3rd Grade English Language Arts
Audio Presentation
What Is the International Space Station?
by NASA
The following presentation is from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration or NASA.
The International Space Station is a large spacecraft. It orbits around Earth. It is a
home where astronauts live.
The space station is also a science lab. Many countries worked together to build it.
They also work together to use it.
The space station is made of many pieces. The pieces were put together in space
by astronauts. The space station's orbit is about 220 miles above Earth. NASA
uses the station to learn about living and working in space. These lessons will help
NASA explore space.
Why Is the Space Station Important?
The space station is a home in orbit. People have lived in space every day since
the year 2000. The space station's labs are where crew members do research. This
research could not be done on Earth.
Scientists study what happens to people when they live in space. NASA has
learned how to keep a spacecraft working for a long time. These lessons will be
important in the future.
NASA has a plan to send humans deeper into space than ever before. The space
station is one of the first steps. NASA will use lessons from the space station to get
astronauts ready for the journey ahead.
Excerpt from “What Is the International Space Station?” by NASA, from
www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/what-is-the-iss-k4.html. In the public domain.
3rd Grade ELA CAT – Audio Presentation
3rd Grade English Language Arts
Audio Presentation
Northern Lights
by Nick Hunter
The following presentation is from Northern Lights. In this piece, the author
discusses the Aurora Borealis; natural lights found in the sky near the North Pole.
The night sky above us is full of lights. These lights are stars and planets far away
in space. Most are bigger than planet Earth, where we live. They seem tiny
because they are so far away. In some places on Earth, people see more than
stars and planets in the sky. They see amazing lights called the Northern Lights.
The Northern Lights are the most exciting light show you could ever see. They can
start with a pale green light in the sky. Sometimes, they become beautiful, bright
sheets of light dancing across the night sky. The Northern Lights are called an
Aurora. Their full name is the Aurora Borealis. The Northern Lights are most
often seen in places close to the North Pole. Sometimes, people in Canada and
Alaska can see the Northern Lights too. The Northern Lights form high above the
ground. They are usually around 60 miles or 100 hundred kilometers up in the
earth’s atmosphere.
There are also lights around the South Pole. The South Pole is on the frozen
continent of Antarctica. This is one of the coldest places on Earth.
Excerpt from Northern Lights by Nick Hunter. Copyright © 2014 by Heinemann Library. Reused
by permission of Capstone Global Library, LLC.
3rd Grade ELA CAT – Audio Presentation
Student Name: ____________________________
3rd Grade English Language Arts
Audio Presentation – What Is the International Space Station?
22. Which statement best describes how scientists use the International Space
Station?
a. They learn how space stations can be built.
b. They learn about what makes a good astronaut.
c. They study the station to make plans for science labs.
d. They study what happens to people when they live in space.
23. What is the most likely reason the author made the presentation?
a. to tell about what scientists have learned
b. to show how astronauts plan for space travel
c. to describe who built the International Space Station
d. to explain why scientists use the International Space Station
24. Which detail in the presentation best supports the idea that the space station
is a home in space?
a. People have lived there for years.
b. People work there together on science.
c. NASA studies humans working in space.
d. NASA has plans to send humans deeper into space.
3rd Grade ELA CAT – Audio Presentation
Student Name: ____________________________
3rd Grade English Language Arts
Audio Presentation – Northern Lights
25. Check the box next to each type of light to show which detail it best matches.
26. Which question can a listener answer after hearing the presentation?
a. How are the Northern Lights formed?
b. What is the name of the lights over the South Pole?
c. Where is the best place to see the Northern Lights?
d. Is Earth the only planet to have lights across the night sky?
27. The following question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part
B.
Part A
Which statement is supported by the presentation?
a. Weather may change the Northern Lights.
b. The Northern Lights can look different at different times.
c. The Northern Lights are brighter than the lights around the South Pole.
d. People in Canada and Alaska like the Northern Lights better than stars and
planets.
Part B
Which sentence from the presentation best supports your answer in part A?
a. “In some places on Earth, people see more than stars and planets in the
sky.”
b. “The Northern Lights are the most exciting light show you could ever see.”
c. “Sometimes, they become beautiful, bright sheets of light dancing across
the night sky.”
d. “The South Pole is on the frozen continent of Antarctica.”
3rd Grade ELA CAT – Audio Presentation