Level X/60 Mars and Venus: Space ExplorationMars and Venus are our two closest neighbors in space....

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Theme: The Universe• Life of a Star• Life of a Comet• Mars and Venus: Space Exploration

Mars and Venus: Space ExplorationLevel X/60

Science

Skills & Strategies

Anchor Comprehension Strategies

• Draw conclusions

Comprehension • Reread

• Compareandcontrast

• Usegraphicfeaturestointerpretinformation

Word Study/Vocabulary • Usecontextcluestodetermineword

meaning

Science Big Idea • Technologyallowshumanstogather

informationaboutotherobjectsinoursolarsystem.

TEAChEr’S GuidE

Synthesize Information • Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment

• Compare and Contrast Information

D ay

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A c t i v i t i e s

Using Navigators Chapter Books

Explicit Strategy InstructionUse the complete guide to model, guide, and support students as they apply comprehension and word-study strategies. Use portions of the guide to scaffold reading instruction for students who do not need modeled instruction.

Small-Group DiscussionsIntroduce the book and model strategies. Have the group set a purpose for reading based on the introduction. Students read the book, or parts of the book, independently. Then have them use the Small-Group Discussion Guide as they discuss the book together.

Independent ReadingHave students select titles at their independent reading levels. After reading, have students respond to the text in reader response journals or notebooks.

Core Lesson Planning Guide

Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-4108-6291-42

Pages 4–6: Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Retell

• Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions

• Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions

Page 3: Prepare to Read• Build Content Background

• Introduce the Book

Pages 7–8: Guide Strategies: Chapter 2• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Retell


• Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information: Graphs

Pages 9–10: Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Retell


• Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions

This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.

Build Content Background • Tell students to imagine that they are on a journey to a new

planet. Ask them to close their eyes and visualize the planet from a distance.

Ask: What does the planet look like? What color is it? Is it large or small? How many moons does it have? What do they look like?

• Have students continue the visualization as they land on the planet.

Say: Picture yourself standing on the surface of the planet. What is the land like? Are there mountains or deserts? Does life exist on the planet? What do you see, hear, and feel as you stand there?

• Have students share details from their visualizations. Conclude by pointing out that while no humans have landed on the planets Mars or Venus yet, scientists are learning more about these planets from information sent back to Earth from rovers, space capsules, and satellites.

Introduce the Book • Give students a copy of the book. Have them read the title

and skim through the book.

• Ask: What will this book be about? How do you know? What pictures might help you tell what the book will be about?

• Tell students that Mars and Venus: Space Exploration explains the discoveries that scientists have made about Earth’s two nearest neighbors in the solar system.

• To introduce key words and text/graphic features found in this book, use the book’s inside front cover.

Informal Assessment Tips

1. Assess students’ ability to answer questions by previewing a book’s contents.

2. Document informal observations in a folder or notebook.

3. Keep the folder or notebook at the small-group reading table for handy reference.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 3

Meeting Individual Needs

For students who struggle with previewing a book’s contents and asking questions about it, point out specific headings, boldfaced words, illustrations, and special features, and show how they make you think of questions that the contents might answer.

Display pictures of Mars to stu-dents, such as the one on page 12. Explain that Mars is called the “red planet.” Ask students why the planet has this name. Have them describe Mars’s appearance in English and in their native languages. Repeat the process with pictures of Venus.

Write the words satellite, space capsule, and rover on the board. Explain that these are the different spacecraft that have orbited planets, taking pictures and collecting data. Point out that rovers and capsules can land on planets, while satellites stay in space, flying around or past planets.

Prepare to Readnglish anguage earnersE L L

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Retell• Use a real-life example of retelling.

Say: Recently I read an article about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It said that NASA plans to send astro-nauts to the moon for extended periods of time. There was infor-mation about these plans that I wanted to tell some friends. So I wrote notes about the main points and important details I wanted to remember. Then when I talked with my friends, my notes helped me remember the main points so that I could retell them. I can also make notes about words or facts that I need to find out more about.

• Read pages 2–3 aloud while students follow along. Stop when you come to important ideas or words that might be challenging to students. Share your thought process aloud with them. Have students state the main ideas on the pages. Write these ideas on self-stick notes and place them in the book as students observe. Some ideas that students might discover are:

Human curiosity has inspired space exploration. No human has ever landed on another planet. Mars and Venus are our two closest neighbors in space. Scientists have explored Mars and Venus more than any other planets.

• Use self-stick notes to retell information from pages 2–3.

During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read pages 4–11 silently to find out what

scientists have discovered about Venus. Have them make notes in their journal or on self-stick notes about the main ideas they find and any questions they have. Explain that the notes they take will help them retell the main ideas of the chapter.

4 © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

ABOUT THE STRATEGY Retell

What? Good readers take notes about the main ideas in their reading and any questions they have about them. These notes help readers retell what they have read.

Why? Retelling helps readers reflect on what they’ve read. Taking notes helps readers understand and remem-ber the main ideas so they can retell the ideas afterward.

When? Good readers take notes before reading to help set a purpose. They take notes during reading to help them understand and remember main ideas so they can retell them later. They retell the main ideas after reading to help them synthesize what they have read. This strategy may also be used when returning to reading after several days have passed.

How? Good readers look for main ideas as they read. They also stop when they have questions about a word or an idea. They note ideas so they can retell them and questions so they can answer them during and after reading.

Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1

After Reading Discuss the Reading• Say: I found that Chapter 1 tells facts about Venus as well

as details of the spacecraft that have collected information about Venus.

• Call on students to retell what they have learned about Venus. Suggest that they use the notes they wrote while reading the chapter. Then have them ask any questions from their notes about words or ideas they did not understand. Have other students answer the questions. If no one knows the answer, help the class find a reference book with the information.

• Repeat the process. Have students retell facts about satellite and flyby missions. Ask students to retell the mission of the Venera 7 and explain what was unique about this mission. (It was the first capsule to land on another planet.) Then have students ask questions from their notes on each topic.

• Have students read the checkpoint on page 6. Explain that thinking about this question will help students better under-stand what they have read. Have students offer their thoughts about the prompt.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the ques-tions for the Introduction and Chapter 1 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions• Explain to students that good readers know how to “read

between the lines.” They use what they know and what they read to draw conclusions about the information in the text.

Say: In this book, the author tells us many facts about Mars and Venus. We can put these facts together and use them to draw conclusions. These conclusions are not stated directly in the text, but we can figure them out by using clues and facts that are stated in the text.

• Pass out the graphic organizer “Draw Conclusions” (blackline master, page 14). You may want to make a chart-sized copy of the graphic organizer or use a transparency.

• Explain that as students read, they will complete the first two rows together. They will complete the last row independently or in pairs.


1. Monitor students as they write notes about the text and then retell the text.

2. In a folder or notebook, jot down what you see each student doing.

3. Students should be taking notes as they read. Document students who are and are not using this monitor-reading strategy.



For students who struggle with this activity, model the strategy again and remind them that taking notes helps them understand and remember the text so they can retell it later.

Rapid readers can take turns with a partner retelling the facts of the chapter.

Introduction–Chapter 1 (continued)


Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions (continued)• Have students return to Chapter 1 and follow along as you

model how to draw a conclusion. Use the information on the graphic organizer on this page to conduct a think-aloud.

• Ask: What conclusion can I draw from what I read in Chapter 1 and what I know? One conclusion would be that humans will proba-bly never land on Venus. I’ll write this conclusion in the Conclusion box. How do I know this is a conclusion? The author provides several clues and facts that support this conclusion.

• Use the Clues/Facts column on the graphic organizer to explain your thinking.

Say: These clues and facts support my conclusion. I’ll write them in the Clues/Facts box.

• Say: I used what I read and what I know to draw a conclusion. This conclusion was not stated in the text, but it was based on the clues and facts I found in the text and on what I know.

• Tell students that they will practice drawing conclusions as they read the rest of the book.

Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions• Read aloud the sentence with the word meteors on page 4.

Explain that the author gives a direct definition to help the reader understand the meaning of the word.

Say: Look at the sentence after the sentence with the boldfaced word meteors. It says, “Meteors are chunks of rock or metal from space that eventually crash onto the surface of a planet.” The author gives us a direct definition of the word meteors in this sentence.

• Call students’ attention to the word flyby on page 7.

Say: The sentence after the sentence with the boldfaced word flyby begins with the words Flyby means. These clue words let us know that the sentence will define the word. It helps us figure out that a flyby mission is a mission in which a spacecraft flies close to a planet.

• Tell students that they will continue to use context clues to determine the meanings of unknown words as they read Mars and Venus: Space Exploration. This will help them understand the other new information in the book.

Reader Response

How does the surface of Venus com-pare to the surface of Earth? Describe the similarities or differences in the atmospheres of the two planets. Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

Humans will probably never land on Venus.

Page 5: Venus’s atmosphere made of deadly gases, incredibly hot temperatures on Venus’s surface : Venera 1 lostPage 7: Successful missions are usually flybys.Page 8: Venera 7 worked for 23 minutes.Page 9: Venera 9 melted after 53 minutes.

Chapter Conclusion Clues/Facts

1

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Retell• Remind students that they took notes on main ideas and on

questions they had as they read Chapter 1. Point out to them that writing about and retelling what they have read can help them understand and remember the facts.

• Turn to page 12. Read the page aloud.

Say: I read in the Introduction that space exploration of other planets has focused on Mars and Venus. This page explains why Mars is important to space exploration. Mars is the most like Earth. I’ll write a note about this fact, along with details about similarities.

On a self-stick note, write: “Mars is the planet most like Earth. It has clouds, fog, lava fields, canyons, mountains, sea-sons, and polar ice caps.” Place the self-stick note on the page.

• Explain that as students continue reading, they should use self-stick notes to make notes about Mars and the missions to this planet. They will be asked to retell the facts they find at the end of the chapter.

During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading • Have students finish reading Chapter 2 to find out what sci-

entists have learned from the missions to Mars. Encourage students to write main ideas and questions on self-stick notes or their journals as they read.

After Reading Discuss the Reading • Ask students to retell the chapter by sharing main ideas they

wrote about surface features of Mars. Have them share infor-mation about the rover missions to Mars.

• Have students share questions they noted as they read. Invite the class to answer the questions by recalling the text or looking up information in a reference book.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the ques-tions for Chapter 2 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.


Observe ELL students as they read the text. If they are not making notes of main ideas and questions, they may not be understanding the text. Ask them to share some of their notes so you can check their understanding.


For students who struggle with this strategy, model it again by retelling part of the text based on self-stick notes. Then have students read one page and note the main ideas they find on it. Have them share the main ideas they noted and explain how they identified them.

Rapid readers can make chronologi-cal notes on Mariner 4, Viking 2, Phobos 2, and Pathfinder. Encourage them to explain the differences among the missions in their own words.

Guide Strategies: Chapter 2

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Chapter 2 (continued)

Reader Response

Evidence of water on Mars causes scien-tists to believe there may have been life on the planet. If life did exist there, what do you think happened to it? Why aren’t there living beings on Mars now? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.


Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions• Review the first row of the “Draw Conclusions” graphic

organizer. Remind students that when they draw conclusions, they use what they know and what they read to figure out ideas that are not directly stated in the text.

• Have students reread Chapter 2. When they have finished, ask: What conclusion can we draw about Mars? (Possible answer: It is possible that Mars could support human life one day.)

What clues and facts can we find that support this conclusion? What do we know that supports this conclusion?

Use the information on the graphic organizer on this page.

• If students offer other possible conclusions from the chapter, write them on the board. Ask students what facts from the text and prior knowledge they used to draw these conclusions.

Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information: Graphs• Have students look at the graph on page 15. Explain that this is

a bar graph; it uses bars to show and compare data, such as the number of days in an Earth year and the number of days in a Mars year. Model how to read the bar graph.

• Say: The numbers along the bottom of the graph show the numbers of days in increments of 100. The labels on the left side of the graph show which bar represents which planet. The numbers on the bars show the number of days in each planet’s year. The caption explains what a year is. I combine all this information to find that it takes Earth 365 days to orbit the sun while it takes Mars 687 days to orbit the sun.

• Ask: Why do you think it takes Mars longer to orbit the sun? (Mars is farther from the sun than Earth, so Mars takes a lon-ger time to orbit the sun.)

It is possible that Mars could support human life one day.

Page 12: Mars has reasonable temperatures in some seasons, water locked in polar ice caps.Page 15: Viking 1 and 2 found microscopic life forms.Page 18: One rover mission found evidence Mars once had liquid water.


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Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Retell• Remind students that they have been writing notes about main

ideas in Mars and Venus: Space Exploration so they can retell them. They may also have written questions they had about the text. Point out that these notes can help them understand and remem-ber the facts. Then they can retell the facts they have learned.

• Read page 22 aloud while students follow along. Say: The main idea of the first paragraph is that exploration of

Venus continues today and is planned well into the future. I’m going to make a note about this main idea. The next paragraph explains the details of future explorations. Messenger will orbit Venus taking pictures and mapping the planet’s surface. Remember, I will use my notes to retell what I have read.

During ReadingSet a Purpose for Reading• Have students read the rest of the book silently. Remind them

to make notes about main ideas and their own questions as they read. Have them write their questions on self-stick notes or in their journals.

• Have students identify the space missions planned for the future and the conditions necessary for a colony on Mars.

After the ReadingDiscuss the Reading• Call on students to retell the facts in Chapter 3 by checking

the main ideas they wrote on their notes. Ask: How can studying the atmosphere of Venus help global

warming on Earth? (Venus has a thick layer of clouds and an atmosphere that consists mostly of carbon dioxide. Scientists can learn more about Earth’s rising temperatures by studying Venus.)

What would be necessary to establish a colony on Mars? (protection from radiation, oxygen to breathe, drinkable water, a way to grow food)

• Have students read the checkpoint on page 28. Explain that visualizing will help them better remember and understand what they read. Have students discuss their answers to the prompt with a partner.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapter 3 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Teaching Tips

After discussing the reading, have students remove self-stick notes from their books and place them in their journals on a page titled “Retell.” Use this page to review retelling throughout the year.

Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions• Review the graphic organizer that students have been complet-

ing. Explain that they will fill in the last row independently or in pairs. They are to draw a conclusion from Chapter 3 and write both the conclusion and the clues and facts that support it.

• Ask if students have any questions before they begin. Monitor their work and intervene if they are having difficulty. Discuss students’ responses together.

• For more practice with drawing conclusions, have students complete the blackline master “Draw Conclusions” on page 15.

Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions• Remind students that sometimes they can figure out the mean-

ings of unfamiliar words by reading other nearby words or sentences. Have students locate the term mobile scientific laboratories on page 24. Point out that the term is defined within the sentence. Tell them that the key word called indicates a direct definition. After reading this sentence, it is clear that the meaning of mobile scientific laboratories is “long-range rovers.”

• Ask students to find the word pressurized on page 27.

Say: The sentence after the sentence with the boldfaced word pressurized begins with the words Pressurized means. These words signal a direct definition. After reading this sentence and the next sentence, I know that pressurized means “sealed so that the air pressure inside is the same as the air pressure outside.”

• For additional practice, have students complete the blackline master on page 16.

Chapter 3–Conclusion (continued)



1. Watch students as they draw conclu-sions. Ask yourself: How have students progressed with this strategy? What problems are they still having?

2. Watch students as they complete the graphic organizer. Ask yourself: Who is still struggling with this strategy? How can I help them?

3. Jot down your thoughts in your fold-er or notebook. For students who struggle with drawing conclusions, review the strategy using the Comprehension Strategy Poster: Draw Conclusions.

Reader Response

Does the idea of living on another planet sound exciting or scary to you? Why do you feel that way? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

1. proposals suggested plans of action for projects

2. astrobiology the search for and study of living things in outer space

3. field located in the area being studied

4. gullies dry ditches or channels made by flowing water

5. sensors devices that react to and measure heat, light, pressure, and so on

Possible conclusion: Space exploration will continue into the future because there is much to be learned from other planets in the solar system.

Page 22: Missions to Venus and Mercury planned through 2009.Page 23: Venus Express will explore atmosphere of Venus to help scientists learn more about global warming.Page 24: Missions to Mars planned through 2011.Pages 26–27: Under special conditions, one day humans may live in colony on another planet.


Possible conclusions:1. Unlike Venus, Mercury does not have an atmosphere of thick gases to trap

heat. Mercury’s temperature range is much greater.

2. Scientists are most interested in exploring the planets closest to Earth, which share some similar qualities.

3. Mars receives the most attention because it is the planet closest to Earth and shares some qualities.

4. More planets will likely be discovered as methods and instruments improve.

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Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment• Have students take Ongoing Assessment #11 on pages 58–59 in

the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 6).

Compare and Contrast Information• Point out that the book describes different facts about Mars and

Venus. Students can compare and contrast to find out how the planets are alike and different.

• Draw a chart like the one shown below. Explain that when you are comparing and contrasting two things, you must first decide what features, qualities, or characteristics of the two things you will compare and contrast. The first column lists these features. Students are to fill in facts in the other two columns.

• Have students copy the graphic organizer and complete it using facts from the chapter book. Then have them use their charts to answer the following questions.

Ask: What is similar and different about the atmospheres of Mars and Venus? (Possible answer: Their compositions are different; Venus’s is made up of poisonous gases while Mars has a thin atmosphere. They are similar in that neither can support human life.)

Why is it that more rover missions have been sent to Mars than Venus? (Possible answer: It has been difficult to make a rover that can function in the high temperatures found on Venus.)

• Have students work in small groups and use their charts to compare and contrast the information about the two planets.



1. Score assessments and determine if more instruction is needed for this strategy.

2. Keep group assessments in a small-group reading folder.

3. Look closely at students’ responses. Ask yourself: Why might this student have answered the question in this manner? For in-depth analysis, dis-cuss responses with individual stu-dents.

4. If needed, reteach this strategy and administer Ongoing Assessment #12 on pages 60–61 in the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 6).

5. Use ongoing assessments to document growth over time, for parent/teacher conferences, or for your own records.

Work with students to complete the compare/contrast chart. For example, point to the topic Size. Have students find the graph on page 5 that gives information about the sizes of the planets. Finish filling in the first row. Continue until the chart is completed. Let volunteers read aloud the information about the planets.

Synthesize Information

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Size

Venus Mars

Atmosphere

Temperatures

Surface Features

Types of Missions

about the same size as Earth

made up of poison gases, mainly carbon dioxide, thick clouds

867°F (464°C)

rocky deserts, high moun-tains, towering volcanoes, craters

satellites, flyby, landing capsule, no manned missions planned

smaller than Venus

clouds, fog, atmosphere thinner than Earth, not much oxygen

60°F (15°C) in summer–225°F (–140°C) in winter

lava fields, canyons, mountains, volcanoes, polar ice caps, red soil

flyby, spacecraft, rovers

Write a Personal ResponseInvite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. The prompts below provide a variety of alternatives.

• What would you say to Galileo about space exploration? (text-to-self)

• How do space missions help bring the countries of the world together? (text-to-world)

• Compare this book about Mars and Venus to other books about planets you have read. (text-to-text)

• Do you think space exploration is worthy of the billions of dollars spent on it? Why or why not? (personal response)

• Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not? (evaluate)

• How can investigating conditions on other planets help us better understand conditions on Earth? (make connections)

• What did you learn about space missions from this book? (synthesize information)

• If you found any parts of this book difficult or confusing, what did you do to correct the situation? (self-monitor)

Write to a Text PromptUse the prompt below as a timed writing activity. Students have a maximum of one hour to draft, revise, and edit a response. Use the rubric provided in the sidebar to score students’ writing.

Write to a Picture PromptUse the following picture prompt to develop students’ visual writing abilities.

Reading/Writing Connections

Teaching Tips

Transfer personal response prompts to a piece of large chart paper and hang it in the room. Students can refer to the list throughout the year.

The prompt is well developed. There is strong evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is developed. There is adequate evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is somewhat devel-oped. There is minimal evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is weakly developed. There is little evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

Scoring Rubric

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How have the goals of space missions changed over time? Use information from the book to support your answer.

Look at the picture on pages 16 and 17. Imagine you are exploring this landscape. Tell about what you find. Use details from the picture to support your answer.


© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Directions: Use this sheet to talk about the book.

Word Study: Write words you did not know. Discuss the meanings with your group. Use the text to clarify the meanings.

Questions:Write two or three questions you had while reading this book. Discuss the questions and answers.

Make Connections:Write three connections you made with the text. Discuss them with your group.

Adapted from Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the Student-Centered Classroom, Harvey Daniels (Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 1994).

Rules for a Good Discussion:1. Be prepared.

2. Pay attention to the person who is talking and do not inter-rupt him or her.

3. Think about what others are saying so you can respond.

4. Use inside voices.

5. Let everyone in the group have a turn to speak.

6. Be respectful of everyone’s ideas.

Adapted from Guiding Readers and Writers

(Grades 3–6): Teaching Comprehension,

Genre, and Content Literacy, Irene C.

Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (Portsmouth,

NH: Heinemann Publishing Co., 2001).

Ways to Make ConnectionsText-to-Self: This reminds me of a time when I . . .

Text-to-World: What’s going on in this book is like what’s hap-pening right now in . . .

Text-to-Text: This book reminds me of another book I read called . . . . It was about . . .

Small-Group Discussion Guide


Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Draw Conclusions

Chapter

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Conclusion Clues/Facts


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Draw ConclusionsDirections: Read each passage. Answer the question at the end by drawing a conclusion from what you read and what you know.

1. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Like Venus, Mercury gets incredibly hot. The daytime temperature can reach 467° Celsius. At night, Mercury is frigid. The temperature can drop to –183° Celsius. What can you conclude about Mercury’s atmosphere compared to Venus’s?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

2. Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Earth are called terrestrial planets because they have solid surfaces. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are called gas giants. Planetary exploration has focused on Mars and Venus. What can you conclude about missions to other planets?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

3. Scientists have long been fascinated by Earth’s nearest neighbor, Mars, which shares some common qualities with Earth. Storytellers have made Mars the home of hostile aliens, a vanished civilization, and a space colony of the future. What can you conclude about the fascination with Mars?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

4. At one time, scientists thought the nine planets of our solar system were the only planets that existed. In 1991, the first planets outside our solar system were detected. Today, more than 100 planets have been found orbiting other stars. What can you conclude about the future of planetary discovery?

__________________________________________________________

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Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions

Directions: Read the passage. Look for direct definitions of the boldfaced words. Complete the exercise at the bottom of the page.

Future Missions to MarsWhen it comes to space exploration, NASA is always looking ahead. When

deciding which Mars projects to pursue, the agency first reviews proposals submitted by scientists. Proposals are suggested plans of action for projects.

One planned project is an astrobiology field laboratory. Astrobiology is the search for and study of living things in outer space. Field means located in the area being studied. This mission will look for evidence of past or present life on Mars. Special tools will search for mineral deposits and gullies. Gullies are dry ditches or channels made by flowing water.

Some scientists are working on the design of a small, less expensive lander. Like the rover, the lander is equipped with complex instruments that can collect samples. It will dig into the ground and scan the atmosphere with special sensors. Sensors are devices that react to and measure heat, light, pressure, and so on.

New and improved tools and spacecraft will help scientists continue to make exciting discoveries on each mission to Mars.

Directions: Write the definitions of the boldfaced words. Use the passage to help you.

1. proposals _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _2. astrobiology _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _3. field _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _4. gullies _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _5. sensors _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Level X/60 Mars and Venus: Space ExplorationMars and Venus are our two closest neighbors in space....

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Transcript of Level X/60 Mars and Venus: Space ExplorationMars and Venus are our two closest neighbors in space....