Text Leveling System

The Night Before St. Patrick's Day

RDQ:	352	Max Word/Sent	23	Total Words	381		Diff Words	230
Lex	580	Ave Word/.Sent	9	Hi Freq occurs	207	54.3%	Hi freq	80	34.8%
AR	2.3	Long Sentences	10.3	Low Freq occurs	31	8.1%	Low freq	25	10.9%

Twas the night before Saint Patrick's the day to wear green.]]
Not a creature was stirring,]]
Except Tom and Maureen.]]
They decked out the den from ceiling to floor with streamers and rainbows and shamrocks galore.]]
Later they carefully made traps with gold charms and rings. I bet we catch a leprechaun. They love shiny things. For if they caught one so the legend told they'd find where he buried his big pot of gold.]]
They set all the traps around the room with great care, in hopes a weak Irishman soon would be theirs.]]
The children then nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of gold coins danced in their heads.]]
Happy Saint Paddy’s. Said dad early the next morning. Then he started to play bagpipes without warning.]]
He huffed and he puffed an old Irish song.]]
Mom dished out green eggs]]
and sang loudly along.]]
When, from their bedroom, there arose such a clatter, the children ran down the hallway to see what was the matter.]]
And what to their wondering eyes should appear]]
but a terrible mess. A leprechaun was here.]]
Be quiet, whispered Maureen. He's hiding somewhere. When we find him, remember, we most hold his stare. For if you look away, if you so much as blink, leprechauns vanish quick as a wink.]]
The kids trailed muddy footprints back and forth cross the floor]]
which led them under Tim's bed and passed the closet door.]]
And then, inside a trap, they heard someone giggling. A real life leprechaun. They both saw him wiggling.]]
His eyes how they twinkled. His body so tiny. His hands clasped a trinket so gold and shiny. He was dressed in all green, from his head to his toes, and he looked like a cobbler wearing fairy sized clothes.]]
The children approached him, staring straight in his eyes. Tell us where the gold is. Don't be tricky no lies. I buried it under a rock, smooth and hard. It's marked with an X right in your backyard.]]
But when the kids went outside with their shovel and pick,]]
they instantly saw it had been a big trick.]]
Happy Saint Patrick's Day. Ha ha I fooled you. It's time to disappear. Happy Saint paddy's day to you and better luck next year.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Simple

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Simple language

Sentences: Simple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Features

Parody

Rhyming

Topic

Chasing/Catching

Gold

Leprechans

*Holidays, Events, Cele

Low Frequency Words

approached	arose	bagpipes	cobbler	decked
dished	galore	giggling	instantly	irish
irishman	legend	leprechaun	leprechauns	maureen
nestled	paddy's	paddy’s	saint	shamrocks
shovel	stirring	trinket	twas	visions