Text Leveling System

The Good Egg

RDQ:	456	Max Word/Sent	28	Total Words	545		Diff Words	250
Lex	620	Ave Word/.Sent	5	Hi Freq occurs	323	59.3%	Hi freq	97	38.8%
AR	2.6	Long Sentences	1	Low Freq occurs	31	5.7%	Low freq	25	10%

OH, hello. I was just rescuing this cat. know why? Because I'm a good egg.]]
A very good egg.]]
It's true, I do all kinds of good things. Like I'll carry your groceries. I'll water your plants. I'll change your tires.]]
I'll paint your house. If you need any help whatsoever, I'm your egg.]]
I've always been a good egg. It's been this way from the start. Even in my earliest days back in the store.]]
There were a dozen of us, living together under one recycled roof. There was Meg. And peg. And Greg. And Clegg. And shel. And Shelly. And Sheldon. And Shelby. And egbert. And frank. And another frank.]]
The other eleven eggs weren't on their best behavior. They weren't exactly good. They ignored their bedtime. They only ate sugary cereal.]]
They threw tantrums. They cried for no reason. They broke their stuff on purpose.]]
Meanwhile, I tried to take charge. I tried to fix their bad behavior. I tried to keep the peace. Because I was a good egg.]]
A very good egg.]]
Nobody seemed to care, though. Every night, I was exhausted. My head felt scrambled.]]
Then, one fateful morning, I noticed some cracks in my shell. They were everywhere.]]
My doctor said it was from all the pressure I was putting on myself. The pressure of making sure everybody was as good as me.]]
I was cracking up literally. Something had to change period I'd had enough.]]
I told Meg and peg and Greg and Clegg and shel and Shelly and Sheldon and Shelby and egbert and frank and other frank that I was leaving. I can't be the only good egg in a bad carton, I said. Blah blah blah, they replied.]]
I left that night.]]
I wandered from town to town. The hours became days. The days became weeks. I lost track of time period I was alone.]]
Out there, on the road, under the stars, I really tried to focus on myself and what I needed.]]
I took walks. I read books. I floated in the river. I wrote in my journal.]]
I found simple moments to be quiet. I breathed in. I breathe out. I even started painting.]]
For once, I found time for me.]]
And guess what. Little by little, the cracks in my shell started to heal. My head no longer felt scrambled. ]]
I started to feel like myself again.]]
So I've made a big decision. I am returning to my old carton and my friends. Besides, I'm kind of lonely out here.]]
This time, I know what I need to do. I'll try not to worry so much. I'll be good to my fellow eggs while also being good to myself.]]
Here we go.]]
Everybody missed me. I missed them, too. Hello, Meg. Howdy, peg. Hey, Greg. Greetings, clegg. What's up, shel? Aloha, Shelley. Hey o, Sheldon. Hi, Shelby. Good day, egbert. What's happening, frank. Howdy do, other frank?]]
Sure, once in a while, somebody still a little bit bad. But it's not like before.]]
Here's what I realized. The other eggs aren't perfect, and I don't have to be, either. I'm OK with that.]]
Yep, the old carton is back together. We're a solid dozen again.]]
It's good to be home.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Oral/Natural

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Author's purpose: Obvious

Features

Character traits

Simple problem/solution

First Person

Topic

Cooperation

Self Esteem

Behaviors

Helping

*Feelings, Behaviors

Low Frequency Words

aloha	breathed	decision	earliest	egbert
exhausted	fateful	fellow	groceries	ignored
journal	literally	meanwhile	moments	peace
pressure	purpose	recycled	rescuing	scrambled
sheldon	sugary	tantrums	wandered	whatsoever