Text Leveling System

Three Little Dinosaurs

RDQ:	264	Max Word/Sent	22	Total Words	386		Diff Words	195
Lex	520	Ave Word/.Sent	6	Hi Freq occurs	208	53.9%	Hi freq	75	38.5%
AR	2.1	Long Sentences	3.2	Low Freq occurs	18	4.7%	Low freq	10	5.1%

Scratch,  lofty, and sniff were the best of friends.]]
They spent their days playing hide and seek in the forest and splashing about in the lake. Sometimes they did cave paintings.]]
But most of all, they liked pretending to fly.]]
One day Mrs brachiosaurus was picking pinecones for her famous pinecone pie when lofty asked, mom, can dinosaurs fly? Mrs brachiosaurus thought for a moment. My friend Terry dactyl can. How? Asked lofty, excitedly. Well, he finds somewhere high up, then he spreads his wings, and takes off, said mrs B.  I know a really high place, but lofty, and she rushed off to tell her friends.]]
It was the volcano. In no time, they were scrambling up the rocky slope. What if it goes bang? Worried sniff. Well, said scratch, we'll just fly away. Come on.]]
At the top, the three little dinosaurs began to flap with all their might. Altogether now, one, two, three fly.]]
But they couldn't fly. They tumbled head over heels and landed in a crumpled heap. Ouch. Sniff was so sad that he began to cry. Dinosaurs can't fly.]]
OH yes, they can. Came a loud voice. Who said that? Gasped sniff. Not me. Said lofty. Not me. Said scratch.]]
I'm up here. The voice chuckled.]]
The three dinosaurs couldn't believe their eyes. Above them, an enormous winged creature circled in the sky. Who are you? Asked sniff. I'm Terry dactyl. The creature replied. Do you need a lift home?]]
The friends Grinned at each other. Yes, please. So, one at a time, Terry picked them up and placed them carefully on his back.]] OK
and they were off. Up and up, through the clouds, high above the volcano. We're flying. They cried. We really are flying.]]
There's mom. Yelled lofty. Mrs B stretched up her long neck, and one by one, Terry passed the little dinosaurs down to her. They slid down her neck. Whee.
Over the hump in her back. Whoosh. And zip. Right off the end of her tail. Mrs B thank Terry for his kindness and gave him a large slice of pinecone pie.]]

That evening, the three little dinosaurs munched on pinecone pie and watched Terry and his friends swoop and glide over the volcano. Then they went off to bed to dream.]]
Of flying.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Features

Difficult names

Topic

Flight/Flying

Dinosaurs

Low Frequency Words

brachiosaurus	dactyl	excitedly	kindness	lofty
munched	pinecone	pinecones	scrambling	winged