Historic Events

Apollo 11
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. What do you know about the moon landing?

2. Which activities would be difficult in zero gravity?

3. Would you like to travel to space? Why or why not?

4. What is a conspiracy theory?

Can you think of any examples?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match up as many words and meanings as you can.

Check this exercise again after seeing the words in context on page 2.

1. former a)  a person who travels in space

2. objective b)  to set in motion

3. launch c)  a Christian ceremony

4. estimated d)  a circular movement around something

5. orbit e)  a metal award given for a specific achievement

6. astronaut f)  a secret plan by a group to do something harmful

7. tranquility g)  a goal

8. communion h)  an imitated situation used for practice

9. disembark i)  a feeling of calmness or peace

10. simulation j)  previous

11. medal k)  to leave a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle

12. conspiracy l)  approximate, not exact

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H I N T / V E R S I O N 1.1) 1
 Apollo 11
Historic Events

Reading
1. The Apollo 11 mission, often referred to as “the moon landing,”
is considered one of the most important historical events in the
history of humanity. Former US president John F. Kennedy's long-held
objective of sending a man to the moon was fulfilled with this mission.
The actual moon landing occurred on July 20, 1969, and was watched
on television by 650 million people. This event marked the climax of
the “Space Race” between the US and the USSR.

2. The mission involved three men: Neil Armstrong, commander; Buzz “That’s one small step
Aldrin, lunar module pilot; and Michael Collins, command module pilot.
Collins, however, never set foot on the moon because he was required
for a man, one giant
to be inside the spacecraft at all times. leap for mankind.”
3. The spacecraft was launched by a rocket from the Kennedy Space —Neil Armstrong
Center in Florida on July 16. An estimated one million people
watched the launch from the highways and beaches in the area,
and there were 3,500 media representatives present. It took 12
minutes for the spacecraft to enter Earth’s orbit.

4. Three days later, the spacecraft entered the lunar orbit and the
astronauts could see their landing site, known as the “Sea of
Tranquility.” They chose to land on this particular spot because
the ground was flat and smooth. Once the spacecraft had landed,
Buzz Aldrin, who was very religious, privately took communion
inside the Apollo.

5. Preparations to disembark from the spacecraft took three and a half

hours. Once the two astronauts exited the Apollo, they collected dust
samples. After taking his first steps, Armstrong said that walking on
the moon was easier than the preparatory simulations had been,
even though the moon had only one-sixth of Earth's gravity. The
astronauts then planted the American flag on the moon's surface.
President Richard Nixon called the astronauts to congratulate them.

6. When the astronauts returned to Earth, parades in New York and

Chicago were held in their honor. They even received special medals
from the president. Most people considered the successful mission
to be a major accomplishment for the United States and for the world.
However, there are still some conspiracy theorists who believe the
moon landing was faked by Hollywood directors in order to make
America look more impressive.

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H I N T / V E R S I O N 1.1) 2
 Apollo 11
Historic Events

Comprehension
A. True or False?

Read the statements below. Write T if the statement is true.

Write F if the statement is false and correct the information
in your notebook.

1. John F. Kennedy was the US president at the time of the moon landing.

2. The Space Race peaked with the Apollo 11 mission.

3. Collins never set foot on the moon because he was afraid.

4. Aldrin performed a religious ceremony in the spacecraft.

5. Nixon called the astronauts while they were still in space.

B. Timeline

Place the following events in chronological order (1–7). One item is not
mentioned in the reading. Place a star beside it and guess where it belongs.

Armstrong and Aldrin took their first steps on the moon.

Buzz Aldrin took communion inside the Apollo.

The Space Race between the US and the USSR began.

President Nixon called the astronauts to congratulate them.

The astronauts collected dust samples.

It took 12 minutes for the Apollo 11 spacecraft to enter Earth’s orbit.

An estimated six million people attended the celebration parades for the astronauts.

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H I N T / V E R S I O N 1.1) 3
 Apollo 11
Historic Events

Vocabulary Review
A. Complete the Sentences

Complete the sentences using vocabulary from page 1.

You may have to change the form.

1. The ship could not leave the arrival port until all the passengers had              .

2. The planets in our solar system all               the sun.

3. Tasha               the number of guests that would attend the event, but he was wrong.
As a result, there weren’t enough chairs.

4. W
 hen he was little, Andrew wanted to be an               because he enjoyed
reading about space.

5. The               ceremony consists of eating a wafer and drinking some wine.

6. S
 ome people believe in the               theory that the government
is hiding aliens somewhere in the White House.

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H I N T / V E R S I O N 1.1) 4
 Apollo 11
Historic Events

Vocabulary Review cont.

B. Choose the Correct Word

Choose the word or phrase with the closest meaning to

the underlined word or phrase in the following sentences.

1. The former boss would never 4. Buddhists meditate in order 7. When the soldiers launched
have allowed you to wear that to achieve tranquility. the missiles for the first time,
outfit to work! they hoped they would hit
a) calmness
their target.
a) young b) flexibility
b) previous c) cramps a) retrieved
c) strict b) turned off
5. As soon as we disembarked from c) sent off
2. My objective was to teach you the airplane, we began to sweat
some important life lessons, from the tropical heat. 8. The gymnast won a bronze
and I think I achieved it. medal at the Olympics. He was
a) got onto
disappointed, but his mother
a) fear b) got under
was still proud.
b) secret c) got off
c) goal a) punishment
6. When she was training to be b) prize
3. The prom queen has a a pilot, Sonia loved practicing c) bracelet
whole crowd of people who flying by doing flight simulations.
constantly orbit around her. 9. Because of global warming,
a) imitations
NASA scientists estimate
a) dance b) calculations
that temperatures will rise
b) circle c) vacations
2.5 degrees in the next decade.
c) complain
a) forgot
b) guess
c) plan

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H I N T / V E R S I O N 1.1) 5
 Apollo 11
Historic Events

Grammar Review
THE PAST PERFECT

A. Introduction

The past perfect is used for two actions that occurred at different times
in the past. In a past perfect sentence, the first past action (further in the
past) uses the past perfect, and the second past action (more recent) uses
the simple past.

Past Perfect

3:17 pm 5:00 pm
• Apollo 11 had landed by the
1 2 time I turned on the news.
Diagram
• By the time I turned on the
Apollo 11 I turned on
news, Apollo 11 had landed.
landed. the news.

Form had + past participle

Function one past action happened before another past action

• by the time (Note that other time markers such as yesterday, last, ago,
Time
• when already, just, still, and yet are often additionally used.)
Markers
• before

• The Cold War had begun many years before the Space Race
reached its climax.

Examples • By the time the spacecraft launched, thousands of journalists

had arrived at the space station.

• The astronauts had already planted the flag when the president called.

B. Comprehension

In the example sentences in the chart above, underline the verbs in the
past perfect tense and draw a circle around the verbs in the simple past.

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H I N T / V E R S I O N 1.1) 6
 Apollo 11
Historic Events

Grammar Review cont.

C. Practice

Now consider the following chronological list of activities from

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s trip to the moon on July 20, 1969.

A Day on the Moon

• The lunar module, known as the Eagle, landed on the moon.
• Next, the astronauts inspected the impact of the
lunar module on the moon’s surface.
• Aldrin then tested the gravity level by walking around
while Armstrong set up TV cameras.
• After that, the astronauts planted the American flag
on the lunar surface.
• Finally, Armstrong spoke to President Nixon on the phone.

Which of the following sentences are true based on the information in the box?
If the statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is false, write F.

1. The Eagle had already landed when the astronauts tested its impact on the lunar surface.

2. Armstrong had spoken to President Nixon by the time Aldrin began testing the gravity level.

3. Armstrong was ready to talk to Nixon on the phone after he’d planted the flag.

4. Armstrong had already set up the TV cameras when he and Aldrin inspected the impact of the Eagle.

Discussion Research
1. Why do you think the moon landing Do some research about NASA's Artemis program
was important to a lot of people? and share your findings with your class.

2. How do conspiracy theorists spread their ideas?

3. Why do you think it has been so long since

the last human lunar landing?

4. Do you think humans will walk on the

moon again soon?

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H I N T / V E R S I O N 1.1) 7
 Apollo 11
Historic Events

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: High Int

In this lesson, students read about the Apollo 11 mission, TIME: 1.5–2 hours
also known as the moon landing. They learn and practice
TAGS: A pollo 11, moon landing, US, science,
new vocabulary, learn about the past perfect, and discuss
history, NASA, space travel
the implications of space travel.

Pre-Reading Comprehension

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS A. TRUE OR FALSE?

Look at the picture and discuss the questions as a class. 1. F – Richard Nixon was the US president
Answers will vary. at the time of the moon landing.
2. T
B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW 3. F – Collins never set foot on the moon because
he was required to be inside the spacecraft.
1. j 3. b 5. d 7. i 9. k 11. e
4. T
2. g 4. l 6. a 8. c 10. h 12. f
5. T

Reading B. TIMELINE

4 Armstrong and Aldrin took their first steps on the moon.

Read as a class, in groups, in pairs, or individually.
3 Buzz Aldrin took communion inside the Apollo.
Discuss the quote.
1 The Space Race between the US and the USSR began.
6 President Nixon called the astronauts to congratulate them.
5 The astronauts collected dust samples.
2 It took 12 minutes for the Apollo 11
spacecraft to enter Earth’s orbit.
7* An estimated six million people attended the celebration
parades for the astronauts.

(continued on the next page...)

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H I N T / V E R S I O N 1.1) 8
 Apollo 11
Historic Events

Answer Key cont.

Vocabulary Review SPELLING NOTE:

This lesson shows the American spelling of the words Honor and
A. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES Practice. Most other English-speaking countries spell these words

1. disembarked 4. astronaut this way: Honour and Practise (when used as a verb; Practice

2. orbit 5. communion when used as a noun). Make it a challenge for your students

3. estimated 6. conspiracy to find these words in the lesson and see if they know the
alternate spellings
B. CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD

1. b 3. b 5. c 7. c 9. b
2. c 4. a 6. a 8. b

Grammar Review

B. COMPREHENSION

1. The Cold War had begun many years before the Space Race
reached its climax.
2. By the time the spacecraft launched, thousands of journalists
had arrived at the space station.
3. The astronauts had already planted the flag when the
president called.

C. PR ACTICE

4. T
5. F
6. T
7. F

Discussion

Answers will vary,

Research

Optional task. Answers will vary,

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H I N T / V E R S I O N 1.1) 9