Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets The 1960's Moon

Reaching for the Moon The 1960's

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Reaching for the Moon
Print Reaching for the Moon Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print Reaching for the Moon Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.81

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		analysis, uttered, spacecraft, commander, shortly, tested, gravity, orbit, decade, boulders, material, aboard, remain, complex, launch, reading
	content words:		United States, President John F., Frank Borman, William Anders, James Lovell, Santa Claus, On July, Kennedy Space Center, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins

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Reaching for the Moon By Jane Runyon

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¹     Step by step, the United States space program moved toward its goal. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged scientists to place an American on the surface of the moon by the end of the decade. They made small steps forward. They made large steps forward. They even had setbacks that made the goal seem almost impossible. It was now the winter of 1968. Would the goal be met?
 
²     On Christmas 1968, three American astronauts were orbiting the moon in the Apollo 8 spacecraft. Frank Borman, William Anders, and James Lovell were closer to the moon than any American had ever been. It was not their goal to land on the moon. They were there to make sure that it was possible to reach moon orbit. They had. James Lovell sent a message back to every eager child listening. "Please be informed there is a Santa Claus," he announced. William Anders inspired his fellow citizens by reading the story of the Creation from a Bible he had brought with him. The goal was close, but could it be reached in just one short year?
 
³     The answer to that question would be answered less than seven months later. On July 16, 1969, a Saturn V rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center complex in Florida. It carried the Apollo 11 crew. Neil Armstrong was the commander of this mission. Michael Collins was the Command Module pilot, and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin was the Lunar Module pilot. All were experienced astronauts.

Paragraphs 4 to 8:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

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The 1960's

The 1960's

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Moon

Moon

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Science

Science

Careers in Science         Caring for Earth         Clouds         Dinosaurs         Earth's Land         Earth         Earthquakes         Electricity         Energy         Erosion         Food Pyramid         Food Webs and Food Chain         Forces and Motion         Fossils         Health and Nutrition         How Things Work         Landforms         Life Science         Light         Magnets         Matter

Moon         Natural Disasters         Photosynthesis         Plant and Animal Cells         Plants         Rocks and Minerals         Science Process Skills         Scientific Notation         Seasons         Simple Machines         Soil         Solar System         Sound         Space and Stars         Sun         Tsunami         Volcanoes         Water Cycle         Water         Weather

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United States

United States

American Government         Black History and Blacks in U.S. History         Children in History         Government Careers         Hispanic Heritage         How Can I Help?

Immigration         National Parks and Monuments         Native Americans         Presidents of the United States         Women's History

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United States History

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)         A New Nation (1776-1830)         After the Civil War (1865-1870)         American Revolution         Cold War (1947-1991)         Colonial America (1492-1776)         Lewis and Clark (1804-1806)         Pearl Harbor         Spanish American War (1898)         The 1890's         The 1900's         The 1910's         The 1920's         The 1930's

The 1940's         The 1950's         The 1960's         The 1970's         The 1980's         The 1990's         The 2000's         The Civil War (1861-1865)         The Great Depression (1929-1945)         The United States Grows (1865-1900)         The War of 1812         Wild, Wild West         World War I (1914-1918)         World War II

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50 States

Fifty States Theme Unit

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Document Based Activities

Document Based Activities

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