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Archerfish Animal Themes

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Archerfish
Print Archerfish Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

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Print Archerfish Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.62

Vocabulary

challenging words:

archerfish, silver-colored, mangrove, shooters, refraction, directly, assault, elsewhere, pump, appear, prepare, actually, such, weapon, powerful, force

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Archerfish

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¹     Archerfish are the best shooters of all fishes! Yet, they don't have holsters wrapped around their small body frames from which they can draw pistols. So, we are bound to wonder: what do archerfish shoot with? Well, it turns out that they hide their assault weapon in their mouths. They train it at insects or other small animals on overhanging vegetation.
 
²     When archerfish spot a potential meal resting on a tree branch near the riverbank, they prepare to shoot. They first make a tube by pressing their tongues firmly against a groove on the roof of their mouths. Then they force water through the tube by contracting their gill covers. With just these two steps, archerfish are able to pump a powerful jet of water that can reach four feet high.
 
³     Though archerfish can "fire shots" with their mouths, they still need acute vision to help them aim and knock down prey. Fortunately, they have just that! Archerfish's large, keen eyes are positioned very close to their mouths. They practice their shot repeatedly until they perfect their skill. They must learn to overcome refraction. Refraction happens when light enters water. When archerfish look up at prey at an angle, refraction distorts the image of their target. It makes the animal appear elsewhere than it actually is. Only with experience will archerfish know that they can avoid or minimize refraction by shooting from directly under the doomed victim.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

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Animal Themes

Animal Themes

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Fish

Fish

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Freshwater

Freshwater

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Animals

Amphibians         Birds         Deserts         Fish         Freshwater         Grasslands         Insects

Invertebrates         Mammals         Oceans         Polar Regions         Rain Forest         Reptiles

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