Text Leveling System

The Night Before Christmas

RDQ:	497	Max Word/Sent	38	Total Words	537		Diff Words	251
Lex	630	Ave Word/.Sent	14	Hi Freq occurs	334	62.2%	Hi freq	75	29.9%
AR	2.7	Long Sentences	37.8	Low Freq occurs	51	9.5%	Low freq	42	16.7%

Twas the night before Christmas]]
when all through the house]]
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.]]
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.]]
The children were nestled all snug in their beds.]]
While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.]]
And Mamma in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled down for a long winter's nap.]]
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,]]
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.]]
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow gave a luster of midday to objects below.]]
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, miniature slate, and eight tiny reindeer, with a little old driver, so lively and quick; I knew in a moment it must be Saint nick.]]
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came. And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name: now, dasher. Now dancer. Now prancer and vixen.]]
On comet. On Cupid. On donder and blitzen. To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall. Now, dash away. Dash away. Dash away all.]]
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, so up to the housetop the coursers they flew with a sleigh full of toys, and Saint Nicholas too.]]
And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof the prancing and pining of each little hoof.]]
As I drew in my head, and was turning around, then the chimney Saint Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot. A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.]]
His eyes how they twinkled. His dimples how merry. His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry. His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bowl, and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow. The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, and the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath. He had a broad face and the little round belly that shook, when he laughed, like a bowl full of Jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, and I laughed when I saw him , in spite of myself. A wink of his eye and A twist of his head soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.]]
He spoke not a word come back straight to his work, and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.]]
And laying his finger a side of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.]]
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,]]
and away they all flew like the down of a Thistle.]]
But I heard exclaim he drove out of sight,]]
happy Christmas to all, and a good night.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Simple

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Story/Poem

Features

First Person

Rhyming

Topic

*Holidays, Events, Cele

Christmas

Low Frequency Words

arose	breast	coursers	donder	drawn
dread	droll	encircled	flung	housetop
hurricane	kerchief	lively	luster	mamma
miniature	mount	nestled	nicholas	objects
obstacle	peddler	pining	prancer	reindeer
saint	shutters	slate	sleigh	soot
spite	sprang	stirring	stockings	sugarplums
tarnished	thistle	twas	visions	vixen
whistled	wreath