Lesson Plan - The Incredible True Story of Apollo 13

Build Background Knowledge

Before having students watch the video “The Race Into Space,” share this task: As you watch the video the first time, think about which events are most important. Then watch it a second time and take notes about three key events. Record the date and a brief description for each event. Discuss students’ responses.

Preview Vocabulary

Use Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms Soviet Union, satellite, Communism, democracy, republic, Cold War, initiative, and carbon dioxide. Have students refer to the Skill Builder as they read.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently. As students read, direct them to highlight or draw a star next to about five details that seem most important.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• How does the author begin the article? Why do you think she decided to start in the middle of the story? (Author’s Craft)
The author begins the article by describing the tense moment when an explosion occurred during the Apollo 13 mission on April 13, 1970. She might have decided to start in the middle of the story to grab readers’ attention with dramatic details and to create a feeling of suspense about what would happen next.

• What was the purpose of the Apollo 13 mission? (Key Details)
The purpose of the Apollo 13 mission was to land on the moon and explore a region of the lunar surface called Fra Mauro. NASA sent three astronauts on the mission and planned to have them collect dirt and rocks to bring back to Earth for scientists to study.

• Summarize the section “The Space Race.” (Summarizing)
The space race was a competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to be the first country to accomplish achievements in space exploration. This race was part of the Cold War, a larger global power struggle between the two countries. In 1957, the Soviet Union became the first nation to successfully launch a satellite into Earth’s orbit. One year later, the U.S. launched its own satellite and created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Apollo program began in 1961. Most astronauts completed their missions safely, but the entire Apollo 1 crew died in a launchpad fire in 1967.

• How did the Apollo 13 astronauts and engineers solve the problems they encountered? (Problem and Solution)
When Jack Swigert flipped the switch to turn on fans inside the spacecraft’s oxygen tanks, an explosion began to drain Odyssey’s power and caused oxygen to leak. The astronauts and engineers came up with a plan to use the lunar excursion module (LEM) as a lifeboat since it had its own supply of power, oxygen, and water. The astronauts turned off most systems to conserve power. They built a makeshift air filter, after the regular ones had stopped working, to protect the astronauts from breathing in toxic air. To solve the problem of drifting off course, the astronauts fired the engine in short bursts. After four days, they climbed back into the Odyssey module because it had a heat shield designed to survive the plunge through Earth’s atmosphere.

• How would you describe the mood or general feeling of the section “ ‘We’re Home’ ”? What details help create that mood? (Mood)
At the beginning of the section, the mood is tense. The author poses rhetorical questions to explain some of the issues that could prevent the astronauts from getting home safely. She uses dialogue and counts down the minutes of the communication blackout to build a feeling of suspense as the Mission Control team waited to hear whether the astronauts were alive.

• The deck below the story’s title calls Apollo 13 “one of the most successful failed space missions in history.” How was the mission successful even though it failed? (Central Ideas)
Apollo 13 was a “successful failed” mission because it failed to achieve its goal of landing on the moon and collecting samples. However, after the explosion, few people believed that the three astronauts on board would survive. A team of engineers worked together to solve multiple problems and help the crew return to Earth alive. Although the Apollo 13 mission failed, the astronauts survived what could have been a tragic catastrophe.

• Choose one of the images in the article to analyze. What does it show? What do you notice about it? How does it support the article? (Text Features)
Responses will vary.

Write for a Task, Purpose, and Audience

Use the Choice Board Skill Builder to have students choose from eight activities related to the article.

Analyze a Primary Source

Use the Skill Builder Primary Source: “We Choose to Go to the Moon” to have students read and analyze part of President John F. Kennedy’s famous 1962 speech. Guide them to answer the questions.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.