LESSON 22 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Galileo’s Telescope
by Tony Pucci
Fountas-Pinnell Level X
Narrative Nonfiction
Selection Summary
Regarded as one of the founders of both modern science and modern
astronomy, Galileo Galilei lived over 400 years ago. At that time, the
Church strictly controlled how people thought about the universe.
Galileo used scientific thinking to challenge the Church’s ideas about
science and the universe. This caused him great trouble, but today
many of Galileo’s theories are accepted as scientific fact.
Number of Words: 2,796
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Narrative nonfiction
• Third-person narrative
• Section titles build suspense leading up to Galileo’s trial.
• Important events in the life of Galileo
• Theories of Galileo
• Work of other early astronomers
• Proposing and defending unpopular ideas has positive and negative consequences.
• Good ideas stand the test of time.
• Concise summaries of Galileo’s achievements and historical context
• Figurative language
• Informal language used to convey Galileo’s impact
• Some complex sentences
• Range of punctuation, including parenthesis, dashes, and quotation marks
• Many terms related to academics: tutoring, professor, university
• Many terms related to science: experiment, gravity, scientific evidence
• Multisyllable names of famous scientists and thinkers: Galileo, Copernicus, Aristotle
• Portraits with captions
• Photographs from modern astronomy illustrate Galileo’s scientific conclusions
• Timelines and sidebars
• Seventeen pages of text, some spreads with little or no illustration
• Section headings help organize the text.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Galileo’s Telescope
by Tony Pucci
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of astronomy and earth science to visualize the
selection. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: What did people
believe about the solar system before the telescope was invented? Read the title and
author and talk about the cover illustration. Note that this is a portrait of Galileo. Tell
students that this selection is narrative nonfiction, and ask them what kinds of features
they can expect to find.
Introduce the Text
Guide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some
suggestions:
Pages 2–3: Direct students’ attention to the photograph. Suggested language:
This is a modern photograph of the night sky. What can you see in the photo?
Explain that in our modern world, there is often too much artificial light to see the
stars this way. The man whose picture you see on page 3 lived 400 years ago when
the world was a darker place. He wanted to understand what he was looking at in
the night sky.
Pages 6–7: Show students the photograph of the telescope and read the caption.
Tell students that before the invention of the telescope, scientists thought the
moon was barren with a smooth surface. Ask: What do we now know about the
surface of the moon?
Page 9: Read the headings on page 9. Explain to students that the Church was a
very powerful institution in Galileo’s day. Ask: What do you think the consequences
might be in Galileo’s time for someone who said the earth was not the center of the
solar system?
Now turn back to the beginning of the selection to learn how Galileo’s work got
him into trouble.
Target Vocabulary
arose – appeared or formed,
p. 11
barren – not able to grow plants
or produce crops, p. 7
hard use, p. 16
elusive – hard to catch or
achieve, p. 10
conditions – the current
circumstances, or how things
seem to be, p. 5
frustration – a feeling of anger,
annoyance, or helplessness
often caused by being unable
to accomplish a goal, p. 4
decrepit – worn out or broken
down because of old age or
harsh – severe and unpleasant or
rough, p. 12
Grade 6
2
instinct – natural, rather than
learned, feelings and ideas,
p. 7
lurched – made a sudden,
unexpected movement, p. 6
vertical – upright or running
straight up and down, p. 6
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Read
Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their
understanding of the text as needed.
Remind students to use the Monitor/Clarify Strategy
to figure out what isn’t making sense.
and to find ways
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the text.
Suggested language: Why do you think Galileo kept on working, even when he was an
old man?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Galileo Galilei made many
contributions to science and
astronomy.
• Following multiple interests, in
spite of opposition, can lead
to new and important kinds of
thinking and discoveries.
• The text condenses the events
of Galileo’s life into short,
straightforward sections.
• Church leaders disagreed
with Galileo’s conclusions and
eventually imprisoned him.
• The work that Galileo began over
400 years ago serves as part
of the foundation for modern
scientific work.
• Testing ideas and theories is
an important part of being a
scientist.
• The author provides information
about other influential but less
famous scientists in insets.
• The diagram of the solar
systems aids readers in
understanding Copernicus’s and
Galileo’s conclusions.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text to demonstrate phrased
fluent reading. Remind them to pause before reading parenthetical material such as
the sentence at the end of page 7.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion,
revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students 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. Remind students that some words contain Greek roots. For
example, philosopher is derived from the Greek word sophus, meaning “wise.” Other
words related to this root word include philosophical and philosophy.
Grade 6
3
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 22.8.
Responding
Have students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s
Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the
comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill
Conclusions and Generalizations
Remind students that they can draw
conclusions and make generalizations about the text as they read. Model how to add
details to the Graphic Organizer using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
The first box states that Galileo saw Saturn’s rings. He saw them using
his improved telescope. On page 8, the text states that Galileo discovered
four moons of Jupiter. Add this detail to the Graphic Organizer. Draw a
conclusion about Galileo’s telescope.
Practice the Skill
Have students share details from the text that support another conclusion or
generalization.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they
think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
Assessment Prompts
• How does the illustration on page 11 help the reader understand the selection?
• What is the purpose of this selection?
• What do the people who are described in the sidebars have in common?
Grade 6
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Check regularly on students’ oral reading to determine accuracy,
fluency, and comprehension.
Idioms The selection includes many idioms, such as punched more holes in (p. 8) a
huge hit (p. 9), and quite a bombshell (p. 9). Guide students as needed to understand
these idioms.
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who is this text about?
Speaker 1: What subject was Galileo’s
passion?
Speaker 1: Why was the pope
offended by Galileo’s Dialogue of
the Two Chief World Systems?
Speaker 2: Galileo Galilei
Speaker 1: How long ago did he live?
Speaker 2: about 400 years ago
Speaker 1: Where was Galileo born?
Speaker 2: Pisa, Italy
Speaker 2: His passion was math.
Speaker 1: Who first said that the earth
revolved around the sun?
Speaker 2: Nicholas Copernicus said it.
Speaker 2: The pope had
forbidden Galileo to agree with
Copernicus’s teachings. The pope
also thought the simple character
was based on him.
Lesson 22
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 22.8
Date
Critical Thinking
Galileo’s Telescope
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text Why did Galileo’s father want him to become
a doctor?
Galileo was smart.
2. Think within the text Why was the invention of the telescope so
important?
It allowed Galileo and others to view the universe.
3. Think beyond the text Why do some people consider new ideas,
such as Galileo’s, to be dangerous?
New ideas can sometimes cause people to think differently about
things and question their most closely held beliefs about the way
the world works.
4. Think about the text Based on Galileo’s trials, what can you conclude
about the Church of his time?
The Church at that time was afraid of new ideas that challenged
its understanding of the universe.
Making Connections Galileo changed the way we think about the universe.
Think of other influential people who have changed the way we view the world.
List at least two and explain why they were influential.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Critical Thinking
10
Grade 6, Unit 5: Taking Charge of Change
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5
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Lesson 22: Galileo’s Telescope
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First Pass
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Name
Date
Galileo’s Telescope
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal
knowledge to reach new understandings.
On page 15, the author explains that for a while, Galileo and Pope Urban VIII
were good friends. But their friendship ran into trouble. Why? What does the
conflict between the two men show about their friendship? What does it
show about the power of the Church in the 1600s?
Grade 6
6
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Lesson 22
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
BLACKLINE MASTER 22.8
Galileo’s Telescope
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text Why did Galileo’s father want him to become
a doctor?
2. Think within the text Why was the invention of the telescope so
important?
3. Think beyond the text Why do some people consider new ideas,
such as Galileo’s, to be dangerous?
4. Think about the text Based on Galileo’s trials, what can you conclude
about the Church of his time?
Making Connections Galileo changed the way we think about the universe.
Think of other influential people who have changed the way we view the world.
List at least two and explain why they were influential.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 6
7
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Student
Lesson 22
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 22.12
Galileo’s Telescope • LEVEL X
page
7
Galileo’s Telescope
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
The first telescope was accidentally invented in 1609 by a
Dutch eye doctor. He discovered that if he used two types of
lenses he could see objects that were far away more clearly.
Galileo was excited when he heard about the telescope or
“spyglass” as it was called then. As a scientist, his instinct told
him that this was a very important invention. So without ever
seeing the doctor’s spyglass, he made his own. Galileo’s
telescope was so superior to the doctor’s that Galileo became
known as its inventor.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/89 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 6
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1414520
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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