5th Grade ELA

Characters: Mom; Noel, an eleven-year-old boy; Chase, Noel’s nine-year-old brother Scene: Mom, Noel, and Chase are sitting on the couch watching a family program on television one evening. A commercial comes on about a new toy, the Commando Robot. The commercial shows a boy playing with the robot.

Chase: Hey, Mom, here’s that commercial for the Commando Robot I told you about. Just look at what it can do and the cool kid playing with it. Man, I want one of those. All the kids at school want one too.

Noel: Yeah, it’s really neat. Tom got one last week for his birthday. (looking at Chase) If we had one, we could make them battle. All the kids at school would want to play with it.

Chase (excitedly): Mom, can we get one of those the next time we go to the store? I have twenty dollars, and it only costs ninety. Can we?

Noel (chiming in with Chase): Can we, Mom? I have fifteen, and we can share. That means you’ll only have to pay, like (putting up his fingers to do the math), fifty-five dollars or something.

(Noel and Chase beg their mother for the toy, Noel getting down on his knees.)

Chase: We’ll be extra good and help with more chores.

Noel: And I’ll wash the car!

Mom (smiling at Chase and Noel, and throwing up her hands to get them to stop begging): Well, I’m glad you’re both willing to work for something you want, but I’m afraid I’m not going to get it for you.

Noel and Chase (looking at each other, then their mother): Why not?

Mom: It doesn’t look like the kind of toy I want you to be playing with. It’s violent. And why do you really want it?

Noel: ’Cause it looks neat in the commercials.

Chase: Yeah, and all the kids at school want one.

Mom (relaxed and reasonable): Well, I don’t think those are very good reasons. Sometimes television can be good, like what we’re watching now or educational programs. But other times, it sends the wrong message. You think if you get that toy you’ll be more popular with your friends, right? (Chase and Noel nod their heads.) The advertisers set it up that way. Look at the boy in the commercial—he’s cool, like you said, Chase. But you don’t need the robot or toys to make more friends. Commercials can try to trick you sometimes, and you really have to look closely to perceive how.

Chase (looking suspicious): Trick us? How?

Mom: Well, like cereal ads. They say a super-sweet cereal is part of a balanced breakfast, when really it’s not. It’s really just a lot of sugar.

Noel: You’re right. I’ve seen lots of those. I guess we have to be careful when we watch television.

Mom: Just look closely at what you see, and ask questions about it. (smiling) I won’t purchase the robot, but we can go to the store and get a different toy tomorrow.

Chase: Great, Mom. ’Cause I saw this commercial for a new Whacky Ball…

Noel and Mom: Chase! (all laugh)

(1) Sneezing, or sternutation, is an involuntary action. What starts as a tickle is transformed into a strong burst of air being pushed through the mouth and nose.

What a Workout! (2) Sneezing gives many parts of the body a workout. When something irritates the nose or throat, it might cause a little tickle in the nose. The nose then sends a message to the brain. The sneeze center in the brain then takes over. It sends a message to a group of muscles that work together to create a sneeze.

(3) First, the belly gets involved. The abdominal muscles receive the message from the brain and pass it on to the chest muscles. From there the message is passed to the diaphragm, a muscle behind the lungs. Then the message travels to the muscles that control the vocal chords and then on to the muscles in the back of the throat. All of the teamwork among these muscles results in a powerful sneeze. So powerful, in fact, that the sneeze can cause particles to shoot from the nose at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour!

(4) Of course, anyone who has ever sneezed knows there is another set of muscles involved: the eyelid muscles. Whenever people sneeze, their eyes close.

What Causes the Commotion? (5) A sneeze starts with a tickle, but what causes the tickle? All kinds of things can irritate the nose. Viruses from colds and flu are common causes of nose tickles. The viruses cause the membranes in the nose and throat to become inflamed and irritated. That is the grossest cause of a sneeze.

(6) Allergies are another common cause of sneezing. Small particles of pollen from plants and trees float in the air. The particles can cause anyone to sneeze, but people with allergies to some types of plant life are especially sensitive. The same is true of people who are allergic to animal dander. Just being in the presence of the offending animal can cause a string of sneezing.

(7) There are also plenty of sneeze starters that require no allergy or virus. For example, dust, pepper, or a cloud of talcum powder can cause any nose to send out the sneeze signal. Even cold air can cause the nose to run, which will set off the sneeze chain. This usually produces the funniest-sounding sneezes.

ACHOO! (8) Some sneezers can blame it on their parents. Photic sneezers, people who sneeze when in bright light, inherit this trait from their parents. People who suffer from this genetic form of sneezing need to avoid spending much time out in the sunshine. Even a strong, human-made light can create a fit of sneezes. Not being able to stay outside for long would be very boring!

(9) Scientists call this trait Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst Syndrome. They realize this name is a mouthful and a half, so to make it easier for everyone they have nicknamed it ACHOO Syndrome.

Oh No, It’s Stuck! (10) Have you ever felt like you needed to sneeze, but no sneeze came? This happens to many people. A person feels the tickle in the nose, his or her eyes begin to water, and the urge to sneeze is strong. However, the sneeze message seems to get lost somewhere along the route and no sneeze comes. This is a frustrating feeling, but one with a simple solution. The person need only to glance into a bright light (never look directly at the sun!) to get the ball rolling. This will loosen the sneeze and set it free! This usually works for everyone, not just photic sneezers.