Text Leveling System

Irma's Sandwich Shop

RDQ:	544	Max Word/Sent	20	Total Words	909		Diff Words	363
Lex	650	Ave Word/.Sent	9	Hi Freq occurs	561	61.7%	Hi freq	146	40.2%
AR	2.8	Long Sentences	1	Low Freq occurs	64	7%	Low freq	44	12.1%

Irma Opens a Shop
We all like a good sandwich. And we all have our favorite. Maybe it's peanut butter and jam. Or maybe it's ham and cheese with pickles and mustard. But not Irma. She did not like sandwiches, but she sure could make them.
In fact, Irma loved to make sandwiches. She loved it more than anything else. Irma made lots of sandwiches, and she never heard of one she couldn't make. So no one was surprised when Irma opened a sandwich shop.
Irma's shop was on the corner of Pumpernickel and Rye. It was the busiest corner in town. Everyone passed her shop at least once a day, and when they did, they had to stop.
Irma nailed a large sign to the front of her shop. It read: Irma's Tasty Sandwich Shop.
You name it, and I make it.]]
Irma's Famous Sandwiches
There wasn't a sandwich Irma couldn't make, and it wasn't long before everyone began to believe it. If you named a sandwich, Irma would make it. If she didn't have the ingredients, it never took her long to get them.
She had every kind of bread known.

She had whole wheat, she had rye, she had pumpernickel, and she had sourdough. Why, she even had plain white bread. She had bread with nuts in it, and she had bread with fruit in it. And she baked it all in the back of her little shop. If Irma didn't have the bread you wanted, she would bake it.]]
Irma's first customer was Reuben Cornwall. He wanted corned beef with Swiss cheese and sauerkraut, and he wanted it on rye bread. Irma called the sandwich a Reuben. It was a big hit at the shop. She sold more Reubens than any other sandwich.
Little Joey Talltree came into Irma's shop more than anyone else did. 
Each day he stopped at Irma's on his way to school. And each day he ordered a different sandwich. All the kids in the lunchroom were impressed with Joey's sandwiches. He loved sausage sandwiches with chocolate sauce and bean sprouts.]]
But his most impressive sandwich was one stacked high with ten different kinds of meat. Between each layer of meat was something different.
There was mustard and ketchup and lettuce and peppers. There was grape jam and pickles and peanut butter and horseradish.
Most people got a stomachache just watching Joey eat his amazing sandwich. But not Joey. He would just let out a big burp as he finished. Then he would smile and wipe off his face.]]
All the Animals Want Sandwiches
Irma became a very famous sandwich maker. Before long, every living creature was stopping by Irma's shop. Each one ordered his or her favorite sandwich.
One day, Sammy Snake slithered in from a nearby swamp. His tongue flicked wildly for the scent of his favorite meat. 
"What can I make for you?" asked Irma.
Sammy thought for a minute.
Then he replied, "I'll have a rat and lizard sandwich with bug relish."
"Okay," said Irma, "but that one will take a little time. I'll have to go out and get the ingredients."
"I'm happy to wait," said Sammy with a smile. "A truly good sandwich is worth waiting for."
An hour later Irma was back. 
She had a basket full of rats and lizards and bugs. She carefully laid them among fresh lettuce between two slices of rye. Sammy swallowed the sandwich in one big gulp. Then he slithered out of Irma's with a bulge in his stomach.]]
The next day, Val the Vulture swooped into Irma's shop. Val sat on the counter and waited patiently for service.
Soon Irma came out of the kitchen to take Val's order. "What can I make for you?" asked Irma.
Val asked to see a menu. But she didn't see anything she liked. "Your sign says, name it and you'll make it. Is that true?" asked Val.
"You bet it is," said Irma. "Hasn't been a sandwich yet I can't make. So what'll it be, my fine feathered friend?"
"How about some fresh dead opossum? Then add some squashed crow and rancid mouse with honey mustard," said Val.
Irma just smiled and said, "Coming right up."
After driving along the highway to collect the ingredients, she returned to the shop. She quickly made Val's sandwich. Val ripped it apart and ate it in a flash.
"Great sandwich, Irma," Val said as she flapped out the door. "I'll be back for another in a couple of days."]]
Irma's Biggest Challenge
Each day seemed to offer Irma a new challenge. But her biggest challenge came when Billy the Goat walked into her shop.
"Welcome, Billy," said Irma as he rammed the door open with his horns. "I suppose you have come to challenge my sandwich-making ability. So what will you have?"
Billy began to rattle off a list of ingredients. "Crushed tin cans, old socks, thistles, a bird nest, an old book, and a head of cabbage. Some pickled peppers and some minced cheese mold. A dash of salt and a cup of hot salsa."
"Is that all?" asked Irma.
"Yep," said Billy. "But I wouldn't mind if you would toast the old socks."
"Whatever you say," replied Irma. 
"Do you want anything to wash it down with?"
"Yeah. Give me a mug of dishwater," said Billy.
After that day, Irma really knew there was not a sandwich she couldn't make.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Dialog: Two speakers

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Inferences: Some implications

Concept: Fanciful

Headings

Additional activities

Features

Topic

Food

Stores/Shops

*Home Arts & Food

Low Frequency Words

ability	bulge	burp	busiest	challenge
dishwater	feathered	gulp	horseradish	impressed
impressive	ingredients	irma	irma's	lunchroom
minced	mustard	nailed	opossum	patiently
pickled	pumpernickel	rammed	rancid	relish
reuben	reubens	salsa	sauce	sauerkraut
scent	service	slithered	sourdough	sprouts
squashed	swallowed	swamp	talltree	thistles
truly	val's	vulture	what'll	worth