The First Steps: read-aloud with discussion questions
Read The First Steps aloud on the projector: 12 pages of big type with each word lit as it is said, 755 words (about 6 minutes), level 9, grade 4, and 5 questions to talk about.
Page 1 of 12
People have always looked up at the Moon and wondered what it is like. In the summer of 1969, three men finally went there to find out. Their names were Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Their trip was called Apollo 11. It was a trip that millions of people would remember for the rest of their lives.
Keys: ← → or Page Up and Page Down turn the page, Space starts and pauses the voice, Home and End jump, F fills the screen. Tapping the right side of a page goes on; the left side goes back.
How to use it
- Press Full screen (F) to put the book on the projector.
- Press Read to me (Space), or read it yourself and turn pages with the arrow keys or a tap. Pick the Pace that suits the class.
- After the last page the questions come up on the screen. The same questions are below, with what to listen for.
About this book
- Level 9, Grade 4
- 12 pages, 755 words, about 6 minutes aloud
- A true book, gentle
Related
About The First Steps
A 755-word true account of Apollo 11 in 1969, told in order from the launch to the splashdown. It is a good model for a sequence text: the dates, the two spacecraft with their names and the first steps arrive in the order they happened.
A true story of the day people first walked on the Moon in 1969. Three astronauts made the long trip, and two of them took the first steps.
Before you read
Ask the class what they would want to do first on the Moon. Tell them the book is a true story, and ask them to listen for the names of the three men and the two spacecraft.
Words to preview
- rocket (ROK-it)
- launch engine
- crater (KRAY-ter)
- bowl-shaped hole
- plain (PLAYN)
- flat land
- parachute (PAIR-uh-shoot)
- slows a fall
- scientists (SY-un-tists)
- people who study
Questions to talk about
- Who were the three astronauts, and which two walked on the Moon?Listen for: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin went down in Eagle, and Collins stayed in Columbia.
- Why did the astronauts wear backpacks and thick white suits on the Moon?Listen for: The Moon has no air at all, and the backpacks held air to breathe.
- How did the men move on the Moon, and why?Listen for: They could hop around easily because the Moon pulls on things much less than Earth does. They felt light.
- What did the men do besides take the first steps?Listen for: They set up tools to study the Moon, scooped up rocks and dust to take home, set up a flag, talked with the President by radio and left a sign saying they came in peace for all people.
- Why do you think so many people around the world watched on television?Listen for: It was the first time a person walked on another world. The book says people cheered in the control room in Texas and felt proud and glad around the world.
Questions
How long does The First Steps take to read aloud?
It has 12 pages and 755 words, so about 6 minutes at the Steady pace and a little less at Quick. If you stop to talk on the way, plan for more.
What reading level is The First Steps?
Level 9, Grade 4. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; level 9 sits at grade 4. A level is a guide for choosing, so look at the pages yourself.
Whose voice is it?
Your browser's own. Read to me uses a speaking voice already on the computer, so it sounds like that computer and works without a sign-in. Voices differ: some light each word as it is spoken, and some do not, in which case the highlight follows a steady pace instead. Some browsers use an online voice; if yours does, the browser, not us, sends the words of the page to its speech service. If no voice is installed, turn the pages and read it aloud yourself.
Do students need an account?
No. Nothing is asked of anyone and nothing is sent to us. Project the page, or share the link and let students open it on their own screens.
Where does this book come from?
It was written for Peabody's library as a true book. It is not copied from a textbook or another site.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. The voice is your browser's own. No sign-in, no ads.