Lesson Plan - Racing Into Space

Watch a Video: The Space Race Continues!

Discuss: How has human space exploration changed over time?

Preview Words to Know

Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• commercial 
• prosthetic

Set a Purpose for Reading

Have students identify what is meant by “new ways for different kinds of people to go to space.”

1. What are some differences between the original space race and today’s new one?
The new space race is between companies, while the original one was between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. In the new race, anyone can go into space if they can afford a ticket. In the original race, only trained astronauts could go.
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2. Why does Hayley Arceneaux say that she wouldn’t be able to experience space without SpaceX?
Arceneaux has a prosthetic leg. Until companies like SpaceX made commercial space travel available, people going into space had to be “physically perfect.”
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3. What is the purpose of the sidebar “Learning to Float”?
The purpose is to show how the Inspiration 4 crew is getting ready for the weightlessness they will experience in space, where the pull of gravity is weak.
^{(RI.3.2 AUTHOR’S PURPOSE)}

FEATURED SKILL: Sequence

Use the skill builder “Space Race” to have students identify sequence signal words in the article and put events in order. Download it as Google Slides or a PDF.

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