Text Leveling System

Cinderella

RDQ:	342	Max Word/Sent	31	Total Words	622		Diff Words	248
Lex	570	Ave Word/.Sent	13	Hi Freq occurs	371	59.6%	Hi freq	96	38.7%
AR	2.3	Long Sentences	13.3	Low Freq occurs	18	2.9%	Low freq	16	6.5%

Once upon a time, there was a
young girl who was sweet, kind, and
pretty. But she had a very mean
stepmother who made her life a
misery. The stepmother and her two
daughters made the girl do all the
work of the house. They called the
girl "Cinderella" because at night
she would sit among the cinders on
the hearth and warm herself.
Cinderella was always cheerful,
even though she had to work very
hard.]]
One exciting day, an invitation to
the Prince's fancy ball arrived! All
the fine people in the land were
invited, and the sisters worried
about what to wear and how to
behave with a prince.
Poor Cinderella sewed and ironed
for days, but she herself was not
going to the ball. She was only a
servant, after all. Besides, she did
not have a gown to wear.]]
As the stepmother and her
daughters rode off to the ball,
Cinderella ran to the garden and
cried. Suddenly, a beautiful woman
magically appeared. She was
Cinderella's Fairy Godmother!
"What is the matter, Cinderella?"
asked the Fairy Godmother.
Cinderella explained that she
wanted very much to go to the ball
and see the Prince.]]
So, with a wave of her magic
wand, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother
turned a pumpkin into a beautiful
coach. Then she turned six mice
into fine gray horses, and a fat white
rat into a coachman!
And with one touch of her wand,
the Fairy Godmother turned
Cinderella's old dress into a lovely
gown trimmed in gold and silver.
Best of all, she gave the girl a pair of
tiny glass slippers that fit just right!]]
As Cinderella stepped into the
waiting coach, her Fairy Godmother
warned, "You must be home by
midnight, Cinderella, because all my
magic will disappear when the clock
strikes twelve!"
Cinderella promised she would
not be late, and off she went to the
ball, her heart pounding with
excitement.]]
The Prince was quite taken with
beautiful Cinderella. In fact,
everyone at the ball loved her! As
the Prince and Cinderella danced,
all the people smiled and watched.
The Prince asked Cinderella to
dance every dance that night.
Cinderella was so happy she forgot
the time. As the clock began to
strike twelve, she ran from the
palace. She was in such a hurry that
she lost one of the glass slippers!]]
Cinderella had to run all the way
home in her rags that night, for her
coach was now a pumpkin again,
and the mice and the rat had run
away. All that was left of her
beautiful outfit was the other glass
slipper.
The Prince ran after Cinderella.
He wanted to call out to her, but he
realized that she had never told him
her name! When he found the glass
slipper on the palace steps, the
Prince vowed to find its owner.]]
The next day, the Prince was very
unhappy. He had fallen in love with
the girl without a name. He decided
at once to search the land for the
woman who could wear the glass
slipper.
The prince and his servants went
to every house, inviting each woman
to try on the little shoe-but not
one foot could fit into it!
At last, his carriage arrived at
Cinderella's house.]]
The stepsisters tried, but they
could not squeeze into the tiny shoe.
When Cinderella asked to try, the
Prince knelt and slipped the shoe
easily onto her little foot. Cinderella
had carefully kept the other glass
slipper. Now she pulled it from her
apron pocket and put it on, too.
All of the sudden, Cinderella was
magically dressed in a beautiful
gown. The Prince took Cinderella
back to the palace and they were
married that very day!]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Simple

Sentences: Simple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Features

Retelling of story/fable/legend

Topic

Princes/Princesses

Fairies

Good/Evil

*Fictional Ideas/Charac

Low Frequency Words

carriage	cinders	coachman	hearth	invitation
ironed	knelt	magically	misery	servant
servants	sewed	stepsisters	vowed	wand
warned