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The Archerfish That Shoots Down Its Dinner

7th grade nonfiction passage about archerfish hunting: 233 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade nonfiction archerfish hunting 233 words

The Archerfish That Shoots Down Its Dinner

Plenty of fish that eat insects simply wait for a meal to drop into the water. This species is far more ambitious. It lives in the mangrove swamps and shallow coastal waters of Southeast Asia and northern Australia, and it hunts by shooting a jet of water at insects resting on leaves and branches above the surface.

The weapon is simple but clever. A groove runs along the roof of the fish's mouth, and when the tongue lifts to meet it, a narrow tube forms. Next the gill covers clamp shut, and water rushes through the tube in a fast, powerful stream. A well-aimed jet knocks the insect off its perch, and the fish snaps it up before another hungry animal can.

Aiming is harder than it sounds. When light crosses the boundary between water and air, it bends, so an insect appears to sit in a slightly different place than it really does. An archerfish looks at its prey from below, yet it still hits the mark. Experiments suggest that young fish improve with practice, gradually learning how to correct for the bending of light.

The habit pays off in a crowded habitat. Many kinds of fish compete for food in mangrove waters, but few can reach prey that sits above the waterline. By turning the air into a hunting ground, the archerfish gains a meal that its neighbors cannot touch.

Questions

  1. Where does the archerfish live? in the text

  2. How does an archerfish make a jet of water? in the text

  3. What does the fish do after the insect is knocked off its perch? in the text

  4. Why does an insect seem to sit in a different place than it really does? in the text

  5. Why does the passage say young archerfish need practice? think about it

  6. How does hunting above the water help the archerfish in a crowded habitat? think about it

Words to know

mangrove
a tree that grows in salty water along tropical coasts
ambitious
trying to do something difficult or bold
groove
a long, narrow channel cut into a surface
habitat
the place where an animal naturally lives
prey
an animal that is hunted for food
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 159 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

Many fish wait for food to fall into the water. The archerfish does not wait. It lives in swamps and shallow seas in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. It hunts by shooting water at insects. The insects sit on leaves and branches above the water.

The fish makes a tube with its tongue and a groove in its mouth. Then it squeezes its gill covers. A fast stream of water shoots out. The water hits the insect and knocks it off its leaf. The fish snaps it up fast.

Aiming is hard. Light bends when it goes from water into air. So the insect looks like it is in a different place. The fish looks up from below, but it still hits the mark. Young fish get better with practice.

Many fish share the swamp and compete for food. Few can reach insects above the water. The archerfish can. It gets a meal that the other fish cannot reach.

▲ This passage · 233 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.3

Plenty of fish that eat insects simply wait for a meal to drop into the water. This species is far more ambitious. It lives in the mangrove swamps and shallow coastal waters of Southeast Asia and northern Australia, and it hunts by shooting a jet of water at insects resting on leaves and branches above the surface.

The weapon is simple but clever. A groove runs along the roof of the fish's mouth, and when the tongue lifts to meet it, a narrow tube forms. Next the gill covers clamp shut, and water rushes through the tube in a fast, powerful stream. A well-aimed jet knocks the insect off its perch, and the fish snaps it up before another hungry animal can.

Aiming is harder than it sounds. When light crosses the boundary between water and air, it bends, so an insect appears to sit in a slightly different place than it really does. An archerfish looks at its prey from below, yet it still hits the mark. Experiments suggest that young fish improve with practice, gradually learning how to correct for the bending of light.

The habit pays off in a crowded habitat. Many kinds of fish compete for food in mangrove waters, but few can reach prey that sits above the waterline. By turning the air into a hunting ground, the archerfish gains a meal that its neighbors cannot touch.

■ Harder · 240 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.5

Most insect-eating fish are content to wait until a meal happens to drop into the water, but the archerfish is far more ambitious. It inhabits the mangrove swamps and shallow coastal waters of Southeast Asia and northern Australia, where it hunts by firing a jet of water at insects that are resting on the leaves and branches above the surface.

The weapon is as simple as it is clever. By pressing its tongue against a groove in the roof of its mouth, the fish forms a narrow tube, and by squeezing its gill covers together it forces water through that tube in a fast, powerful stream. A well-aimed jet knocks the insect from its perch, and the fish snaps it up before any other hungry animal has a chance.

Aiming is considerably harder than it sounds. Light bends as it passes from water into air, so an insect appears to sit in a slightly different position than it truly occupies. Although the archerfish views its prey from below, it still hits the mark. Experiments suggest that young fish improve with practice, gradually learning how to correct for the bending of light.

This habit pays off handsomely in a crowded habitat. Countless kinds of fish compete for food in mangrove waters, yet very few can reach prey sitting above the waterline. By turning the air into a hunting ground, the archerfish secures a meal that its neighbors cannot touch.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put mangrove, ambitious, groove, habitat and prey on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Archerfish That Shoots Down Its Dinner"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 233 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.3. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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