Prereading Strategies

	Draw conclusions to improve comprehension.
	Monitor understanding and use fix-up strategies to draw logical conclusions.

GENRE STUDY

Science Fiction

"Moonwalk" is science fiction. Explain that science fiction writers use science to create fantasy stories, often set in the future. The science in science fiction doesn't have to be absolutely accurate, but it does have to be consistent and make sense within the world of the story.

PREVIEW AND PREDICT

Have students preview the title and illustrations. Ask them to predict where the story takes place and what they think will happen in the story. Encourage students to use lesson vocabulary words as they talk about their predictions.

Predict Have students write their predictions in their Strategy Response Logs. Students will revisit their logs
and confirm their predictions on
p. 619.

Echo Reading, 629a

Writing

Grammar

Fluency

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases, 629e

Think and Practice, 629i

Writer's Craft: Using Persuasive Words, 629g

Spelling

Fluency and Language Arts

SET PURPOSE

Read the first few paragraphs of the story aloud to students. Have them consider their preview discussion and state why they want to read the story.

Remind students to use story details and what they know to draw conclusions about what happens in the story. As they read, they can check their understanding of the story by using fix-up strategies such as rereading more slowly.

AudioText

Access Content Have students break the title into its two smaller parts: "Moon" + "walk," or a walk on the moon. Tell them to look for other compound words in the story and use word parts to understand them.

Consider having students read the selection summary in English or in students' home languages. See the Multilingual Summaries in the ELL Teaching Guide, pp. 173–175.

"Moonwalk"
by Ben Bova

Student Edition
Unit 5, pp. 612–623

Science fiction is a made-up story based on science. It often tells about life in the future. As you read about a walk on the moon, look for the scientific information on which this Snapshot is based.

"Hey, Runt!" Vern called. "Jump over that rille!" Gerry hated it when Vern taunted him like that. And he really hated the nickname. The boys wore moonsuits, backpacks, and helmets. They looked very heavy. But on the moon, they were light. Gerry ran and floated easily over the crack in the ground.
The brothers were in a huge moon crater. Dad had told them to stay in the shelter. He had gone to check something. But Vern wanted to go for a moonwalk. So here they were, jumping over rilles.
It was not very dark, even though it was night. They could see the blue and white Earth shining in the sky. It would be dawn soon.
Vern wanted to jump over bigger rilles. They trudged along. Then Vern found one like a deep trench.
"Are you scared to jump over this one, Runt?" Vern asked. Gerry was scared, but he tried not to show it. Summoning up his courage, he jumped. The edge loomed up. He did it! He didn't even stagger when he landed.
But Vern didn't make it. He fell into the rille. Gerry rushed to his side. "Are you OK?" Vern could not answer. He tapped his helmet. Gerry knew what that meant. Vern's radio was out. There was no air on the moon to carry sound. So they could only talk through their radios.
He could see that Vern had fallen on his backpack. That was bad news. It meant that he had no electricity. He needed it for the radio and for air. Maybe he had enough air to last a few hours, Gerry thought.
He helped Vern up. But Vern had trouble walking. He must have hurt his leg. He leaned on Gerry. Somehow they made it out of the rille.
The sun was coming up. Soon it would be 250 degrees. Without the air conditioning inside his suit, Vern would be a goner. Gerry tried to stay calm. They worked their way to the shelter. Vern felt heavier every minute, but Gerry kept them both going. Just as they got to the shelter, Vern collapsed. Gerry dragged him into the airlock.
Gerry got Vern inside the shelter and took his helmet off. Vern coughed. "You saved me, Runt!" he said. "What can I do to repay you?"
"Never call me Runt again," Gerry said, and laughed with relief.



	Close
	Students should set their own purposes for reading. Students may also choose to read something other than the main selection. For a list of titles related to lesson focus or topic, see TR11. Students can use the question on p. 613 of the student edition to set a purpose for reading. Students should draw conclusions as they read that will help answer this question. Students may also use the KWL chart to set purposes. If you began a KWL chart on p. 610a, students can use one or more questions in the KWL chart to form purposes for reading. Students should take notes in the L column as they read. Unit Inquiry Project, 515 Cross-Curricular Centers, 608j–608k Strategy Response Log, 612, 619, 625 Self-Selected Reading, TR38–39 Independent Activities Place English language learners in the groups that correspond to their reading abilities in English. Group Time

"Moonwalk"by Ben Bova

"Moonwalk"
by Ben Bova