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The 1960's

Alan Shepard - First American in Space

Alan Shepard - First American in Space
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.24

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    cosmonaut, launched, launch, module, ultimate, flights, orbit, kennedy, landing, atmosphere, extensive, nasa, altitude, testing, lunar, astronaut
     content words:    Yuri Gagarin, United States, National Aeronautics, Space Administration, Alan Shepard, New Hampshire, United States Naval Academy, World War II, In May, Cape Canaveral

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Alan Shepard - First American in Space
By Jane Runyon 		  
1     The Russians were the first country to launch a man into space. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut to ride a rocket into the unknown realm of space. Scientists in the United States were not happy. They had wanted to be first. They had wanted to show the world that the technology in the United States was the best in the world.
 
2     NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was formed in 1958. It was their goal to be the first in space. The ultimate goal was to send a man to the moon and bring him safely back home. This had to be accomplished in small steps.
 
3     In 1959, a small but select group of men were selected to be the first American astronauts. These men were known as the Mercury astronauts. Alan Shepard was one of these men.

Paragraphs 4 to 10:
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