© 2017 D.M.W.

Lewis
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Directions: Read the following passage, then answer the questions.
Flurrgle’s Fries and Oil
Flurrgle was a Gurrgle from the planet Saturn. Saturn’s
spinning rings used to make Flurrgle dizzy, so he decided to 1) What is Saturn made of? Be specific:
move to Earth. The many cars of New York City stunk, but the
gas smell was way better than the 94% hydrogen and 6% helium ________________________________________
gases of Saturn. Of all the great things about New York City,
Flurrgle’s favorite was the food. ________________________________________
Although Saturn is ten times bigger than Earth, New York ________________________________________
City has way more restaurants. Flurrgle was blown away when
he learned that there are over 45,000 places to choose from. 2) How did Flurrgle invent his favorite food?
Gurrgles are only the size of a small dog, but they have huge
appetites. Between hot dogs, pizza, bagels, sub sandwiches, and ________________________________________
all the rest, Flurrgle was always eating. His favorite was French
fries covered in cheese and motor oil.
________________________________________
You can look around the city for weeks but won’t find a ________________________________________
food stand that sells them. Flurrgle found this delicious snack by
accident. He had bought some cheese fries and was scarfing 3) Why is Flurrgle known around the solar system?
them down as he walked. He wasn’t watching where he was
going and accidentally tripped over a huge crack in the sidewalk. ________________________________________
The fries flew right into a puddle of motor oil on the street.
________________________________________
Most humans know that eating stuff off the ground is
gross. Most humans know that eating stuff that fell into a puddle ________________________________________
of motor oil is even worse. Since Flurrgle was from another
planet, he didn’t know the rules. He bent down and licked up the 4) Invent a new snack and describe it!
mess with his blue, eight-foot tongue. It was delicious!
________________________________________
Flurrgle had an amazing idea. He borrowed money from
the bank and opened up “Flurrgle’s Fries and Oil” on a street ________________________________________
corner. People weren’t sure at first. Once they had a single
taste, the line stretched around the block. Flurrgle got rich. He ________________________________________
now owns 3242 stands and is known around the solar system.
#1 © 2017 D.M.W. Lewis
 Teacher Answer Key Flurrgle’s Fries and Oil
Flurrgle was a Gurrgle from the planet Saturn. Saturn’s
spinning rings used to make Flurrgle dizzy, so he decided to 1) What is Saturn made of? Be specific:
move to Earth. The many cars of New York City stunk, but the
gas smell was way better than the 94% hydrogen and 6% helium Saturn is made of of gas—94% hydrogen and 6%
gases of Saturn. Of all the great things about New York City,
Flurrgle’s favorite was the food. helium.
Although Saturn is ten times bigger than Earth, New York
City has way more restaurants. Flurrgle was blown away when
he learned that there are over 45,000 places to choose from. 2) How did Flurrgle invent his favorite food?
Gurrgles are only the size of a small dog, but they have huge
appetites. Between hot dogs, pizza, bagels, sub sandwiches, and He was eating cheese fries and tripped. They fell
all the rest, Flurrgle was always eating. His favorite was French
fries covered in cheese and motor oil.
in motor oil and he tried eating them. They were
You can look around the city for weeks but won’t find a amazing.
food stand that sells them. Flurrgle found this delicious snack by
accident. He had bought some cheese fries and was scarfing 3) Why is Flurrgle known around the solar system?
them down as he walked. He wasn’t watching where he was
going and accidentally tripped over a huge crack in the sidewalk. He started a food stand and got rich. He owns
The fries flew right into a puddle of motor oil on the street.
3242 stands.
Most humans know that eating stuff off the ground is
gross. Most humans know that eating stuff that fell into a puddle
of motor oil is even worse. Since Flurrgle was from another
planet, he didn’t know the rules. He bent down and licked up the 4) Invent a new snack and describe it!
mess with his blue, eight-foot tongue. It was delicious!
Open-ended student answer.
Flurrgle had an amazing idea. He borrowed money from
the bank and opened up “Flurrgle’s Fries and Oil” on a street
corner. People weren’t sure at first. Once they had a single
taste, the line stretched around the block. Flurrgle got rich. He
now owns 3242 stands and is known around the solar system.
#1 © 2017 D.M.W. Lewis
Name: _________________________________
Directions: Read the following passage, then answer the questions.
Tasting the Planets
You’ve probably seen pictures and videos of the planets in our
solar system. They’re breath taking, marvelous, and mind blowing at 1) Why would Mercury taste like hot/cold ribs?
the same time. Their vast size and distance can make you feel pretty
small as a human being. The colors are wonderful to the eye, but ________________________________________
what about the other senses? It brings up a serious question.

What do the planets taste like? I’m no scientist, but I do watch

________________________________________
the cooking channel. Pretty sure that makes me an expert chef.
________________________________________
Let’s start with Mercury. We know that its surface heats up to
801 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and -279 degrees Fahrenheit at 2) Why is Venus like soup?
night. I’m guessing it tastes like your dad’s BBQ ribs, except not
cooked on one side. Bite into that savory, hot side that wows your ________________________________________
tongue until you hit the ice-cold tail dark side. They’re a bit dry since
there’s no liquid there. ________________________________________
Next comes Venus. The human eye sees the second planet as a ________________________________________
yellowish-white. Its 864-degree Fahrenheit temperature would also
burn your tongue. I’m picturing it like steaming hot soup the waiter 3) What might Mars be like? Why?
brings out before dinner. You slurp it up too soon because you’re
super excited. It’s a painful but delicious adventure. ________________________________________
Skip the Earth because you already know what our dirt tastes
like. Be honest…we’ve all tasted it as a kid. Mars would be the ________________________________________
chewy steak with too much red. It might’ve been warm once, but
now it’s cooled down, so you send it back! ________________________________________
Let’s hit the dessert planets. Jupiter would be a chocolate and 4) Which planet would you taste first? Why?
vanilla pudding with a cherry for its red spot. Saturn would be gooey,
lemon meringue pie because of its color. The rings would be like the ________________________________________
crust around the outside.

Let’s call Uranus an off-green, pea soup and Neptune an icy,

________________________________________
blue drink you get at the gas station. Finally, Pluto is an amazing ice
cream cake. It’s a light-brown and getting creamier as the ice melts. ________________________________________
If you taste all these planets, you’ll probably need a food nap. # 11 © 2017 D.M.W. Lewis
 Teacher Answer Key Tasting the Planets
You’ve probably seen pictures and videos of the planets in our
solar system. They’re breath taking, marvelous, and mind blowing at 1) Why would Mercury taste like hot/cold ribs?
the same time. Their vast size and distance can make you feel pretty
small as a human being. The colors are wonderful to the eye, but It would taste like hot/cold ribs because it’s 801
what about the other senses? It brings up a serious question.

What do the planets taste like? I’m no scientist, but I do watch

degrees in the day and -279 at night.
the cooking channel. Pretty sure that makes me an expert chef.

Let’s start with Mercury. We know that its surface heats up to

801 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and -279 degrees Fahrenheit at 2) Why is Venus like soup?
night. I’m guessing it tastes like your dad’s BBQ ribs, except not
cooked on one side. Bite into that savory, hot side that wows your It’s steaming hot and yellowish-white.
tongue until you hit the ice-cold tail dark side. They’re a bit dry since
there’s no liquid there.

Next comes Venus. The human eye sees the second planet as a
yellowish-white. Its 864-degree Fahrenheit temperature would also
burn your tongue. I’m picturing it like steaming hot soup the waiter 3) What might Mars be like? Why?
brings out before dinner. You slurp it up too soon because you’re
super excited. It’s a painful but delicious adventure. It would be the chewy steak because it has red in
Skip the Earth because you already know what our dirt tastes
like. Be honest…we’ve all tasted it as a kid. Mars would be the it.
chewy steak with too much red. It might’ve been warm once, but
now it’s cooled down, so you send it back!

Let’s hit the dessert planets. Jupiter would be a chocolate and 4) Which planet would you taste first? Why?
vanilla pudding with a cherry for its red spot. Saturn would be gooey,
lemon meringue pie because of its color. The rings would be like the Open-ended student answer.
crust around the outside.

Let’s call Uranus an off-green, pea soup and Neptune an icy,

blue drink you get at the gas station. Finally, Pluto is an amazing ice
cream cake. It’s a light-brown and getting creamier as the ice melts.
If you taste all these planets, you’ll probably need a food nap. # 11 © 2017 D.M.W. Lewis
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