Reality Check

What will Ari and his mom find out about owning an exotic pet?

1 Through the kitchen’s glass doors, Ari could see his mom sitting on the back deck. The pale green baby blanket she was knitting was pooled at her side, and she held it up every once in a while to check on her progress.

2 Ari slid open the door and pulled up a chair across from his mom. “Well, hi there,” said Mrs. Stein, smiling at Ari. “What have you been up to this afternoon?”

3 Ari took a sip of his mom’s iced tea. “I was watching this amazing animal show,” he said. “It was about people who have all kinds of exotic pets. Did you know that you can buy Bengal tiger cubs and raise them yourself?” asked Ari excitedly.

4 “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” said Mrs. Stein, her knitting needles clicking along busily. “Tigers are beautiful, wild creatures,” she added. “I hate to see people trying to domesticate animals that are meant to live in the wild. ”

5 Ari nodded. “A tiger would be a lot of responsibility. It would be almost impossible to give it the space it would need to feel free.

6 “There are other exotic animals that wouldn’t be so dangerous or need a lot of space, though,” said Ari. “I wrote down a few websites where we could find some more information. Could we go look at them?” Ari looked hopefully at his mother.

7 Mrs. Stein sighed and grinned at Ari. “Let me finish this row, and I’ll come inside and take a look at the sites with you. I’m not promising anything, though. ”

8 A few minutes later, Ari and his mom sat side by side in the glow of the computer screen. They saw pictures of miniature foxes with enormous ears, bristly hedgehogs, and boa constrictors. They read advertisements for lion cubs, piranhas, and warthogs.

9 Then, they found a website that discussed some of the problems with importing exotic pets. “They didn’t talk about any of this on the show I watched,” said Ari, looking confused. “I had no idea that there were so many abandoned or mistreated exotic pets in this country.

10 Ari’s mom shook her head. “I didn’t know either,” she said. “It sounds like the show you saw only presented one side of the story. That’s too bad, isn’t it? I’m sure lots of people see advertisements or shows like the one you saw and don’t really know what they are getting into. ”

11 Ari looked thoughtful, “Mom, do you think I could write a letter to the show I watched? Now that we’ve done some more research, I’ve changed my mind about owning an exotic pet. They should have explained both sides of the story.

12 Mrs. Stein patted Ari on the shoulder. “That’s a wonderful idea,” she said. “You’ve made a really mature decision. Someone that responsible could probably handle taking care of a dog or a cat. Do you want to check out a few of the local animal shelters while we’re online?”

13 Ari couldn’t think of what to say. He hugged his mom hard and turned back to the computer to begin searching for a cat or a dog that needed a good home.

Spectrum Reading Grade 6

40

1. What kinds of exotic animals did Ari and his mom see when they were online?

2. Why did Ari decide to write a letter to the television show he watched?

3. Why did Mrs. Stein say that Ari was mature and responsible?

4. Do you think that Ari will be a good pet owner? Why or why not?

Mark each sentence below F if it is in first-person point of view and T if it is in third-person point of view.

5. _____ I can’t believe we’re going to get a dog or cat!

6. _____ Mrs. Stein put down her knitting.

7. _____ Ari turned on the computer.

8. _____ I think that writing a letter is an excellent idea.

9. Tell about a time when you read something or watched something that presented only one point of view. How did you feel about it? Did you want to learn more about the other point of view?

Spectrum Reading Grade 6

41