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Audrey and Apollo 11

By: Rebecca Rissman
Reading Level: 570L
Maturity Level: 12 and under

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LIFTOFF
Audrey hurried to her bedroom and opened the bookley. The text inside was dense and complicated, but she could make out little bits here and there. Then she saw something scrawled on the edges of the pages for the first day of the mission. It was her dad’s handwriting.

On one page, he had written: “Crew relaxed. Launch to proceed.” The next page read: “9:32 a.m.: Liftoff. All A-OK. Big smiles inside Mission Control.”

More notes followed. Audrey read about the weather, the rocket speed, and the conditions inside the capsule. Her dad’s notes were short but descriptive. It was almost as thought she were reading his diary entry for the day.

A few pages later, her father had scratched: “12:22 p.m.: TLI. Here we go!” Audrey knew that TLI stood for translunar injection. That was the moment when the spacecraft was fired out of Earth’s orbit and toward the Moon. The bottom of that page was stained and wrinkly. It looked like someone had spilled coffee on it. Audrey wondered if her dad had been so excited that he’d knocked his cup onto his flight plan. She chuckled thinking about it.

Comprehension Questions


1. What is Audrey reading?
A. her dad's diary
B. her dad's flight plan
C. the transcription of her dad's flight


2. How come Audrey infers her dad spilled his coffee?
A. The paper was brown and crinkled.
B. The page was hot.
C. He told her he spilled it.

Your Thoughts


3. Did you like this excerpt? Why or why not?




Vocabulary


4. List any vocabulary words below.




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