Text Leveling System

Picking Apples & Pumpkins

RDQ:	355	Max Word/Sent	34	Total Words	740		Diff Words	299
Lex	580	Ave Word/.Sent	11	Hi Freq occurs	415	56.1%	Hi freq	109	36.5%
AR	2.3	Long Sentences	14.9	Low Freq occurs	24	3.2%	Low freq	14	4.7%

Kristy couldn't believe it!  The
day she had been waiting for
had finally arrived!  She and her
best friends were finally going
apple picking!
""Hi.  I'm Scott Applegate,""
said the man who was giving
out the baskets.  ""Welcome to 
Battleview Orchards.""]]
In no time at all, Kristy,
her friends Michael and
Nina, her sister, Kelly, her
mom and dad, and her 
grandmother were taking
an old-fashioned hayride!
Everyone's cheeks glowed
in the crisp autumn air.]]
There were red Macouns
and yellow Delicious apples
that were ripe for picking.
Kristy wanted to pick 
both kinds.  The kids 
decided to start with the 
red ones.]]
Nina reached an apple
and took a bite.
Mmmm! That first apple
tasted so sweet!]]
While Kristy and Nina
piled apples in a basket,
Grandma checked them
to make sure none were 
bruised.  ""These will be 
perfect for my apple pie,""
she said smiling.  ""Look up
there!""  she said to Nina 
and Kristy.
Michael had climbed
all the way to the top of 
the tree.  ""There are some
great apples up here!""  he
called down to Kristy and 
Nina.]]
This time it was Kristy's
turn to climb to the top of 
the tree and pick apples
from the highest branches.
When everyone had 
picked enough red apples, 
Kelly and Michael picked
up the basket and carried 
it back to the hay wagon.
Scott drove everyone to
the yellow Delicious apple 
trees.]]
After she climbed down,
Kristy's father showed her
how to use a picker to
pick apple that were high
up in the trees.  A picker is 
a long stick with a basket
at the end of it.]]
Using the picker made
apple picking easier-but
climbing the trees was still
more fun!]]
""Lunchtime!"" Kristy's mother called out.  One by one, the 
children scrambled down from the trees.  They sat on the grass
and enjoyed a yummy picnic lunch of turkey sandwiches and 
juice.  They were surprised at how hungry they all were -
especially after eating all those apples!]]
After lunch, it was time to move on to the pumpkin patch.
Kristy had never seen so many pumpkins!  There were tiny
pumpkins, medium pumpkins, and really big pumpkins, too!
Kristy found one pumpkin that was so big, she had to ask 
Grandma to help her lift it!]]
The pumpkin patch was
a great place to play!
Kelly, Nina, and Michael
pretended to ride pumpkins!
Kristy tried a little one on 
as a hat!]]
All too soon, it was time to leave the pumpkin patch.  Kristy's
parents helped the children pile their pumpkins together.  Then
the kids collapsed in a tired heap!]]
This time, Scott's have
wagon brought everyone
to the farm store.  While 
Kristy's mother paid for 
the apples and pumpkins,
Kristy and her friends
looked around.  They were
amazed by all the delicious
things that could be made 
from apples.  there were 
caramel apples, candy
apples, apple jam, apple
cake, and apple butter.
There were pumpkin pies
and breads, too.  But Kristy 
knew that when they got 
home, Grandma would 
make the best treat of all-
apple pie!]]
Sure enough, as soon as 
everyone was cleaned up,
Grandma asked, ""Who
wants to help make an
apple pie?""
Of course, everyone did!]]
While Grandma started
to peel and slice the 
apples, Nina and Kristy
mixed flour, water, and 
shortening together in 
a big bowl to make the 
dough for the pie crust.
When the dough was 
ready, the girls rolled it 
out flat with a rolling pin.]]
Grandma helped the girls put the dough in a pie pan.  then
they piled on the apple slices, and covered the pie with more
dough.
When at last the pie was in the oven, Kristy felt sad.  Her 
special day was ending  far too quickly!
But Kristy's big day wasn't over yet!  Her father had a surprise
for her!]]
""Let's make jack-o-lanterns,"" he said.
The children had lots of fun drawing faces on their pumpkins.
Kristy's father used a sharp knife to cut off all the pumpkin tops.
Michael and Kristy scooped out the seeds.  Then Kristy's father
followed the patterns to carve out the faces.]]
That night, after Nina and Michael had gone home, Kristy and 
her family put candles inside their jack-o-lanterns and watched
them glowing in the darkness.]]
Finally Kristy and her family had a delicious bedtime snack-
homemade apple pie!  Kristy smiled.  It was the perfect ending for 
the perfect day.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Dialog: Simple

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Some Long/Complex

Text structure: Oral/Natural

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Features

Topic

Trees

*Plants

Autumn

Seasons

Cooking

Food

Gardens/Gardening

*Home Arts & Food

Low Frequency Words

applegate	caramel	delicious	fashioned	hayride
lanterns	macouns	medium	nina	orchards
picker	scott's	scrambled	shortening