PÁTINA ARTIFICIAL

Genre: Nonfi ction/Expository

Comprehension Strategy: Generate Questions Think-Aloud Copying Master number 1

85 Ptooey!

Ptooey!

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by Linda Schneider

It’s not polite to spit. Everybody knows that! But for some animals, spitting is a way of surviving. So grab your goggles, put on your raincoat, and try to stay dry . . . because here come some super spitters!¹

Target Practice

When threatened, a spitting cobra “stands” up, throws itself forward, and fi res! Out from its fangs comes a fi ne spray of venom, aimed at the attacker’s eyes. Th e cobra can shoot its “streaming bullets” from as far as eight feet (2.4 m). If the venom hits the eyes, it is very painful, blinding the victim for a while—sometimes forever.

Spit Net

Spitting spiders have a great way to get a meal. Th ey spit out a net of sticky threads to capture their prey!

First, the spitting spider gets within blasting range of a moth or other yummy insect. (Th at’s less than an inch, or 2.5 cm.) Th en it raises its head and shakes its jaws from side to side. Two zigzag strands of “glue” shoot out. Th ese fall over the prey’s body, pinning the victim to the spot. Instant prison! And it takes less than a second.

Stink Birds

Southern giant petrels are big seabirds that live as far south as Antarctica. Th ey oft en eat already-dead animals, such as penguins and seals, along with garbage from ships. But it’s what they sometimes do with their meals that most likely gave them their nicknames: “stinkers” or “stink pots.”

A gull or other attacker that comes too near a petrel’s nest is in for a nasty surprise. Th e petrel spews out a smelly liquid of rotten left overs and oil from its stomach. It can spray this gross mixture several feet with amazing accuracy.

Ptooey!

Ptooey!

¹ I know what this selection will be about just from the introduction. The author tells me that some animals use spit in order to survive. I wonder what she means by the term

“super spitters.”

Genre Study Nonfi ction/

Expository: With each new topic, the author catches the listener’s attention and gives a new example of how animals use spitting.

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But adults aren’t the only ones that can spit. Chicks, too, splatter a lot, sometimes even getting their parents wet. Believe it or not, the smell from petrel spit, even a baby’s, can linger for up to four years!²

Water Pistol

Th e archer fi sh from Asia is a real sharp-shooter. When swimming near the surface of the water, it looks for tasty insects on branches overhead. When it sees one, it presses its tongue up against a groove on the roof of its mouth. Th is makes a straw-like tube. Th en the fi sh snaps its gill covers shut, forcing water out of its mouth tube—like a blast from a water pistol. Bull’s-eye! Archer fi sh can spit-whack an insect from a distance of 10 feet (3 m).³

Slime Time

You wouldn’t want to get between two llamas going aft er the same meal. When they’re mad at each other, llamas don’t oft en kick or bite. Instead, they spit! A llama can easily make a spray bomb. It mixes whatever is in its mouth with saliva and gobs of stomach juices. With this, the pack-animals pack a powerful PTOOEY! (Good thing they rarely spit at people.)

So if you see a glaring llama with its ears back and head tilted up, stand back. WAY BACK. It might be about to launch a messy green glob. Splutch. Phew! Be glad you weren’t in the way of that food fi ght!

Th ere’s no denying that spitting helps lots of creatures survive—whether it’s polite or not!

³ Wow! An archer fi sh can really spit a long distance! I think this detail is important in this text because it shows me just how similar an archer fi sh is to a water pistol.

² I notice the author uses many diff erent words to describe spitting. Here, she uses the words spews, spray, and splatter. I didn’t know there were so many words just to describe spitting!

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After Reading

Take Notes: Have students paraphrase the information they have heard. Then have them write down three animal examples that support the main idea.

Encourage students to discuss why they chose those three animals.

Use Copying Master number 1 to prompt students to share questions they may have had about animal behavior and discuss how the article answered them.

Cultural Perspective

Most people consider it bad manners to spit in public.

In Singapore, spitting is even against the law.

Think and Respond

1. How does spitting help certain animals survive? Give examples from the article. Possible responses: The cobra keeps enemies away by spitting venom.

Spitting spiders capture prey for food. Petrels spit to protect their chicks. Archer fi sh spit to capture insects. Llamas spit to protect their food. Analytical

2. The writer uses many sound words and lively expressions to describe this subject. What eff ect do these have on the tone of the article? Accept reasonable responses. Possible responses: They make the article humorous as well as informative. They describe scenes from the article in vivid detail.

Genre

3. What did you learn from this author? Accept reasonable responses. Possible responses: I learned that animals behave in certain ways in order to survive.

I learned that reading about science can be entertaining. Author’s Purpose

“I wonder . . .”

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