Family Times

Daily Questions

Prior Knowledge

Author's Purpose

Vocabulary

Multiple Meaning Words

Predictions

Guided Comprehension

Graphic Sources

Paraphrase

Independent Readers

Woman Astronauts

Additional Resources

Study Skills

Genre: InterviewVocabulary Strategy: Context CluesComprehension Skill: Author’s PurposeComprehension Strategy: Monitor and Fix Up

Question of the Week

How does an astronaut prepare for a journey?

Daily Questions

What questions would you like to ask Ellen Ochoa?

What surprised you the most about space travel?

Do you think Mae Jemison is a good role model? Explain.

Activate Prior Knowledge

K W L

Astronauts

Astronauts wear special space suits when they walk out in space.

Astronauts use simulators in their training.

What are the requirements to be an astronaut?

What’s it like to work in space?

Author’s Purpose

The author is the main reason an author writes a selection. An author may write to persuade, to inform, to entertain, or to express ideas or feelings.

Sometimes an author may write with more than on purpose in mind.

What the author says and details given help you figure out the author’s purpose.

Author’s Purpose or Purposes

Detail

Detail

Detail

Monitor and Fix Up

Sometimes as you are reading you realize you’ve lost touch with what the author is saying. You may adjust your reading speed as you think about the author’s purpose. You also might make a list of important ideas in the text..

WRITE

1.Read “The United States in Space.” Create a graphic organizer like the one above to record the details that give clues to the purpose the author had for writing.

2.Write what you think the author’s main purpose was for writing “The United States in Space” and why you think this.

Vocabulary Word List

Introduce VocabularyLook up each vocabulary word in your glossary. Note each word’s pronunciation and meaning. Answer the following questions:

What are some of you accomplishments this year in school?

What is the focus of today’s math lesson?

How does gravity affect a ball thrown in the air?

How many monitors are in the computer lab?

What role does the principal play in your school?

Name a specific flavor of ice cream that you prefer.

Accomplishments

Things that have been done with knowledge, skill, or ability; achievements.

Focus

The central point of attraction, attention, or activity.

Monitors

Screens connected to a computer, which show information and instructions.

Role

A part played by a person in real life; role model, person whose patterns of behavior influence someone else’s actions and beliefs

Gravity

The natural force that causes objects to move or tend to move toward the center of the earth.

Specific

Definite; precise; particular

More Words to Know

Extraterrestrials: Creatures from outer space

Inconceivable: Hard to imagine or believe; incredible

Weightlessness: The condition of being free from the pull of gravity

Practice Lesson Vocabulary

Yes or No

Is a role model someone to follow or look up to?

Can accomplishments be done without interest and effort?

Is it possible to do well on a test if you don’t focus?

True/False

There is zero gravity on Earth.

There are no specific requirements necessary to become an astronaut.

Monitors are screens used on space missions.

Vocabulary Strategy (p.562)

Multiple Meaning Words

Some words have more than one meaning. You can find clues in nearby words to decide which meaning the author is using.

1.Think about different meanings the word can have.

2.Reread the sentences in which the word appears. Which meaning fits in the sentence?

3.If you can’t tell, then look for more clues in nearby sentences.

4.Put the clues together and decide which meaning words best.

As you read “ To Be an Astronaut,” use the context to decide which meaning a multiple-meaning word has in the article. For example, does role mean “ a character in a play” or “a socially expected behavior”?

Genre: Interview

An interview is a question-answer session in which the interviewer asks questions and the subject answers them. Notice how the subject gives careful, thoughtful answers.

What is it like to fly

into space?

Preview and Predict

Preview the selection title and photographs. Identify the subject of the interview and predict her experiences as an astronaut. Use lesson vocabulary in your discussion.

Guided Comprehension

Why do you think the author asks questions about Ochoa’s background?

What do you think Ochoa means by the term role model?

Ellen Ochoa says that her mother was a big influence in her life. Is there someone in your life who has influenced you a great deal?

Why didn’t Ochoa consider being an astronaut when she was growing up?

How does the photo on p. 569 relate to the text?

Why do you think the interviewer asked Ochoa about her NASA training?

Identify the context clues on p. 571 that would help a reader determine the meaning of gravity.

Why do you think Ochoa uses swimming and scuba diving as comparisons to weightlessness?

Guided Comprehension Continued

Why do you think this article was written as an interview?

What inference can you make about how astronauts spend their time in space by looking at the photo on p. 573?

How does Ochoa keep in touch with her family from space?

What is the main idea of Ochoa’s answer to the first question on p. 575?

Ochoa says that astronauts must be team players. Think about what it means to be a team player. Why do you think she gives this advice?

Graphic Sources

Graphic sources are on essential part of a text.

Illustrations and pictures are important aids to understanding a selection.

Ochoa mentions a robot arm and a space station in her second answer. The photograph makes this information clearer and easier to understand because it shows the actual robot arm at word on a mission.

Describe other kinds of pictures that could have been used to illustrate the text on p. 568.

Paraphrase

To paraphrase something is to put it in your own words. When you paraphrase, keep the author’s ideas and overall meaning, and avoid adding your own opinions.

Paraphrasing helps you make sure you understand a piece of writing.

Remember to always paraphrase when you take notes from reference sources to be sure you don’t copy the words exactly.

Paraphrase the first question and answer on p. 572. Discuss the information before writing anything down.

Work with partners to paraphrase the last question and answer on p. 575, and write it down.

1.Did paraphrasing help you better understand this question and answer?

2.Did you keep the author’s ideas and overall meaning?

SUMMARY This selection gives a brief history of space travel, beginning with the Cold War race to launch the first satellite in space and concluding in today’s era of greater international cooperation. After following milestonedevelopments such as the inclusion of women in the United States’ and other countries’ space programs, readers learn what it takes to be an astronaut, from science training toswimming tests.COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 3 What can you tell about the author’s purpose from the chapter titles?

PAGE 4 Notice that the definition for orbit is between commas in the sentence A satellite is something that orbits, or travels around, a larger body in space. Write a similarly constructed sentence that uses one of thevocabulary words.

PAGE 11 What is one reason there were no women test pilots in the 1950s and 1960s?

PAGE 17 What does the survival training tell you about the work of astronauts?

SUMMARY This selection gives a brief history of space travel, beginning with the Russian satellite Sputnik and the dog who was the first living being to fly in space. Readers then learn of the specific training required to become anastronaut or a mission specialist.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONSPAGE 3 What paragraph on this page gives the best clues about the author’s purpose?

PAGE 4 Look at the sentence What was their focus? Write a sentence that asks this same question in different words.

PAGE 10 Alan B. Shepard went into space but not into orbit. What is the difference between being in space and being in orbit?

PAGE 15 What might be one reason that pilot astronauts need excellent vision, while mission specialists need only very good vision?

SUMMARY During the Cold War, the former Soviet Union and the United States competed to launch the first satellite in space.The Soviets cosmonauts won the race in the early stages, which prompted the creation of NASA and years of space exploration driven by international competition. Today, scientists from many different countries live on theInternational Space Station and cooperate in their efforts to further explore space.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONSPAGE 3 This page, unlike the pages that follow, has no bold heading. What does this suggest about the text on this page?

PAGE 6 What is one difference between thetraining of astronauts and cosmonauts?

PAGES 10 AND 12 Based on these pages, whichcountry won the early race to explore space?

PAGE 21 What sentence on this page best summarizes the current state of space explanation?

Genre: Online Directories

Online directories list links to many Web sites about a given topic.

You can use an online directory to learn about a topic.

Text Features:

Directories list topics as links. You may click on any topic link.

Or you may type in keywords and click on the search button.

Your next step is a list of links to Web sites that are all about you topic.

What topics appear when the researcher clicks on the Space link?

What could you do to find a list of Web sites about Space Shuttle astronauts?

Is information easy to find on this site?

Read Mae Jemison’s advice and think about it.

Additional Resources