippopotamuses 
Climb aboard the picnic buses 
For a hippoholiday 
In the merry month of May. 
Happy hippopotami 
On the sunny beach do lie 
Like a giant stretch of granite boulders 
Except of course for sunburned shoulders. 
Happy hippopotamamas 
Wearing pretty beach pajamas 
Spread tons of cheese on soda crackers 
To feed the hungry crackersnackers. 
Happy hippopotapoppas 
Stroll about the candy shoppas 
giving children dimes and nickels 
To buy their favorite poppasicles. 
Happy hippopotadaughters 
Dive into the shallow waters 
Splashing waves in stormy motion 
Rocking ships across the ocean. 
Happy hippopotasons 
Fill their trusty water guns 
And gallop out to squirt the foe 
Like a cowboy picture show. 
Happy hippopotapooses 
Toddling boldly on the looses 
Stuff the pockets of their britches 
with gooey jelly sandywiches. 
Happy hippopotamisses 
Dance the maypole throwing kisses 
To a crowd of gentlemen 
Who throw the kisses back again. 
Happy hippopotamisters 
With hippy hair and hippy whiskers 
Rock and roll their steel guitars 
Hoping they'll be TV stars. 
Happy hippopotapilots 
Glide about in eagle flylets 
Rising on the sudden breezes 
Whenever any hippo sneezes. 
Happy hippopotamights 
Dressed in polka-dotted tights 
Vie for hippopotaprizes 
Lifting weights ten time their sizes. 
Happy hippopotamezes 
Fly about on high trapezes 
Somersaulting through the air 
From way up here...to way down there. 
Happy hippopotapreachers 
Call the hippos to the bleachers 
For a ton of appreciation 
and another ton of inspiration. 
At last the happypotamuses 
Climb back aboard the picnic buses 
With a "Hippo-ray! Hip-hippo cheer! 
Until we meet again next year!"]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Vocabulary: Many difficult words

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Story/Poem

Concept: Fanciful

Features

Rhyming

Unusual use of vocabulary

Topic

Zoos

Summer

Dance/Dancing

Swimming

*Animals

Beach

Low Frequency Words

aboard	appreciation	boulders	britches	crackersnackers
flylets	foe	gooey	granite	guitars
happypotamuses	hippoholiday	hippopotadaughters	hippopotamamas	hippopotamezes
hippopotami	hippopotamights	hippopotamisses	hippopotamisters	hippopotamuses
hippopotapilots	hippopotapooses	hippopotapoppas	hippopotapreachers	hippopotaprizes
hippopotasons	hippy	hoping	inspiration	looses
maypole	motion	pockets	polka	poppasicles
sandywiches	shallow	shoppas	somersaulting	stroll
sunburned	toddling	trapezes	vie	whiskers