LESSON 28 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Trouble on a Trip to the Moon
by Elizabeth Wells
Fountas-Pinnell Level M
Informational Text
Selection Summary
Apollo 13 was supposed to be a routine flight to the moon. It ceased
being routine when an oxygen tank exploded, putting the astronauts’
lives in danger. The astronauts used the lunar module as a rescue
vehicle and returned to Earth safely.
Number of Words: 723
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Informational text
• Focused on a single topic: the Apollo 13 moon mission
• The Apollo 13 moon mission
• Threat to the astronauts’ lives
• How the astronauts saved themselves and returned to Earth safely
• Space travel is exciting and dangerous and involves a large group of people working
together.
• Staying coolheaded in the face of danger can save lives.
• When your life is in danger, it is important to brainstorm ideas for the best solution.
• Clear, straightforward language
• Description but no figurative use of language
• A mix of short and more complex sentences
• Both dependent and independent clauses
• Multiple items in series: If the astronauts did not fix these things, they would have no air
to breathe, no water to drink, and no way to travel back to Earth.
• Content-specific terms, some of which might not be familiar to English language learners:
orbit, outer space, astronauts, spaceship, lunar module, command module, battery
• Target vocabulary words highlighted in text
• Multisyllabic words, some of which might be challenging for English language learners:
astronomy, astronauts, exciting, dangerous, explosion
• Photos, many historical, on every page
• Predictable placement of text
• Labels on photos that aid understanding
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Trouble on a Trip to the Moon
by Elizabeth Wells
Build Background
Help children use their knowledge of the space program to visualize the book. Build
interest by asking questions such as the following: What do you know about the flights
people made to the moon? Have you heard about Apollo 13? Read the title and author and
talk about the cover illustration. Tell children that this book gives factual information about
what happened to the astronauts on Apollo 13 when they were headed to the moon.
Front-Load Vocabulary Some everyday words may be unfamiliar to English
learners, Before reading, check understanding of the following words: command, lunar,
battery, astronauts.
Introduce the Text
Guide children through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary. Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Explain that this book tells about an adventure three astronauts had in
1970 on their way to the moon.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2. The photo shows the three astronauts who
were heading to the moon. These men weren’t just going to orbit the moon, or go
around it again and again. They were going to land there! After they explored the
moon, they planned to come back to Earth and tell people what they had learned.
Page 3: Direct attention to the photos and the labels. Explain that the command
module was where the leader of the mission rode. He was in charge of the men
who would go down to the moon in the lunar module. Why do you think it was
important to have one astronaut flying above the moon while the others flew down
to the moon?
Page 11: Explain that during the flight, something exploded in the spaceship, and
the astronauts had to repair or fix what was broken.
Now turn back to the beginning of the book and read to find out what happened on
the Apollo 13 mission.
Target Vocabulary
astronomy – the study of stars,
planets, and other objects in
space, p. 2
force – power or strength, p. 13
explored – to have traveled
around a place to find out what
is there, p. 2
orbit – to move completely
around an object again and
again, p. 2
future – things that have not
happened yet, p. 12
repair – to fix something because
it has been damaged, p. 11
space – the huge area outside
Earth’s atmosphere in which
we see the stars and planets,
p. 2
float – to be held up by air or
water, p. 5
Grade 2
2
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Read
Have children read Trouble on a Trip to the Moon silently while you listen to individual
children read. Support their problem solving and fluency as needed.
Remind children to use the Analyze/Evaluate Strategy
they feel about the text and why.
, and to tell how
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite children to share their personal responses to the book.
Suggested language: The Apollo 13 astronauts never made it to the moon, but they did
get home safely. How would you feel about that? Would you be disappointed about not
reaching your goal or happy just to be safe? Why?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help children understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Apollo 13 was a routine mission
to the moon until something
exploded.
• Space travel is very exciting,
but it is also full of risks and
challenges.
• The author includes lots of
details about what happened to
the Apollo 13 astronauts.
• The astronauts’ lives were in
danger because they had no air
to breathe, water to drink, or a
way to travel back to Earth.
• Staying coolheaded and not
panicking in the face of danger
can save lives.
• Labels help readers understand
what the photos show.
• The astronauts used the lunar
module as a safe place to stay
until they were back on Earth.
• In a life-threatening situation,
it’s important to calmly figure
out what you can do to save
yourself.
• The author wrote this book to
make the history of the Apollo 13
mission come to life for readers.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite children to choose a passage from the text and demonstrate phrased,
fluent reading. Remind them to stress words in a meaningful way, and to use
punctuation in a way that shows they understand what they are reading.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the children’s reading and discussion,
revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind children to go
back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using
examples from the text. Guide children to take apart and read compound words using
spaceship as an example. Have children find the two smaller words in spaceship and
then look for and take apart other compounds from the book, such as everything and
everyone.
Grade 2
3
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have children complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 28.10.
Responding
Have children complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as
needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill
Text and Graphic Features
Remind children that they can tell how words
go with photos. Model the skill, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
On page 3, the text uses some terms that aren’t very familiar, like lunar
module and command module. The photos on the page have labels that
say “Command module” and “Lunar module.” These photos and labels
are graphic features that show what the text says.
Practice the Skill
Have children find another example in the book where the photo and text work together to
give readers important information.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have children write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they
think beyond the text, they use what they know and their own experience to think about
what happens in the story.
Assessment Prompts
• Which words on page 12 help the reader understand the meaning of the word repair
on page 11?
• What is this selection mostly about?
Grade 2
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Pair English-speakers and English language learners so that they
can check their understanding with each other.
Cultural Support For children unfamiliar with the Apollo space program, provide a
brief history of the program. In May 1961, the United States announced a program—
called Apollo—to send astronauts to the moon and return them safely to Earth. After
several spacecraft orbited the moon and returned safely, in July 1969 Apollo 11 landed a
module on the moon. Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the surface of
the moon. The final flight of the program was Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Oral Language Development
Check children’s comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches their English
proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the child.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who are the men on page
2?
Speaker 1: What happened on the way
to the moon?
Speaker 2: They are astronauts.
Speaker 2: There was an explosion.
Speaker 1: How did the astronauts
solve their problem and save
their lives?
Speaker 1: Where were these
astronauts going?
Speaker 1: What problem did this cause
for the astronauts?
Speaker 2: They were going to the
moon.
Speaker 2: They had no air, water, or
power.
Speaker 2: The astronauts all got
into the lunar module to save
energy. It kept them safe until
they landed back on Earth.
Lesson 28
BLACKLINE MASTER 28.10
Date
Name
Think About It
Trouble on a Trip to the
Moon
Think About It
Read and answer the questions.
1. Why was there a loud noise on Apollo 13?
There was an explosion on the spaceship.
2. Why did everybody clap and shout when the
astronauts landed?
They were happy and excited because the astronauts
arrived back on Earth safely.
3. Why were people on Earth more interested in
Apollo 13 after the accident instead of before
the accident?
Possible response: Before the accident, people had already
seen astronauts in space. There was nothing new to see.
After the accident, people wanted to know how the
astronauts were.
Making Connections Make a drawing to show your favorite
part of the book. Then write a sentence that tells why you
like it.
Draw and write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
12
Grade 2, Unit 6: What a Surprise!
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Grade 2
5
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Lesson 28: Trouble on a Trip to the Moon
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Confirming Pages
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Name
Date
Trouble on a Trip to the Moon
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in one paragraph.
How do you think the Apollo 13 astronauts would feel about being asked to
fly on another mission in space? Would they want to go? If you were one of
the astronauts, would you want to go? Explain your answer using details
from the text.
Grade 2
6
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Lesson 28
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 28.10
Date
Think About It
Trouble on a Trip to the
Moon
Think About It
Read and answer the questions.
1. Why was there a loud noise on Apollo 13?
2. Why did everybody clap and shout when the
astronauts landed?
3. Why were people on Earth more interested in
Apollo 13 after the accident instead of before
the accident?
Making Connections Make a drawing to show your favorite
part of the book. Then write a sentence that tells why you
like it.
Draw and write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 2
7
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Student
Lesson 28
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 28.14
Trouble on a Trip to the
Moon • LEVEL M
page
2
Trouble on a Trip to the
Moon
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
Many people love looking at the moon and the
stars. Some people study astronomy to learn about
things like the orbit, or path, of the moon. But for
a long time people could not travel to outer space.
Then, in 1969, astronauts traveled to the moon for
the first time.
In 1970, a team of astronauts explored the moon
again.
3
The astronauts’ spaceship was called Apollo 13.
It had two parts, a lunar module and a command
module. Astronaut James Lovell was in charge of
the whole trip. Astronaut Fred Haise controlled
the lunar module.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/95 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 2
Behavior
Error
0
0
1
8
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
Word told
T
cat
cat

Error
1413819
Behavior
1
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