Text Leveling System

Young Abraham Lincoln

RDQ:	297	Max Word/Sent	23	Total Words	578		Diff Words	267
Lex	540	Ave Word/.Sent	9	Hi Freq occurs	322	55.7%	Hi freq	95	35.6%
AR	2.2	Long Sentences	3.1	Low Freq occurs	21	3.6%	Low freq	16	6%

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States.]]
Lincoln did not start his life being rich or powerful. He was born in a log cabin in Kentucky on February 12, 1809.]]
Abe had an older sister named Sarah. Abe and Sarah and their parents had a farm in the woods.]]
Life in the wilderness was hard. There were many chores to do. Abe fetched water from the creek, chopped firewood, and helped his father plant seeds.]]
Several miles from the Lincoln home was a one room schoolhouse. Abe was very smart and he loved school. But there was so much to do on the farm Abe and Sarah went to school for less than a year.]]
Abe kept learning even though he could not go to school. He studied at night by the light of the fire.]]
When Abe was 7, his family moved to Indiana.]]
It was winter when the Lincolns arrived in Indiana. Young Abe helped his father chop down trees and build a snug cabin.]]
Abe was only 9 when his mother got sick and died. The cabin was very lonely without her.]]
A year later, Abe's father got married again. Abe's stepmother was named Sarah Johnson. She had 3 children of her own. Soon the log cabin was a cheerful place again.]]
Abe liked to joke with his stepmother. One day he brought a small boy with muddy feet into the cabin and walked him up the wall and across the ceiling.]]
When Mrs. Lincoln saw the footprints, she laughed and wondered how this could happen.]]
As he grew up, Abe never lost his love of learning. He read whenever he could. He even read while he was plowing his father's fields!]]
Books were hard to get in the wilderness. Sometimes Abe walked miles to borrow one.]]
Once Abe borrowed a book and got it wet. He worked for 3 days to pay for the damage.]]
Abe grew up to be tall and strong. He could chop wood faster than anyone. He earned money by splitting logs for fences.]]
Abe was also a great storyteller. People loved to sit and listen to his funny tales.]]
When Abe grew up, he tried many different jobs. He worked as a farmer and a carpenter. He worked on river boats and in a sawmill, too.]]
Then Abe opened a store. One day a man came in with an old barrel to sell. Abe didn't know it, but that barrel would change his life.]]
Abe bought the barrel. In it he found a book about law. Abe read it every chance he could.]]
Now Abe knew what he wanted to do. He would become a lawyer and help people.]]
A lawyer named John T Stuart helped Abe study. It was hard work, but Abe was determined to learn.]]
Finally the day came when Abe was ready to practice law. Stuart made Abe his partner. Soon Abe became very successful.]]
But being a lawyer was not enough for Abe. He wanted to help people in other ways. So he held several government offices too.]]
In 1861, Abe became the 16th president of the United States.]]
Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil War. This was a very sad time for the country. But Lincoln kept the nation together. Then, just as the war ended in 1865, an angry man shot and killed President Lincoln.]]
Thousands of people wept when the heard Lincoln was dead. Today, many people still visit his memorial in Washington, D C.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Simple phrases

Text structure: Oral/Natural

Features

Character traits

Integral Setting - Historical

Topic

*History

Learning

American History

Presidents

Low Frequency Words

borrow	borrowed	determined	fetched	government
kentucky	lawyer	memorial	nation	partner
president	sawmill	schoolhouse	sixteenth	splitting
studied