Text Leveling System

Planets

RDQ:	572	Max Word/Sent	20	Total Words	1085		Diff Words	380
Lex	650	Ave Word/.Sent	7	Hi Freq occurs	609	56.1%	Hi freq	144	37.9%
AR	2.9	Long Sentences	0	Low Freq occurs	68	6.3%	Low freq	39	10.3%

Planets
What's a planet? Circle, circle in the sky, you're bright enough to catch my eye. You're not a star, but a place where gas or rocks swirl in space.
Space clues
Gas: something that has no shape or size of its own. Gas can spread out into the space around it.
Star: a huge ball of hot gas that makes heat and light]]
Hello, planets!
When you look up high in the night sky, you might see lots of bright lights. Most of these lights are stars. Space clues: 
orbit: the path and object follows around another object, such as a star.
Reflect: to bounce back.]]
What did two stars say to each other on Valentine's Day? I glow for you!
Most stars have planets moving around them. Planets are round objects that orbit a star. They don't create their own light. They only reflect light from stars.]]
The sun.
The sun is our star. Our planet earth orbits the sun. The sun makes a lot of heat and light. Don't look directly at the sun. It could hurt your eyes.]]
Its surface is about 100 times hotter than a hot summer day! It's also very big. One million earths could fit inside the sun!]]
Our solar system
Mercury Venus earth Mars
Our sun and earth are part of what we call our solar system. There are eight big planets and five small, dwarf planets in the solar system.]]
Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
The sun and the 8 big planets in our solar system
Each planet orbits the sun. The strong pull of the Sun's gravity holds the planets in orbit, which keeps them from floating away. Gravity is the same force that makes a baseball fall to the ground when you drop it.
Space clues
Gravity: an invisible force that pulls objects toward a planet or star.]]
The inner planets. Mercury, Venus, earth, and Mars are in the hotter part of our solar system.]]
These planets are the four closest to the sun. They are made of rock and metal.]]
Your planet earth.
Earth is the third planet from the sun. The planet we call home spins at just the right distance from the sun.]]
What did Neptune say to Saturn? Give me a ring sometime!
It's far enough away to be not too hot, yet close enough so it's not too cold. Here, the conditions are just right for life.]]
The gas giants. The gas giants do not have a hard surface like the rocky inner planets.]]
Beyond the rocky inner planets, there are four gas giants. They are Jupiter, saturn, Uranus, and neptune. These huge planets are made of big clouds of gas and liquid. Gravity pulls the gas and liquid into a planet shape.
All gas giants have rings. The rings are made of mostly ice and dust.]]
Dwarf planets. Dwarf planets our planet like objects that are part of our solar system. They are much smaller than regular planets. MakeMake Ceres Eris Pluto.]]
This dwarf planet is shaped like an egg. Haumea
A dwarf planet can be round or egg shaped. Unlike regular planets, dwarf planets may share their orbits with other space objects]]
amazing planets.
These planets are really out of this world! 
Weirdest spin.
Uranus.
This planet spins on its side, rolling like a barrel instead of a top.
Windiest weather.
Neptune.
Winds on Neptune blow much faster than earth's strongest hurricanes.
Longest lasting storm.
Jupiter.
The great red spot is a hurricane on Jupiter. It has been blowing for more than 400 years.]]
Hottest planet.
Venus.
This is the solar system's hottest planet even though it is not the closest to the sun. A thick layer of gas around Venus makes it super hot.
Tallest mountain.
Mars.
Mars is the home of the solar systems largest volcano, called Olympus Mons. It's as tall as 3 Mount Everest stacked up.]]
Moons galore!
Some planets, like earth, have moons that travel with them. Moons are objects made of ice or rock that orbit a planet. Some planets have no moons. Some have many. Jupiter has more than 60! ]]
Saturn has a giant moon called Titan. It is one of the largest moons in the solar system. It is even bigger than the planet mercury!]]
Our moon.
Earth has only one moon. It appears large and bright in the night sky. Astronauts first walked on the moon more than 40 years ago. They left footprints in the dirt. There is no weather on the moon to wash or blow them away. Those footprints are still there.
Space clues:
Weather: the changing conditions that can include temperature , rainfall, wind, and clouds.]]
Why couldn't the astronaut book a room on the moon? Because it was full!
Astronaut buzz Aldrin walks on the moon in 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 mission.]]
 Exploring space.
Scientists have many ways of studying planets. One is to visit them. Humans can't visit other planets yet. But we can send robots to explore them for us. A rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is heading to Mars.]]
How did the rocket lose its job? It got fired!
Robots called Rovers have been sent to Mars. The Rovers carry cameras and tools. They can take photographs and videos, too. The Rovers send information back to earth about what they see.
A drawing of a Rover on Mars.]]
There are other ways to learn about planets, too. Powerful telescopes allow us to see planets and moons even though they are far away.]]
A drawing of a space probe that flew near Jupiter.
Space probes also collect information about planets. These spacecraft take pictures. They measure light and temperature, too. With these tools, scientists make exciting discoveries about other worlds. What will we learn next?]]
 Stump your parents.
Can your parents answer these questions about planets? 
Which is not true about the sun?
It makes heat and light. It is our planet's star. It is much smaller than earth. Planets orbit around it.
What does Neptune have that's so special? 
The largest volcano. The hardest surface. The weirdest spin. The windiest weather.
What is jupiter's great red spot?
A moon. A volcano. A flood. A hurricane.
Which planet has just one moon? Mercury earth Mars Uranus
Which of these are the main materials found in planets rings? Gas, ice, dust, B and C.
What can you use to get a better view of objects in space?
Microscopes, telescopes, submarines, flashlights.
To study the environment on Mars, scientists have sent?
Rovers, airplanes, space shuttles, astronauts

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Simple graphics supplementary to text comprehension

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Oral/Natural

Table of Contents

Chapters

Headings

Features

Integral Setting

Topic

*Space

Sun

Stars

Planets

Astronauts

Earth

Moon

Galaxy

Universe

Rockets

Low Frequency Words

astronaut	astronauts	environment	everest	exploring
galore	haumea	hurricane	hurricanes	invisible
liquid	makemake	materials	measure	mercury
microscopes	mission	mons	mount	neptune
object	objects	olympus	photographs	probe
probes	rainfall	reflect	rover	solar
spacecraft	submarines	swirl	system's	titan
uranus	venus	weirdest	windiest