Text Leveling System

What I Learned from a Penguin

RDQ:	425	Max Word/Sent	26	Total Words	825		Diff Words	355
Lex	620	Ave Word/.Sent	12	Hi Freq occurs	555	67.3%	Hi freq	145	40.8%
AR	2.5	Long Sentences	11.8	Low Freq occurs	34	4.1%	Low freq	25	7%

Hello, good day, and how do you do? 
My name is Dr. Amen, and I am pleased to meet you.
I'm a psychiatrist, you see,
it's a tough word to say.
My job is to help people
who have problems in their day.]]
There's something about me
That I think you should know.
I have a collection of penguins
that continues to grow.
I have so many penguins,
they're coming out my ears!
I guess that's because I've been
collecting for years.]]
I have penguin clocks, and dolls, and puppets that move.]]
I have stickers, and snow globes, and penguins that groove.]]
I have a mug that I use to drink tea at night ]]
and a penguin that sits on my pencil to write.]]
Penguin pens, erasers, ]]
and a sewing machine.
There's even a penguin vacuum to make sure all stays clean.]]
By now you're asking, "Why penguins," I know.
Well it all started the day I saw the Fat Freddy Show.]]
A long time ago and this sure isn't a lie,
I lived with my family in a place called Hawaii.
We lived on an island pronounced, O Wa Hoo.
The weather was beautiful breezy and cool.]]
On a bright sunny day I took my son along with me,
to a place called Sea Life Park, filled with creatures from the sea.]]
We saw dolphins dance on water and a seal with a ball on his nose.]]
We saw a killer whale leap and splash all the front rows.]]
The best show by far, we saw just before night.
The star of the stage was short, black, and white.
His name was Fat Freddy and amazing he was.
His tricks and his stunts seemed to be the park's buzz.]]
H jumped from a diving ]]
board up high in the sky.]]
he bowled with his nose ]]
and counted real high.]]
We all held our breath as he leaped through a fire.]]
He sailed through with ease, never seeming to tire.]]
Near the end of the show he was told, go get a ring.
Why, he waddled right over and brought back that thing.
It was right about then time froze on the clock.
What Freddy had done nearly put me in shock.]]
With my son, things seemed to be different indeed. He never did what he was asked, even when I would plead.
It seemed he only listened when I became quite mad. It was frustrating for me, and it made us both sad.
Fat Freddy's behavior left me quite dumbfounded. "If my son's smarter than a penguin, why's he always getting grounded?"]]I=
I went to trainer Julie right after the show. How she got Freddy to behave was something I just had to know.
When I asked how she did it, she looked at my son and then me. Her answer was simple, and I had to agree.]]
Whenever Freddy does something I want him to do, I reward him with a hug and a fish, maybe two."
My time is spent with him whenever it's free. I show him I love him, and in return he loves me."]]
After that day I realized what I had done. I'd always been too busy and forgot to have fun.
And when he did something that was perfect and right, I didn't pay attention which wasn't so bright.]]
But if he did something I considered to be bad, I gave plenty of attention there was punishment to be had.
I didn't even realize what I had actually done. I'd encouraged bad behavior from my one and only son.
Doing something negative was what he felt he had to do to get some attention (and some time from me too.)]]
So that's why I collect penguins. It's a reminder to me to focus on the good things and not the bad ones, you see.]]
When we take time to notice the good things people do, they are encouraged to do more good, which makes people happy even you!]]
So next time someone does something to try to make you sad, you can help them to change by noticing good more than bad.]]
What if Fat Freddy hadn't done what he was told?
Would have been better for Julie to become angry and scold?
Imagine if she made fun of him or hit him, or worse. What if she screamed so loud it made his ears want to burst?]]
Fat Freddy may have become angry and with all of his might, he may have walked up to Julie and given her a bit bite.]]
Something else could have happened which is worse I do fear.
His feelings may have been hurt, and would've shed tear after tear.]]
Instead of becoming angry anytime Freddy was bad,
Julie rewarded the good, which kept him from being sad.
She taught me this lesson, one I hold dear to my heart.
It prevented my son and I from tearing further apart.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Simple phrases

Text structure: Oral/Natural

Inferences: Some implications

Features

Character traits

First Person

Rhyming

Topic

Learning

Behaviors

*Family & Friends

Parents

Low Frequency Words

amen	dumbfounded	ease	encouraged	frustrating
further	grounded	hawaii	negative	noticing
penguin	penguins	prevented	psychiatrist	realize
reminder	reward	rewarded	seeming	stunts
tearing	vacuum	waddled	why's	would've