Text Leveling System

Junie B. Jones Aloha-ha-ha

RDQ:	870	Max Word/Sent	22	Total Words	3024		Diff Words	716
Lex	710	Ave Word/.Sent	6	Hi Freq occurs	2220	73.4%	Hi freq	309	43.2%
AR	3.4	Long Sentences	0.8	Low Freq occurs	137	4.5%	Low freq	79	11%

Flinging
Friday
Dear First grade journal
I've got big news!
I've got big news!
Last night Daddy told me a happy surprise. And it's called my family is going on an exciting vacation. And it is going to be the time of our life, I tell you!]]
I am trying to save my news for show and tell. But I don't thing I can wait that long. That is how com I am going to ask my teacher to start that activity right exactly now. Please stand by.
I stopped writing and raised my hand.
Mr. Scary was not looking at me.
When teachers don't look, you have to
stand up and shout. Or else how are they
supposed to notice you?
I stood up and shouted.
"MR. S.! MR. S.! HOW LONG UNTIL
WE HAVE SHOW-AND-TELL, DO YOU
THINK?"
Mr. Scary wrinkled his eyebrows at me.]]
I am not supposed to call him Mr. S., I
believe.
"Please sit down, Junie B.," he said. "It's
still journal time. And journal time is quiet
time."
I nodded. "Yeah, I know. Only I'd actually
like to wrap things up and get started
with Show-and-Tell now."
Mr. Scary sucked in his cheeks.
"Sit down," he said again. "We will have
Show-and-Tell shortly."
I looked at the clock. "How many minutes
is shortly?" I asked. "Is it one minute
or eight minutes or eleven minutes? On
account of if it's one minute, I can wait,
probably. But eleven minutes would be out
of the question."
Mr. Scary walked back to my desk. And
he sat me in my chair.]]
I glanced up at him. "All I'm looking for
is a rough estimate," I said.
Just then, my neighbor named May
leaned across the aisle. And she did a giant
SHH! in my face.
I quick wiped my cheek.
"EW!" I hollered. "EW! EW! EW!".
'Cause May got spittle on me, that's
why! And spittle is the grown-up word for
spitooey!]]
I zoomed to the back of the room. And I
climbed on the stool to reach the faucet. But
Mr. Scary beat me to it.
He wet a paper towel and wiped my
face.
"Thank you," I said. "I needed that."
Mr. Scary rolled his eyes.
"You're being very rambunctious this
morning, aren't you, Junie B. Jones?" he
said.
I scratched my head at that vocabulary.
"Okay. You lost me on that one," I said.
"Rambunctious," he repeated. "Rambunctious
means--"
May's voice interrupted.
"BAD!" she called out. '"Bunaious
means bad, Junie Jones! You're being bad
this morning! Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad!"
I turned to look at her.]]
Her chair was spun around to face the
back of the room.
She was watching me like an audience.
Mr. Scary ran his fingers through his
tired hair.
Then he went to May's desk. And he
turned her back in the right direction.
Teachers spend a lot of time adjusting
people.
After he came back, he bent down next
to me. And he made his voice more private.
"Junie B., I know why you're excited,"
he whispered. "Your mother called me on
the phone last night. And she told me about
your vacation next week."
I threw out my arms real thrilled. And I
flinged myself way high in the air.
"I can't wait, Mr. Scary! I can't wait! I
can't wait!" I said.]]
Mr. Scary grabbed my arms. And he kept
me from flinging.
"Okay. See, this is the wild behavior that
I'm talking about," he said. "I really need
you to stay calm until Show-and-Tell, Junie
B. Can you do that for me, please?"
I thought for a second. Then I shrugged
my shoulders.
"Yeah, only I don't actually know if I can
do that," I said. "'Cause I'm already trying to
be calm. And this is how I'm turning out."
My teacher tapped on his chin.
"Hmm. Maybe we could make a deal,"
he said. "How 'bout this? If you stay quiet
and calm until Show-and-Tell, I'll let you go
first. How does that sound?"
I bounced up and down at that exciting
idea.
"That sounds like a D-E-E-L!" I said.]]
"You mean D-E-A-L," said Mr. Scary.
"Deal is spelled with an a, Junie B."
"Whatever," I said.
After that, I twirled real fast in a happy
circle. And I accidentally spun myself into
the ground.
On my way down, I knocked over the
trash can and the sink stool.
All of Room One turned to look at me.
I sat up and waved my fingers.
"Do not be alarmed, people. I am perfectly
okay," I said.
After that, I stood up and dusted myself
off. Then I went back to my seat.
I looked at the clock again.
No minutes had passed at all, hardly.
I put my head down and did a groan.
Time is as slow as a turtle.]]
Pair-o-Dice
The children wrote in their journals forever,
it seemed.
Then finally, finally, finally they started to finish!
And at last!
IT WAS TIME FOR SHOW-AND TELL!
My legs sprang up. And they ran me to
the front of the room.
Then I flinged myself in the air again.
And I shouted, "VACATION! VACATION!
I'M GOING ON A VACATION!"]]
Only too bad for me. 'Cause when I
came down from my fling, I lost my balance.
And I landed on the floor again.
This time, Room One laughed their
heads off.
I tapped my fingers real annoyed.
"Okay  I've really got to knock off
the flinging," I said to just myself.
Mr. Scary quieted everyone down.
"Boys and girls, the reason Junie B. is so
excited today is that she didn't find out
about her vacation until just last night."
He winked at me. "Tell everyone where
you're going, Junie B."
I took a big breath.
Then the words came hollering out!
"HAWAII, PEOPLE! I'M GOING TO
HAWAII! AND I AM GOING THIS VERY
EXACT SUNDAY!"]]
All of the children's mouths fell open.
Except for not richie Lucille's.
Instead, Lucille stretched her arms in the
air. And she did a giant yawn.
"Hawaii. Ho-hum. Been there . . . done
that," she said real bored.
Then she stood up.
And she twirled around.
And she sat back down again.
My friend named Shirley stood up, too.
"Well, I've never been there!" she said.
"I can't believe it, Junie B.! You're really,
really going to Hawaii?"
"Yes, Shirley! Really!" I said. "This was
the biggest surprise of my career, I tell you!
On account of last night Daddy said he is
going on a job interview in Hawaii! And he
surprised me and Mother with two extra
tickets!"]]
I skipped around my teacher very joyful.
"And that is not even the bestest part
yet!" I said. "Because Daddy told me that]]
this trip is for 'big people' only! And so my
baby brother named Ollie is not even
allowed!"
Room One looked shocked at that information.
"Wow!" said my friend Jose. "You mean
you're big people, Junie B.?"
I nodded my head real fast.
"Oh yes, Jose. I am big people, all
right," I said. "That's how come I got to
read the travel booklet with Mother last
night. And the travel booklet says Hawaii is
a real, actual paradise."
Mc. Scary grinned.
"A paradise, huh? That's a great word,
Junie B. Does everyone know what a paradise
.is?"
Sheldon shot his hand in the air.
"I do! I do!" he shouted. "My grampa]]
Ned Potts has a pair-o-dice! He used to play
craps at the gambling casino. But then
someone squealed to Gramma. And so now
he's not allowed out at night anymore."
May jumped up and pointed.
"Sheldon said a bad word! Sheldon said
a bad word!" she tattled real loud.
Mr. Scary stared at her.
"May, dear . . . I'm very sorry to ruin
this special tattling moment for you," he
said. "But Sheldon did not say a bad word.
Craps is a dice game that's played at gambling
casinos."
May stood there a second. "Well, at least
I gave it a shot," she said. Then she did a
shrug and sat back down.
After that, Mr. Scary printed the word
PARADISE on the board.
He turned and looked at Sheldon.]]
"And, Sheldon, my friend," he said, "the
word is paradise. Not pair-o-dice."
Sheldon did a shrug, too.
"I don't think Gramma really cares how
you spell it," he said. "Grampa's still not
getting out at night."
Mr. Scary closed his eyes a minute.
Then he went to the sink. And he got a
drink of water.
On his way back, he stopped at the
world map on our bulletin board. And he
showed Room One where Hawaii is.
"Boys and girls, these Pacific islands are
the main islands that make up the state of
Hawaii," he told us.
He got the world globe off the shelf. And
he asked me to carry it around to show the
children.
I stopped at each desk.]]
"Whoa!" said Roger. "Hawaii looks like
a bunch of little dots floating in the ocean."
I nodded. "I know it, Roger," I said.
"But my mother said the dots are bigger in
person."
Mr. Scary laughed. "Oh, they're much
bigger in person, Junie B. And they're not
really floating, Roger. So don't worry. Our 
friend Junie B. won't be drifting away."
May did a grump noise. "Phooey," she
said.
I ignored that situation. Instead, I put the
globe back. And I went to the front of the
room again.
"I know other information about
Hawaii, too," I said. "Mother read that
there are lots of flowers and birds there.
Plus also, she read that Hawaii was formed
by exploding volcanoes."]]
I thought for a second. "She read a
bunch of other junk, too. But I finally got
bored and tuned her out."
Mr. Scary did a chuckle.
"Well, volcanoes are pretty interesting,
really. When volcanoes erupt, they spew out
lava. And over millions of years, lava can
form landmasses," he explained. "As a matter
of fact, there are still two active volcanoes
in Hawaii right now."
I stood there real quiet. And I let that
information sink in my head.
Then, all of a sudden, I did a little shiver.
"Okay, see, I wasn't actually aware of an
eruption problem," I said.
May jumped up again.
"Well, I'm sure glad that I'm not going to
Hawaii," she hollered. "Who wants to get
erupted on by a spewy, hot volcano? Getting]]
erupted on by a spewy, hot volcano would
ruin your whole vacation trip."
Mr. Scary sucked in his cheeks.
"Junie B. is not going to get erupted on
by a 'spewy, hot volcano, May," he said.
"There are no active volcanoes on the island
where Junie B. is going."
May thought a minute.
"Okay, fine. But let's just say that she did 
get erupted on by a spewy, hot volcano.
That would definitely ruin her whole vacation
trip. True or false?"
Mr. Scary went to the sink again.
This time, he splashed water on his face.
After he dried off, he put May back in
her chair.
I waved my hand to talk some more.
"Yeah, only I didn't even tell everyone
the most exciting part yet! 'Cause guess]]
how I'm getting to Hawaii, people? Guess,
guess, guess!" I said. "No, wait! I will give
you a hint!"
After that, I straightened out my arms
like wings. And I zoomed around Room
One.
"See me, people? See me? I'm flying! I'm
flying! That's how I'm getting to Hawaii!
I'm flying in a real, actual airplane!"
Lucille stood up and did another yawn.
"Airplane, shmairplane," she said. "Tell
me something I haven't done."
Mr: Scary sat her down.
"This is going to be an amazing adventure
for you, Junie B.," he told me.
He grinned real big.
"And just to be sure that you bring
back lots of wonderful pictures I bought
you a little gift for your trip."]]
He went to the closet and took out a
shopping bag.
I hurried and peeked inside.
And wowie wow wow!
There was a camera in that thing!
I quick pulled it out and showed the
class.
"Look, people! Look! It's the kind of]]
camera that you get at the drugstore!" I
said. "I am excellent at this equipment!
'Cause I already used one on my class field
trip in kindergarten!"
After that, Mr. Scary reached into the
bag and pulled out another gift.
"And take a look at this, Junie B. This is
called a photo journal," he said. "A photo
journal is similar to the first-grade journals
we use in class each day. Except a photo
journal tells a story in photographs instead
of words."
He opened it up for me. "See inside?
Each page has a place for a daily picture
and a caption. A caption is another name
for a picture title," he explained.
He showed the album to the class.
"Every day, Junie B. will take a picture
of what she did on her trip," he said. "Then]]
she will organize her photos and give them
captions. And when she comes. back to
school, her photo journal will tell us the
story of her exciting trip to paradise!"
He handed me my album.
"Doesn't that sound like a fun assignment,
Junie B.?" he asked.
I started to nod.
Then suddenly, I stopped.
'Cause something did not sound right
about that sentence.
I tapped on my chin.
It was the word assignment, I believe.
Finally, I looked at my teacher.
"Okay, here is the problem," I said.
"Assignment means schoolwork, and
Hawaii means vacation. And children do
not actually like to mix those two items."
Mr. Scary smiled. "Oh, but this will be a]]
fun assignment, Junie B.," he said. "And
it's a very special assignment, too. You're
going to be Room One's first official photo
journalist."
My ears perked up.
"Official?" I said. "Did you say the
word official?"
He grinned. "Yes. I did. That's exactly
what I said official."
I looked at him again. "Official means
important, right?"
"Oh yes," he said. "You can't get much
more important than being official."
 I stood up a little bit straighter.
Official makes you automatically taller, I
think.
After that, Mr. Scary shook my hand.
And he walked me back to my seat.
"Oh," he said. "And don't forget to take]]
your first-grade journal to Hawaii with you,
okay, Junie B.? It would be a terrible shame
to miss a whole week of journal writing,
wouldn't it?"
I looked at him real strange.
Teachers and children do not have the
same kind of brains.
Finally, I did a sigh. And I took out my
journal. And I dropped it in the bag with
my camera.
My friend named Herbert turned around
very excited.
"You're a lucky duck, Junie B. Jones!"
he said. "I wish I was going to Hawaii next
week!"
"Me too!" said Lennie.
"Me three!" said Jose.
I looked at May.
She did not say, "Me four."]]
Instead, she just kept staring straight
ahead. And she didn't talk at all.
I did a shrug and went back to my own
business.
Then suddenly-without any warning-.
May shot her arms into the air. And she
hollered the word "KABOOM!"
She looked at me and smiled.
"That was the sound of a spewy, hot volcano
erupting on you," she said.
I sat there a second.
Then I did another shiver.
May is not amusing.]]
New Friend
The next day was Saturday.
I woke up with ants in my pants.
'Cause just one more day till Hawaii, of
course!
After breakfast, me and Mother packed
my suitcase for the trip. Also, we stuffed
crayons and toys in my backpack for the
airplane.
"This plane ride is going to be fun!
Right, Mother? Right?" I said. "This plane
ride is going to be the time of my life!"
Mother sighed.]]
"Well, it's definitely going to be long .
That's for sure," she said. "And it could get
a little boring, too, I'm afraid."
She stood there a minute. Then she
winked at me.
"That's why I got you a brand-new
friend for the trip, Junie B.," she said.
My eyes lighted up very thrilled.
"
"A new friend?" I said. "You got me a
new friend?"
She ruffled my hair.
"I sure did. Wait here and I'll go get
her," she said.
As soon as she left, I grabbed my favorite
stuffed elephant named Philip Johnny Bob.
And I danced him all around the room.
"A new friend, Philip! I'm getting a new
friend!" I sang real happy.
Philip sucked in his cheeks.]]
You don't need a new friend, Junie B.
You have me, remember? I am your friend.
I hugged him very tight.
"Yes, I know you are my friend, Phil," I
said. "But it's still nice to make other
friends , too. Right. "
Wrong, said Philip. You only need me.
And that's all.
Just then, Mother came back with my
new friend.
And my whole mouth came open, I tell
you!
"A HULA GIRL BARBIE! IT'S A HULA
GIRL BARBIE! I'VE ALWAYS, ALWAYS
WANTED ONE OF THESE THINGS!" I
said. "THANK YOU, MOTHER! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!"
I looked at Barbie through her box.
"Wow! Look! She has her very own hula]]
skirt! And her very own hula sandals! Plus
also, she's got a hula wreath around her
neck!"
Mother smiled.
"It's not a hula wreath, Junie B. It's
called a lei," she said. "A lei is a necklace
made of flowers. We'll see lots of them in
Hawaii."
I took Hula Girl Barbie out of her box.
And I danced around some more.
"I think I will name her Delores," I said.
"Delores has a nice ring to it."
Finally, I stopped dancing. And I introduced
her to Philip.
"Philip Johnny Bob, meet Hula Girl
Delores," I said.
Hello, said Delores.
Whatever, said Philip.
After that, I put both of those guys in my]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: No support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Table of Contents

Chapters

Features

Character traits

Integral Setting - Historical

Simple Plot

Topic

Vacations

Cameras

*Feelings, Behaviors

*Schools & Education

Low Frequency Words

accidentally	account	actual	adjusting	aisle
amusing	annoyed	assignment	audience	booklet
bunaious	caption	captions	casino	casinos
com	craps	delores	equipment	estimate
excellent	faucet	flinged	gambling	gramma
grampa	hawaii	hollered	hollering	hula
ignored	interrupted	interview	introduced	islands
journal	journalist	journals	kaboom	kindergarten
landmasses	lei	lennie	lucille's	necklace
neighbor	official	pacific	paradise	perked
photographs	private	quieted	richie	rough
ruffled	sandals	schoolwork	sheldon	shmairplane
shortly	shrug	shrugged	similar	situation
spew	spewy	spitooey	spittle	sprang
squealed	straightened	straighter	tuned	vocabulary
volcanoes	wreath	wrinkled	yawn