Trouble on Apollo 13: read-aloud with discussion questions
Read Trouble on Apollo 13 aloud on the projector: 12 pages of big type with each word lit as it is said, 1064 words (about 8 minutes), level 11, grade 6, and 5 questions to talk about.
Page 1 of 12
In April of 1970, the United States sent its third crew toward the Moon. The mission was called Apollo 13. The commander was Jim Lovell, who had already flown around the Moon once before, and with him were Fred Haise and Jack Swigert. Swigert had joined the crew only a few days earlier, when another astronaut was thought to be getting sick and was replaced. Lovell's earlier flights had taught him how to stay calm when things did not go as planned.
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 11, Grade 6
- 12 pages, 1064 words, about 8 minutes aloud
- A true book, gentle
Related
About Trouble on Apollo 13
A 1,064-word true account of the April 1970 flight where something went wrong far from Earth. It is a story about problem solving: each new problem, power, a way home and air that was not safe to breathe, gets a solution built by the crew and the engineers on the ground, so students can name each problem and its fix in order.
A true story of the Apollo 13 flight in 1970. Something went wrong far from Earth, and a crew and a team of engineers worked together to bring three men home.
Before you read
Ask the class to name a time they had to fix something with only what was on hand. Tell them to keep track of each problem on this flight and how it was solved.
Words to preview
- commander (kuh-MAN-der)
- the crew's leader
- oxygen (OK-suh-jen)
- gas we breathe
- conserve (kun-SURV)
- save
- engineer (en-juh-NEER)
- problem-solving builder
- adapter (uh-DAP-ter)
- connecting part
Questions to talk about
- What went wrong, and how did the crew know?Listen for: About fifty-five hours into the flight there was a loud bang, the ship shook and warning lights flashed. The ship was losing oxygen and power because an oxygen tank had burst.
- Why did the goal of the mission change?Listen for: The landing on the Moon was off. The new goal was to get the three men back to Earth alive.
- How was the landing craft Aquarius used?Listen for: As a lifeboat. It was built to keep two men safe for about two days, and now it kept three men for almost four. The crew shut down Odyssey to save power.
- What was the problem with the air, and how was it solved?Listen for: Carbon dioxide was rising, and the spare filters were square while the openings were round. Engineers on the ground used the same kinds of things the crew had, bags, cardboard, a sock and tape, to work out an adapter and read the steps over the radio.
- The book says careful thinking and teamwork brought the crew home. Who were the teammates, and what did each do?Listen for: The crew on board followed the checklist and built the fixes. Flight director Gene Kranz and the engineers on the ground worked around the clock to find a plan.
Questions
How long does Trouble on Apollo 13 take to read aloud?
It has 12 pages and 1064 words, so about 8 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 Trouble on Apollo 13?
Level 11, Grade 6. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; level 11 sits at grade 6. 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.