Scott Foresman Reading Street

Reader Response

Open for Discussion Personal Response

MODEL I'd start by saying that everyone is okay, and then explain what happened.

Comprehension Check Critical Response

Possible response: The relationship between the brothers was familiar. Dealing with conditions on the moon was unfamiliar. Author's Purpose
Possible response: The brothers are competitive. Vern thinks he's a better athlete than his brother.
Draw Conclusions
A rille is a wide crack in the ground, like a gully. The definition is found by reading ahead.
Monitor and Fix Up
Events described will vary but should include Words to Know in proper context.
Vocabulary

Look Back and Write
For test practice, assign a 10–15 minute time limit. For assessment, see the rubric on TR25.

Summarize

Have students summarize "Moonwalk" using their KWL charts about the moon and the story's illustrations.

Retell

Have students retell "Moonwalk."

then… use
the Scoring
Rubric for
Retelling
below to help move them toward fluent retelling.

If… students have difficulty retelling the story,

Check Retelling

Summarize Your school newspaper wants a short review of a science fiction story. Write a short summary of "Moonwalk" and tell if you would recommend it or not.

Assessment Use the story's illustrations to guide retellings. Model retelling by talking about the first picture. For more ideas on assessing students' retellings, see the ELL and Transition Handbook.

Search a bookseller's Web site to find other science fiction stories. Search for books, using the keywords science fiction and moon.

Online Student Edition Snapshot Response with answer key (pdf)

Look Back and Write If you were going on a moon adventure, you would have to know the temperature change from night (page 614) to day (page 620). Compute the difference and tell why it is important.

Ben Bova's science fiction stories contain a careful mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar. What seemed familiar to you as you read "Moonwalk"? What seemed unfamiliar?

What conclusions did you draw about the relationship between Gerry and Vern after reading the first line of the story?

What is a rille? How did you figure out what it is?

There were several heart-stopping moments in this story. Tell about one. Use words from the Words to Know list and the story.

Open for Discussion The time has come for Gerry and Vern to tell their father what really happened that night on the moon. Tell what they said and how they said it.

Reader Response

Read more
science fiction
books.

The Wonderful Flight
to the Mushroom Planet
by Eleanor Cameron

great stories. His popular “Grand Tour”
series of books for older readers tells of humans who explore and colonize the solar system in the future.

             Ben Bova has been
        writing science fiction for
      more than fifty years. He
   combines an understanding
of science with the ability to tell

The Forgotten Door
by Alexander Key

As a scientist, Mr. Bova has
worked on major research projects.
(For example, he helped prepare
Apollo 11 for flight.) He calls upon the latest in
scientific knowledge to write his books about
the future. In the past, he predicted the first
U.S. trip to the moon, virtual reality, video games,
and possible life on Mars. Now, he predicts that
we will one day enjoy tours in space and the
discovery of extraterrestrial life. We’ll see— he’s
been right so far!