Read the following extracts before answering the questions.

Cambodia and Venezuela: Tarantulas

A tourist who was brave enough to eat a tarantula in Cambodia described the spiders as being “greasy but good”. According to him, the legs are crispy, and the big hairy body is a mouthful. Describing the taste, he said: “If day-old deep-fried chicken had no bones, hair instead of feathers and was the size of a newborn sparrow, it might taste like tarantula.” Traditionally they’re grilled and served as a snack.

Indonesia: Dragonflies

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populated country, is known for its great beauty. It’s also famous for exotic insect dishes, the most popular being dragonfly. Dragonflies hover over rice paddy fields, and enthusiastic hunters chase them with thin poles with nails attached at one end. The aim is to hook the nail through one of the dragonfly’s wings. They’re then threaded onto thin strips of palm, fried in coconut oil and eaten like sweets. For a more substantial meal they’re de-winged, salted and fried in coconut oil with sweet pepper and served with rice.

Irian Jaya: Sago Grubs and Stinkbugs

Irian Jaya is part of Indonesia, but residents share the island with Papua New Guinea. Sago grubs live in rotting sago palm trees. The trees are chopped down and locals reach into the hollow of the trunk to grab handfuls of the grubs, which are immediately roasted. They have a dry outer skin but are fatty on the inside, with a distinct flavour of bacon.

Another favourite in the area is stinkbugs. Children are fond of hunting them for a mid-morning snack and they’re considered a special protein treat. Older boys climb the trees where they live while children below softly call “mo, mo, mo, mo”. They say this chanting keeps the bugs still. Although they live up to their name and have a very unpleasant smell, the children happily pop them into their mouths.

China: Water Beetles and Scorpions

In southern China most restaurants prepare food in the Cantonese style, using only the freshest ingredients. The shiny black hard-shelled water beetle is a favourite and restaurants can hardly keep up with the demand for this crunchy little treat. The beetles are served marinated in ginger and soy sauce.

First the legs are broken off, then the hard outer skeleton is cracked open and the white insides are sucked out. They’re quite messy to eat but apparently are so delicious it’s worth the effort. Their white flesh has the consistency of crayfish. Scorpion, served in a variety of ways, is another Chinese delicacy. They’re even eaten live! Live scorpions are put in a bowl of water, then removed and dropped into rice wine for a few minutes. The scorpions stop struggling and go into a coma. The tail stingers and poison sacs are removed and the scorpions are eaten.

Mexico: Grasshoppers and Red Agave Worms

Grasshoppers are plentiful in all regions of Mexico. They’re easy to collect and preserve and are eaten all over the country, but are especially popular in the southern state of Oaxaca. They’re caught by dragging plastic bags along the ground, trapping them as they jump in. The insects are tossed in lemon, salt and garlic and pan-fried for a snack. One of the most popular dishes is grasshopper tacos, served with lemon, salt and avocados on a corn pancake known as a tortilla. It’s said no trip to Mexico is complete without a bottle of tequila, especially the bottles containing a caterpillar. The worms prove the tequila is genuine, because real tequila is produced only from the agave plant, the only place the caterpillars exist. What tourists don’t often experience is these red caterpillars served as dinner. Typically, they’re fried and served with small corn tortillas, fried beans, grated cheese, sour cream and avocado.

Thailand: Water bugs

Water bugs are about the size of an average woman’s finger. They are caught at night by being lured towards a blue fluorescent light. The bugs have the consistency of biltong and are served with tomato or deep-fried in batter. They’re very tough on the outside but the insides are gooey and have a sharp taste.

Do you understand?

Underline the correct answer:

Baby chicken

Hairy spider

Crispy sparrow

Botswana

Mexico

China

(2)

(2)

Scorpions are eaten live

(1)

Answer the following questions.

(1)

and

(2)

(1)

(1)

(2)

tarantula:

water bug:

grasshopper:

(1)

TOTAL: 15

[LO 3.1.2; 3.1.3; 3.1.5; 3.9.1; 3.1.1]

Aiding Reading

How would you go about arranging words in alphabetical order, in an organised fashion?

Exercise 1

Arrange the following words in alphabetical order, according to …

Exercise 2

Arrange the following in alphabetical order:

[LO 6.1.4]

Retold by Linda Rode, published by Tafelberg (and retold again!)

Hearing frogs sing their nightly chorus reminds me of long lazy summer evenings on the veranda at home, sipping steaming coffee or ice-cold lemonade and contemplating the day. It reminds me of the stories my dad would tell us as the moon rose higher in the sky and we got sleepier and sleepier – the steady rise and fall of the froggy melody, accompanying us to dreamland.

One of the stories he told was of how Grandpa Wide-mouth once made his wide mouth v-e-r-y, very small!

Once upon a time, a very long time ago a family of wide-mouthed frogs lived next to a little stream on a farm. They were a contented family and very happy where they lived, except for one frog who wanted to go and explore the world. “Quaa…..k,” he croaked chirpily and popped out of the reeds and up to the farm.

Plop! Plop! Plop! In the farmyard he spotted a strange speckled creature, covered in brownish feathers and pecking on the ground.

Their conversation went something like this:

“Who are you?” croaked the frog.

“I’m a hen” cackled the creature.

“Wha..at are you doing?” he croaked, puzzled.

“I’m looking for food,” the hen replied. “I eat worms and mealies”.

“How interesting,” the happy little frog croaked, his curiosity satisfied.

Plop! Plop! Plop! Our froggy friend plopped along until he got to a field. There he saw a huge black and white creature, munching on grass.

Their conversation went something like this:

“Who are you?”

“I’m a cow”.

“And wha..at are you doing?”

“I’m eating. I eat grass and lucerne,” murmured the cow dreamily, while chewing a cud.

“How interesting,” croaked the happy little frog, his curiosity satisfied.

Hop! Hop! Hop! Suddenly he found himself at a huge vlei. There was water everywhere. Just as he was about to jump in and cool down, he spotted two dead-straight reeds in front of his nose. He flung back his head and looked up. And up. And up.

“Who are you?” he croaked in a strangled voice, as his neck was taking strain.

“I’m a heron,” said the strange thing with white feathers. It had a long neck, beady eyes and a very sharp beak.

“And what are you doing?” squeaked the frog, flipping over onto his back in the water, so that he could see this creature properly.

“Looking for food,” the heron replied.

“Wha..at do you eat?”

“Wide-mouthed frogs,” snapped the heron.

“End whe-do-u-git-him?” squeaked the frog, pursing his lips together tightly.

The heron darted downwards, but the frog leapt between the heron’s legs and jumped away as quickly as he could. Plop! Plop! Plop! He hopped back to the stream.

All his wide-mouthed froggy friends were very eager to hear of his travels and he told them all about the sharp-beaked heron who ate wide-mouthed frogs. The frogs were tickled pink to hear ho*w he had escaped and hopped around excitedly, pursing their lips tightly and squeaking, “End-whe-do-u-git-him? End-whe-do-u-git-him?”

So that one day when they are faced with a hungry heron, they will know wha..at to do!

Make sure that you know the story well.

Turn to your partner and retell the story.

Listen to your partner retell the story to you.

Which one of you was most accurate in retelling the tale?

Did you enjoy the story? Why?

Find another story / fable / folk tale about an insect or animal. Read it and tell your partner the story. Listen to your partner tell you about the story he/she has read.

[LO 3.1.1]

It takes practice to read fluently.

When you were very small and just learning to ride your bike, it took time and lotsof practice before you could ride with confidence.

Reading is no different. You will need to practise your piece over and over again, making sure you know how to pronounce challenging words and even know their meanings, before you can read confidently and fluently.

TASK:

Prepare a piece of reading of your own choiceto read to the class and to your teacher.

[LO 3.1.8]

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR READING

Peer assessment:

Assessment by teacher:

Some people believe that poems need to be learnt or that you have to read them seriously – but poems can be fun, too!

Do you still remember this nursery rhyme?

Can you sing it?

Three blind mice

Three blind mice, three blind mice,

See how they run, see how they run!

They all run after the farmer’s wife,

Who cut off their tails with the carving knife,

Did you ever see such a thing in your life,

As three blind mice?

(taken from My Best Book or Nursery Rhymes, Brown Watson, 1988)

How many other poems about creepy creatures can you find? Bring them along to class so that we can enjoy them together.

Write them out neatly and hang them on the wall (with or without illustrations).

[LO 3.1.1; 3.1.8]

LO 3

READING AND VIEWINGThe learner will be able to read and view for information and enjoyment, and to respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional values in texts.

We know this when the learner:

3.1 reads a variety of South African and international fiction and non-fiction for different purposes (e.g. peoms, book reviews, short novels, newsletters, reference books);

3.1.1 reads independently, selecting appropriate reading and comprehension strategies for the purpose;

3.1.2 skims to get the general idea;

3.1.3 scans for specific details;

3.1.5 uses previous knowledge or textual clues to determine meaning and make inferences;

3.1.8 reads aloud clearly, adjusting speed according to purpose and audience;

3.2 views and comments on various visual and multimedia texts for different purposes (e.g. advertisements, video/films, television dramas and, where available, computers and CD-ROMs):

3.2.1 discusses message conveyed;

3.7 recognises the different structures, language use, purposes and audiences of different texts:

3.7.1 identifies the way different kinds of texts are organised (e.g. fables, letters, book reviews);

3.9 understands and responds appropriately to a range of information texts:

3.9.1 identifies main and supporting ideas, notes specific details and summarises information;

3.11 selects relevant reading material and applies reseach skills to find information in dictionaries, reference books and textbooks from community sources or electronic media (where available);

LO 6

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND USEThe learner will know and be able to use the sounds, words and grammar of the language to create and interpret texts.

We know this when the learner:

6.1 works with words:

6.1.1 uses prefixes, stems and suffixes/extensions to form words;

6.1.3 records words in a personal dictionary;

6.1.4 uses phonics and spelling rules to spell words correctly;

6.2 works with sentences:

6.2.3 identifies and uses nouns, pronouns, prepositions, articles and conjunctions;

6.2.6 consolidates use of punctuation learned so far.

Do you understand?

For the teacher: use this opportunity to discuss various grades of dictionaries and the meanings given. Compare dictionary meanings given.

nr. 4

(a) container: bowl

(b) eating noisily: slurping

nr. 5

True. While alive they are put into a bowl of water, then into rice wine, before their stingers, etc. are removed. They are then eaten.

nr. 6

(a) Tarantulas are grilled.

(b) they aredelicious / they taste like crayfish.

(c) greasy; crispy; good

(d) . . . southern Chinese restaurant . . .

(e) The word is “white”.

(f) They stop struggling and go into a coma.