The Space Race was always so fascinating to me. It is one of few topics that truly combines subjects. In this case, science and history collide. This was a niche within our astronomy unit that the students always enjoyed. I have not personally taught this unit yet to my children, but I look forward to reading the articles with them and having enlightening discussions about the war between great minds that longed to race to space.
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The Space Race Article was written by the editors at History.com. You can link to the article here where you will also find video clips and photos. For those of you wanting a hard copy, I copied the article to a PDF. There you will also find 9 Comprehension/Discussion questions which are likely to spark an intellectual conversation about what was going on in history and science at that time.
Man on the Moon: Kennedy speech ignited the dream highlights key dialogue spoken by Kennedy during a speech that fueled support for space exploration. CNN reporter, Richard Stenger, is the author of the article. I found this article years ago and saved it. Even though I made some attempts to find it online, I am unable to at this time. The article provides some historical reference for the time period. There are 4 comprehension questions that could serve as independent work for your student or fuel a discussion. This is an appropriate addition to any Space Race Unit.
The Space Exploration Timeline allows your student to compare and contrast the United States and Soviet Union in terms of accomplishments during the space race. It focuses on the years 1957-1969. To create a hands-on activity, cut sections of the timeline horizontally to separate the years. There is adequate space for you to cut them and to give space for your student to then tape them back together creating a long timeline that hangs down.
This slideshow leads students into a Space Patch Project. The guidelines for the project include creating and designing a patch. On the back of the patch, the students are required to write at least 5 sentences explaining their design and how it represents their country and mission.
Apollo 13 is an awesome dramatic movie depicting the events that took place during the Apollo 13 mission to the moon. In the end, the mission was considered a successful failure. For years, my students watched this film while answering key questions about the Space Race and important facts in regards to the Apollo mission.
I would suggest watching it over the course of 2-3 days. It is a long movie, but when cut into smaller pieces is completely doable for middle school or high school students.
The Apollo 13 movie questions are an effective way to take advantage of the educational value of the movie. It also encourages listening and comprehension skills. These notes help students to pay attention and focus on the content. Help the students to read through the questions prior to the movie so that they will be better equipped to hear the answers. Be aware of the opening scene… there is a verbal sexual reference with Kevin Bacon talking to a woman during the party scene. You can fast-forward over it pretty easily. Other than that, I can’t remember anything else to warn you about. The movie is worth watching! Check out the Apollo 13 Movie Questions to download.
The Space Race video clip is less than 5 minutes long. So, if you are looking for a visual that hits only the high points, then this may be it. For me, I would suggest watching this video clip towards the beginning of your study and then the documentary throughout your study.
This documentary is an entertaining and educational one to watch over a couple of days. It may not be for the younger crowd, but your middle school students will definitely get into it if they are science minded. Visually appealing and real… great footage. I enjoyed watching this one.
Looking for a more permanent science curriculum? Even though we pursue various science units that encompass labs and such, we also use a science textbook each year. Some might say that our science units supplement our textbook, while others would say the opposite to be true. The labs, experiments, graphic organizers, videos, and other activities bring the textbook information to life.
We use Abeka Science textbooks. I love that they incorporate God and His sovereignty into their curriculum. When I taught in the public school system, I noticed that many of my students were lacking in vocabulary. This made it difficult for them to understand the why behind many of our investigations. Unfortunately, they were deficient in their background knowledge. Our science time would be lacking too if it weren’t for the rich vocabulary and science language that we find in our science textbook and readers. If you are interested in shopping for a full-time science curriculum or even just a textbook to guide you, click on the following link! Happy homeschooling!
“The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord‘s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.” Psalms 115:16
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