How do we get from here (early Soviet Sputnik victory) to there

(American walking on the moon)?4th and 5th grade Science SOL 4.7

Describe a contribution of the NASA Apollo missions to our understanding of

the moon.

From Here?

http://historymartinez.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/sputnik-ny-times.jpg

Soviet Success: 1957

To There?

http://www.spacestationinfo.com/images/neil-armstrong3.jpghttp://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/kippsphotos/39961.jpg

American Success:

1969

http://www.archives.gov/global-pages/larger-image.html?i=/education/lessons/sputnik-memo/images/memo-page-1-l.gif&c=/education/lessons/sputnik-memo/images/memo-page-1.caption.html

Activity: Students will read a paraphrased letter to Eisenhower (1957) and discuss questions below.

Questions:•What is this document? (sourcing)•How do you think Eisenhower feels? (close reading)•What does this mean for the U.S.? (contextualizing)

Soviet Sputnik Victory: Could the U.S. have done it first?

NASA Established in

1958: National Aeronautics and

Space Act

http://www.archives.gov/global-pages/larger-image.html?i=/historical-docs/doc-content/images/natl-aero-space-act-1958-l.jpg&c=/historical-docs/doc-content/images/natl-aero-space-act-1958.caption.html

Activity: Students will list in their own words NASA’s objectives.

Questions:•What is this document? (sourcing)

•How long after the Soviet Sputnik success is the NASA Act passed? (contextualizing and corroborating)

•What are the goals of NASA? (close reading)

Soviet Yuri Gagarin: First Man in Space April 12, 1961

Activity: Students will read parts of Yuri’s speech, discuss questions, and draw a cartoon depicting an American’s reaction to the Soviet success.

Questions:• Who is giving this speech?

(sourcing)• What is the overall tone and

message? (close reading)• Who is his audience?

(contextualizing)• How do you think Americans felt

when they hear of this Soviet success? (contextualizing)

http://www.russianarchives.com/gallery/gagarin/gagarin_speech.html

Excerpts from Yuri Gagarin's speech before his departure on Vostok 1: "Dear friends, both known and unknown to me, fellow Russians, and people of all countries and continents, in a few minutes a mighty spaceship will carry me into the far-away expanses of space. What can I say to you in these last minutes before the start? … To be the first to enter the cosmos, to engage single handed in an unprecedented duel with nature - could anyone dream of anything greater than that? But immediately after that I thought of the tremendous responsibility I bore: to be the first to do what generations of people had dreamed of; to be the first to pave the way into space for mankind. This responsibility is not toward one person, not toward a few dozen, not toward a group. It is a responsibility toward all mankind - toward its present and its future. Am I happy as I set off on this space flight? Of course I'm happy…to take part in new discoveries. I would like very much to embrace you all, people known and unknown to me, close friends and strangers alike. See you soon!"

American Alan Shepherd: 2nd Man in Space on May 5, 1961

Activity: Students will watch Shepherd’s lift off and return pick up, a 1:41 Youtube clip, discuss the questions, and create a newspaper headline with less than 10 words depicting this American victory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h31c_yfemQY&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Questions:•What is the name of Shepherd’s capsule? (close reading)•How long after Gagarin’s space mission did it take Americans to launch a man into space? (corroborating)

Ours vs. Theirs: Same idea; completely different designVostok

Rocket: Soviet Redstone Rocket: USA

Questions:

•What do you notice is the same about these two rockets? (corroborating)

•What do you notice that is different about these two rockets? (corroborating)

•What do you know about both of these rockets? (contextualizing)

•What questions do you have about these rockets?

Activity: Students will compare the photos of both rockets and work with a partner to answer the 4 questions as a set to the lesson in the next slide.

Are the Soviet and American rockets different designs? You decide.

The Soviet capsule The American capsule

Yes, these capsules were very different!

Mercury Capsule: USA design with Shepherd

Vostok Capsule: Soviet design with Gagarin

What similarities do you notice?

What differences do you notice?

What questions do you have?

Activity: Students will work with a partner and complete the chart.

More Differences: Water landing and Land landing

Questions: •Which photograph matches which country’s mission? What clues help you support your match? (close reading)•What benefits do you see in a water landing?•What benefits do you see in a land landing?•Which landing do you think would be better? Why? (corroborating)

“We Choose to Go to the Moon” 1962• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=g25G1M4EXrQ&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

• Activity: Students will listen/watch Kennedy’s speech and answer the following discussion questions:

• Who gave this speech? (sourcing)• Who was his audience? (sourcing)• What is the overall tone or message of

the speech? (close reading)• When was this speech given?

(contextualizing)• How does the speech connect with what

the U.S. had accomplished with the space program so far? (corroborating)

Pay attention to East and West designs.Are there many differences between the two?

Voskhod (Soviet) Design

Gemini (U.S.A.) Design

Activity: Students will make two lists of similarities and differences between the East and West designs. (corroborating)

Where it comes crashing down: the difference in designs of the Soviet and American rockets.

The N1 vs. the Saturn V

In order for a rocket to launch with the proper trajectory, and have a safe launch off the pad, every engine must ignite at the same time. Which design do you think worked best?

American 5 engine design?

Or the Soviet N1 design of over 30 little engines?

Where we are going with the unit?

•Soviet rocket design failure.•USA rocket design success.•Soviet funding failure.•USA funding sustained.•Links between Gemini (stepping stone) and Apollo.•Apollo program’s success with moon landing(s).