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B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Theme: The Universe• Life of a Star• Life of a Comet• Mars and Venus: Space Exploration

Science

Life of a CometLevel W/60

Skills & Strategies

Anchor Comprehension Strategy

• Identify main idea and supporting details

Comprehension • Visualize

• Summarizeinformation

• Usegraphicfeaturestointerpretinformation

Word Study/Vocabulary • Usecontexttodeterminewordmeaning

Science Big Idea • Earthispartofagreateruniversethat

containsmanyotherobjects.

TEACHER’S GUIDE

Page 11: Synthesize Information • Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment

• Summarize Information

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A c t i v i t i e s

Using Navigators Chapter Books

Explicit Strategy InstructionUse the complete guide to model, guide, and support students as they apply comprehension and word-study strategies. Use portions of the guide to scaffold reading instruction for students who do not need modeled instruction.

Small-Group DiscussionsIntroduce the book and model strategies. Have the group set a purpose for reading based on the introduction. Students read the book, or parts of the book, independently. Then have them use the Small-Group Discussion Guide as they discuss the book together.

Independent ReadingHave students select titles at their independent reading levels. After reading, have students respond to the text in reader response journals or notebooks.

Core Lesson Planning Guide

Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-4108-6290-72

Pages 4–6: Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize

• Comprehension Strategy: Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details

• Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information: Labeled Diagrams

Page 3: Prepare to Read• Build Content Background

• Introduce the Book

Pages 7–8: Guide Strategies: Chapter 2• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize


• Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions

Pages 9–10: Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize


• Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions

This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.

Build Content Background • Ask students what kinds of things come to mind when they

think about space. Prompt them with an idea of your own.

Say: When I think about space, I think about the objects that are found there, such as planets and moons.

• Encourage students to share their ideas. Write these on the board as students mention them. Discuss how each one is connected with space.

• Before students read, preview some key words that are not found in the glossary of Life of a Comet. Make sure that students can use each word in a sentence. If they have difficulty, use a dictionary to define the word.

meteoroids interstellar gravity spacecraft

• Tell students that most of the difficult words in the book will be defined in a glossary at the back.

Introduce the Book • Give students a copy of the book.

• Have them read the title and skim the table of contents.

Ask: Which chapter discusses different types of comets? (Chapter 2)

Which chapter discusses the end of a comet’s life span? (Chapter 3)

• Have students choose a chapter. Ask them to look at the pictures in the chapter, choose a picture they think is interesting, and explain to the group why they think that.

• To introduce key words and text/graphic features found in this book, use the book’s inside front cover.

Informal Assessment Tips

1. Assess students’ ability to skim for interesting pictures and to offer reasonable explanations for their choices.

2. Document your observations in a folder or notebook.

3. Keep the folder or notebook at the small-group reading table for handy reference.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 3

Meeting Individual Needs

For students who struggle with skimming for pictures, model the process, using the first chapter. Comment on each picture, tell which one you choose, and explain why you chose that one over the others.

Display pictures of comets, asteroids, and planets. Have students name these objects in English and in their native languages.

Write the words coma, tail, and nucleus on the board. Explain that these are the parts of a comet. Have students draw what they think a comet and its parts look like. Tell them they will see more photos of comets in this book.

Write the names Edmond Halley and Edwin Hubble on the board. Tell students that Halley’s comet and the Hubble telescope are named after these two early astronomers.

This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.

Prepare to Readnglish anguage earnersE L L

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize

• Use a real-life example of visualizing while you read.

Say: When I read about something I have never seen, I try to picture each detail that is described. Recently I read an article about supernovas. It said that a supernova is a massive stellar explosion that produces extremely bright light in brilliant colors from red to purple to gold. I thought about the biggest fireworks display I’ve seen and then imagined it thousands of times larger. By comparing the details in the text I was reading to what I have seen before, I was able to visualize how massive a supernova must be.

• Say: Yesterday we previewed the book Life of a Comet. Today we are going to try to visualize what we read in the Introduction and Chapter 1.

• Read pages 2–3 aloud as students follow along.

Say: It is hard to visualize things we have not seen, but we can use what we read and what we already know to help us visualize. The author gives details to help you picture what a comet looks like. Some objects in the sky move along quietly and glow. Others look like bright, fuzzy stars that move slowly across the sky. Comets are described as having a long, bright tail that stretches across the sky. The ancient Greeks thought comets looked like stars with long hair. Using the photograph on page 2, the text, and what I know, I can visualize a comet shooting through the sky.

During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading

• Ask students to read pages 4–11 silently. Have them keep their visualization of a comet in mind as they read. Encourage them to visualize other objects in the solar system as they read about them in the chapter and to draw what they have visualized.

4 © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

ABOUT THE STRATEGY Visualize

What? Good readers visualize when they create pictures in their minds to help them “see” and under-stand characters, settings, objects, and actions in their reading. These pictures are like movies or photographs made by a camera.

Why? Visualizing keeps readers engaged with the text and helps them understand and remember what they read. When readers do not visualize, it is usually because they have lost connection with the text.

When? Good readers visualize during reading to monitor and clarify their understanding.

How? Good readers visualize by using these kinds of information:

Vivid verbs that describe actions

Adjectives that describe sizes, shapes, colors, and other details

Graphic aids (charts, maps, time lines, diagrams) that tell sizes, shapes, lengths, distances, times, and other facts

Similes and metaphors that compare one thing to another

Sensory language that evokes how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels

Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1

After Reading Discuss the Reading

• Ask students to tell about what they visualized as they read pages 4–11.

• Have volunteers display and explain the drawings they made during Set a Purpose for Reading.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for the Introduction and Chapter 1 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Comprehension Strategy: Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details

• Say: Most nonfiction has a few main ideas. The author supports the main ideas with details. I know that sometimes a main idea is stated in the topic sentence of a paragraph. Other times the main idea is unstated. I must put together the information I read to figure out the main idea. When I recognize the main ideas in the text and separate them from the supporting details, I understand the text better.

• Pass out the graphic organizer “Identify Main Ideas and Supporting Details” (blackline master, page 14). You may want to make a chart-sized copy of the graphic organizer or use a transparency.

• Explain that as students read, they will complete the first four rows together. They will complete the last two rows in pairs or independently.


1. Watch students as they draw what they have visualized in their journals.

2. In a folder or notebook, jot down what you see each student doing.

3. Students should be visualizing and drawing what they visualize as they read. Document students who are and are not using this monitor- reading strategy.



For students who struggle with this activity, model the strategy again and remind them that visualizing the size, shape, color, and so on, of objects in the text will help them better under-stand and remember the material.

Rapid readers can write more detailed descriptions of their drawings to include in their journals. Encourage them to use as many adjectives, adverbs, and other descriptive words as they can.

Introduction–Chapter 1 (continued)


Comprehension Strategy: Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details (continued)

• Have students return to Chapter 1 and follow along as you model how to locate the main idea and details. Write the information on the graphic organizer as you find it.

Say: As I read, I’ll keep the chapter title and the section heads in mind. I’ll look for main ideas that have to do with these topics.

• Reread pages 4–5 and say: These pages give me information about what makes up our solar system. I think the main idea of these pages is stated in the first sentence. I will use that as my main idea.

• Say: The text gives details that support this main idea. The nine planets travel around the sun. Many other small bodies, including asteroids, meteoroids, and comets, also orbit the sun. I will write this information as my supporting details.

• Use the information in the completed graphic organizer to explain how to find the unstated main idea on pages 8–9.

Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information: Labeled Diagrams

• Explain that labeled diagrams are often used in nonfiction text to identify the parts of something and/or to explain how something works.

Say: The text on pages 4–5 explains the arrangement of our solar system. The diagram on page 4 supports this information by showing the arrangement of the five planets in our outer solar system. Each planet is labeled with its name.

Ask: Which of the outer planets is closest to Earth? (Jupiter)

Which of the outer planets has an orbit that is different from those of the other outer planets? (Pluto)

• Say: Look at the diagram on page 8. It shows how the tails of a comet change position as the comet orbits the sun.

Ask: How does this diagram help us understand the text on pages 8–9? (The diagram shows a comet’s orbit around the sun and how the comet’s tails are always pointed away from the sun. Both of these topics are discussed in the text on pages 8–9.)

Reader Response

How have comets been a force of both creation and destruction on Earth? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

Our solar system is made up of the sun and the objects that travel around it.

Planets orbit sun; asteroids, meteoroids, and comets also orbit sun.

Page Main Supporting Idea Details

A comet has three parts: a nucleus, a coma, and two tails, a gas tail and a dust tail.

Small dark mass is center or nucleus of comet; when close to sun, cloud of dust and gases, called coma, forms; wind and light from sun form comet’s tails; coma and tails disappear as comet moves away from sun.

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Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize• Remind students that when they visualize, they make pictures

in their minds about what they are reading. Discuss how visualizing helps them “see” what the author describes in the Introduction and Chapter 1. Remind them that visualizing will help them better understand and remember what they read.

• Say: Use all five of your senses when you visualize. Imagine how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels. Today we will use our senses to visualize what we are reading.

• Say: When you read about different types of comets, picture each one in your mind. Ask yourself: “What does this comet look, sound, smell, taste, and feel like?” The more you visualize the object, the better you’ll be able to “see” it. This will make what you read more interesting.

• Have students turn to page 12. Read the page aloud. Tell them to imagine that they are on a journey through the solar system in a spacecraft. Ask these questions:

What do you see when you look out the window of your spacecraft? What is the temperature outside your spacecraft? A comet rushes past. What sounds do you hear?

During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading • Have students finish reading Chapter 2. Ask them to draw

what they visualize as they are reading. Also have them jot down notes about what they might see, hear, or feel as they observed each type of comet.

After Reading Discuss the Reading • Ask students to share what they visualized as they read.

Have them display their drawings or read aloud their notes.• Ask: How did visualizing help you understand the different types of

comets? Which comet was easiest for you to visualize as you read? Which comet was hardest to picture? Why do you think that is? Did you use senses besides sight when you visualized? Which senses?

Have students discuss their responses.• Ask students to read the checkpoint on page 14. Explain that

picturing an event can help them better understand it. As a group, discuss possible reactions to Halley’s comet in 240 b.c.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the ques-tions for Chapter 2 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.


Carefully watch ELL students as they complete the assignment. If they are not visualizing, it may be because they do not understand the strategy. Model it again using the text in Chapter 2. Discuss parts in which visualizing can help them understand and recall the facts.


For students who struggle with this strategy, model it again. Then have students close their books. Read aloud the text on page 16. Ask students to draw a picture of what they see in their minds when you read the paragraph. Then have them discuss the details they visualized.

Rapid readers can review their visualizations and add more details. Challenge them to choose one type of comet they visualized and research additional information about it that they can add to their descriptions. Let volunteers share their findings with the group.

Guide Strategies: Chapter 2

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Chapter 2 (continued)

Reader Response

Why are scientists so interested in studying the parts of a comet? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.


Comprehension Strategy: Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details

• Review the “Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details” graphic organizer. Remind students that the main idea of a paragraph, page, or chapter is the most important idea the author wants the reader to know. Supporting details are details that give more information about that main idea. They may answer questions such as who, what, when, where, and how much or how many.

• Have a volunteer read page 12 aloud.

Ask: What is the unstated main idea of this page? (All comets are alike in some ways and different in other ways.)

What is one detail that supports this main idea? (All comets are icy balls of frozen gases and dust.)

Ask students to find additional details that support this main idea. Write these supporting details on the chart.

• Have pairs of students find the main idea and supporting details on page 16. Use the graphic organizer on this page for suggested answers.

Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions

• Read aloud the last two sentences of the first paragraph on page 12. Point out that to help readers understand what a period is, the author gives a definition of the word right in the text.

Say: Look at the sentence that contains the word period. Right before the word are the words This is called a. These words tell me that the preceding sentence contains a definition of period. After reading that sentence, I see that the meaning of period is the length of time it takes a comet to complete an orbit of the sun.

• Call students’ attention to the word impactor in the first paragraph on page 17.

Say: The word impactor is followed by a comma. The comma indicates that the definition of impactor is in the same sentence. By reading the rest of the sentence after the comma, I see that the meaning of impactor is “a small spacecraft designed to run into an object in space.”

• Tell students that they will continue to use context clues to determine the meanings of unknown words as they read Life of a Comet. Finding and learning the definitions of these words will help them understand the other new information in the book.

All comets are alike in some ways anddifferent in other ways.

Alike: icy balls of fro-zen gases and dust; have coma and tails when near sun. Differences: length of orbits; long-period and short-period, which divides into intermediate-type and comets in the Jupiter family.


Scientists found out new information about Halley’s comet when it returned in 1986.

ESA built probe, Giotto; took close-up pictures of comet’s nucleus; showed jets of gas and dark surface; scientists now think comets are covered in charcoal-like dust.

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Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize

• Remind students that when they visualize, they make pictures in their minds about what they are reading. They have used their imaginations and their senses to visualize the creation of a comet and the different types of comets.

Say: Today we will use what we already know to help us visualize as we read.

• Read aloud the feature “They Made a Difference” on page 21 as students follow along. Remind them that they already know a great deal about people’s reactions and feelings. Ask these questions:

Look at the photographs. How do you think Hubble felt just before he made his announcements to the world? How do you think he would feel about a space telescope being named after him and about the amazing pictures it has taken?

• Say: Using what you already know can help you visualize what you read more clearly. It helps you make a more vivid picture in your mind.

• Encourage students to use what they know to help them visualize as they finish reading the book.

During ReadingSet a Purpose for Reading

• Have students read the rest of the book silently. Encourage them to look for things in the text that they can visualize, using their imaginations, senses, and prior knowledge. Ask them to draw a picture or write notes in their journals focusing on one of their mental images.

After Reading Discuss the Reading

• Have students share their drawings or notes.

• Ask: What did you think was most interesting to visualize? How did using what you know help you visualize as you read?

• Have students read the checkpoint on page 28. Explain that rereading can help them better understand a text. Have them discuss their responses to the prompt with a partner.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapter 3 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Teaching Tips

After discussing the reading, have students place their drawings or notes in their journals on a page titled “Visualize.” Use this page to review visualizing throughout the year.

Comprehension Strategy: Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details• Review the graphic organizer students have been completing.

Explain that they will identify main ideas and supporting details in Chapter 3 in pairs or independently. Students should identify main ideas on pages 22 and 26–27 and write supporting details for both.

• Ask if students have any questions before they begin. Monitor their work and intervene if they have difficulty. Discuss stu-dents’ responses together.

• For more practice with identifying main idea and supporting details, have students complete the blackline master “Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details” on page 15.

Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions• Have students find and read the sentence that contains the

word nebulas in the feature on page 21. Say: Look at the words known as that are right before the word

nebulas. These words tell me that the definition of nebulas is locat-ed just before them. When I reread the sentence, I see that nebu-las are “glowing clouds in distant space.”

• Ask students to find and read the sentence with the word sungrazers on page 24.

Say: Here, we see the words known as again. They come right before the word sungrazers. This time we must look at the previous sentence to find the definition of sungrazers. When I reread that sentence, I see that sungrazers are comets that “die when they travel near or into the sun and burn up.”

• For additional practice, have students complete the blackline master on page 16.

Chapter 3–Conclusion (continued)



1. Watch students as they identify main ideas and supporting details. Ask yourself: How have students progressed with this strategy? What problems are they still having?

2. Watch students as they complete the graphic organizer. Ask yourself: Who is still struggling with this strategy? How can I help them?

3. Jot down your thoughts in your folder or notebook. For students who struggle with identifying main idea and supporting details, review the strategy using the Comprehension Strategy Poster: Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details.

Reader Response

Some scientists think a comet was responsible for the Chicxulub crater in Mexico and therefore for the extinction of dinosaurs. What do you think? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

Comets that have been weakened as they pass the sun may break apart.

Comets are not very solid; gases may escape and leave holes; sun’s gravity can pull them apart; happened to Comet Biele, Comet XIV, Comet West


Many scientists believe the impact of a giant comet or asteroid on Earth caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Thousands of com-ets smashed into Earth in the beginning; dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago; in 1990, huge impact crater found in Mexico; caused by object hitting Earth at high speed.

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1. meteor shower jets of bright light that shoot across the sky when Earth passes through the tail of a comet

2. telescope an instrument that makes distant objects appear nearer and larger

3. radiant a point in the sky where meteors come from

4. constellation a group of stars

5. Leonid a regularly occurring meteor shower named for the constellation Leo from which it originates

1. The Hubble telescope and its team explore the universe 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

2. Hundreds of scientists, engineers, and technicians work together. They maneuver the telescope through space, collect digital signals, and convert data into images.

3. Astronauts are essential to the work of the Hubble telescope team.

4. From the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, engineers can monitor repairs and improvements that astronauts make on the telescope in space.

Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment• Have students take Ongoing Assessment #19 on pages 74–75 in

the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 6).

Summarize Information• Remind students that nonfiction material often contains many

facts to read and remember. Writing a summary is one way to remember key ideas from the text.

• Have students review the notes they made while reading. Tell them to organize their notes so they can use them to write a summary of one chapter. You may want to group students and assign each group one chapter to summarize.

Say: When we write a summary, we write the key ideas in our own words. You will use the notes you took during reading to write a summary of one chapter.

• Model the process of summarizing information by picking out the key ideas from Chapter 1 with students. Explain that this is the first step to writing a good summary.

Say: This chapter explains how comets fit into the solar system, how they form, and what they are made of. What were some notes you wrote from this chapter? (Like planets and asteroids, comets orbit the sun. They formed from leftover clumps of ice, dust, and rock. Comets may have brought water and other important materials to planets such as Earth. The parts of a comet are the nucleus, coma, and tails.)

• Encourage students to share their notes with group members and work together to choose key ideas from their notes and use them to write a summary. When students are finished, have one member from each group read aloud the group’s summary.



1. Score assessments and determine if more instruction is needed for this strategy.

2. Keep group assessments in a small-group reading folder.

3. Look closely at students’ responses. Ask yourself: Why might this student have answered the question in this manner? For in-depth analysis, discuss responses with individual students.

4. If needed, reteach this strategy and administer Ongoing Assessment #20 on pages 76–77 in the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 6).

5. Use Ongoing Assessments to document growth over time, for parent/teacher conferences, or for your own records.

Scaffold the activity by working with students to identify the chapter’s key ideas, paraphrasing those ideas, and using them to write a summary. ELL students can dictate their sum-mary to their partner, who acts as a scribe and records the summary. Ask ELL students to read their sum-maries aloud. Encourage students to provide as much of the information as possible.

Synthesize Information

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Write a Personal ResponseInvite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. The prompts below provide a variety of alternatives.

• People in ancient times feared comets. Do you think we should fear comets today? Why or why not? (text-to-self)

• How does the life span of a comet compare with the life span of Earth? (text-to-world)

• Compare this book about comets to other books about the solar system you have read. (text-to-text)

• What do you think is the most fascinating thing about com-ets? Why? (personal response)

• Did you like this book? Why or why not? Would you recommend it to a friend? (evaluate)

• What parts of this book did you find the most challenging? (self-monitor)

• What did you learn from this book about the scientific investigation of comets? (synthesize information)

• How did you connect what you already knew about comets to what you learned in this book? (make connections)

Write to a Text PromptUse the prompt below as a timed writing activity. Students have a maximum of one hour to draft, revise, and edit a response. Use the rubric provided in the sidebar to score students’ writing.

Write to a Picture PromptUse the following picture prompt to develop students’ visual writing abilities.

Reading/Writing Connections

Teaching Tips

Transfer personal response prompts to a piece of large chart paper and hang it in the room. Students can refer to the list throughout the year.

The prompt is well developed. There is strong evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is developed. There is adequate evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is somewhat developed. There is minimal evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is weakly developed. There is little evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

Scoring Rubric

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What do comets teach us about the universe? Consider their life span, how far they can travel, and where they orbit. Use information from the book to support your answer.

Look at the picture on page 23. Imagine you are reporting on this event. Describe what you see at each stage.Use details from the picture to support your answer.


© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Directions: Use this sheet to talk about the book.

Word Study: Write words you did not know. Discuss the meanings with your group. Use the text to clarify the meanings.

Questions:Write two or three questions you had while reading this book. Discuss the questions and answers.

Make Connections:Write three connections you made with the text. Discuss them with your group.

Adapted from Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the Student-Centered Classroom, Harvey Daniels (Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 1994).

Rules for a Good Discussion:

1. Be prepared.

2. Pay attention to the person who is talking and do not interrupt him or her.

3. Think about what others are saying so you can respond.

4. Use inside voices.

5. Let everyone in the group have a turn to speak.

6. Be respectful of everyone’s ideas.

Adapted from Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3–6): Teaching Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy, Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishing Co., 2001).

Ways to Make Connections

Text-to-Self: This reminds me of a time when I . . .

Text-to-World: What’s going on in this book is like what’s happening right now in . . .

Text-to-Text: This book reminds me of another book I read called . . . . It was about . . .

Small-Group Discussion Guide


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Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details

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Main Idea Supporting Details


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Identify Main Idea and Supporting DetailsDirections: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Hubble Space Telescope

Where is the Hubble Space Telescope now? This hardworking telescope is busy exploring the universe 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Hundreds of scientists, engineers, and technicians work together to monitor the telescope. They maneuver the telescope through space, collect the digital signals that it sends back to Earth, and convert this data into images.

Hubble mission operations are located at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. There, engineers and scientists work around the clock. Engineers are the team members who test and maintain the spacecraft. They direct its movements from the ground. Scientists are responsible for organizing space observations and collecting and interpreting data.

Astronauts play an essential role in the work of the Hubble Telescope. They visit the telescope every three years to maintain it and make repairs. The telescope needs servicing just like any other vehicle. It is up to astronauts to replace parts, such as the gyroscope, and install new instruments. The combined efforts of the Hubble team will allow this telescope to continue to explore the universe.

1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph? Write it as a sentence.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What are two details that support the main idea of the first paragraph?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What is the main idea of the last paragraph? Write it as a sentence.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How do engineers on the ground work with astronauts at the Hubble Telescope?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions

Directions: Read the passage. Look for direct definitions of the boldfaced words. Complete the exercise

at the bottom of the page.

Light Show in SpaceAs comets pass through space, they leave trails of dust and ice behind

them. Sometimes Earth passes through the tail of a comet, and jets of

bright light shoot across the sky. This event is called a meteor shower.

Meteor showers can occur in every month of the year and are safe to

view without a telescope, an instrument that makes distant objects appear

nearer and larger. In fact, meteors move too fast for a telescope. Viewing

the night sky with the naked eye is the best way to watch a meteor shower.

Each meteor comes from the same point in the sky, known as the

radiant. However, meteor showers originate from a constellation, a group

of stars. Each meteor shower is named after its constellation. A regularly

occurring meteor shower named after the constellation Leo is known as the

Leonid. The orbits of well-known comets are tracked so that observers of

meteor showers know when to catch their favorite light shows.

Directions: Write the definitions of the boldfaced words. Use the passage to help you.

1. meteor shower ___________________________________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _2. telescope _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _3. radiant _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _4. constellation ____________________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _5. Leonid _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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Level W/60 Life of a Comet - Amazon S3€¦ · Life of a Comet • Mars and Venus: ... • Use Context Clues to Determine Word ... This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the