Text Leveling System

The Mitten Tree

RDQ:	244	Max Word/Sent	23	Total Words	639		Diff Words	249
Lex	500	Ave Word/.Sent	12	Hi Freq occurs	389	60.9%	Hi freq	95	38.2%
AR	2.1	Long Sentences	5.7	Low Freq occurs	16	2.5%	Low freq	13	5.2%

Every chilly morning Sarah pulled on her warm coat and started down the lane. As she walked past the children on her way to the mailbox, she wished they would smile or wave. But they never did. The children didn't even seem to notice her. Still, when she saw them, she couldn't help but smile.]]
One winter morning after the first snow had fallen, all the children were making snowmen and throwing snowballs. All except for one little boy in a blue cap and coat. Even his boots were a dark shade of blue. He stood away from the others with his hands sunk deep in his pockets. When the school bus arrived, he lingered behind and was last in line. As Sarah watched the little boy climb into the bus, she could see one thing he had no mittens.]]
All that day Sarah couldn't stop worrying about the little boy with no mittens. Late in the afternoon, as the sky grew dark, Sarah dug through the basket of yarn scraps she had saved for many years. She found her needles and four shades of blue wool. Then, Sarah began to knit.]]
Sarah worked late into the night. When the sun began to rise she hurried to the bus stop and hung the mittens on the old blue spruce tree. From behind the hedge, Sarah watched. The little boy was the first to arrive. He saw the mittens. He reached up and tried them on. They fit. With a big smile, he made a perfect snowball and threw it high into the winter sky.]]
Soon a little girl in a coat arrived. Her mittens didn't match. That night Sarah netted with red yarn. Every day now as Sarah went to the mailbox, she watched for children without mittens. Then she would hurry home and knit. Early in the morning, she would hang the new mittens on the tree. The children loved the game period each day, they would search under every branch and bough for another pair of mittens. Once or twice, Sarah thought that the boy with the blue mittens had seen her, but he always looked away.]]
Night after night, Sarah netted mittens in every color. Some had stripes, some had hearts, some even had little snowflakes all over them. Somehow, even though she had never spoken to the children, Sarah felt that they had become her new family.]]
On the last day before winter vacation, Sarah
awakened before dawn. She took the empty basket that
had once held her yarn and filled it to the brim with
mittens. Out the door and down the steps she headed.
When she got to the blue spruce tree, she hung mittens
on every branch.]]
The boy with the blue mittens was the first to arrive.
He stood very still and waited for the others. In fact, all
the children stood very still for a few minutes looking at
the mysterious, beautiful mitten tree.]]
When they boarded the bus, each child now wore a
pair of mittens.
Sarah watched as, one by one, their faces appeared in
the bus windows. Still no one looked her way as she
started home.]]
But Sarah's heart was full. It was as full as when the
sounds of her own children had filled her house.]]
As Sarah neared her porch and climbed the steps, she
saw something waiting for her. There in the corner was a
basket woven with thick brown vines and decorated with
a large white bow. In it were balls and balls of beautiful,
colorful yarn.]]
To this day, Sarah knits mittens for all the children in
her town. Every time her basket is empty, a new full one
appears.]]
Sarah doesn't know who the yarn is from. The children
still don't know who the mittens are from.
But someone must ...]]

Subjective Criteria

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Oral/Natural

Features

Cliff Hanger

Topic

Mystery

Gifts

Kindness

Caring/Hugs

Helping

*Feelings, Behaviors

Low Frequency Words

awakened	boarded	bough	hedge	knit
knits	lingered	mysterious	neared	netted
pockets	spruce	woven