Text Type: Nonfiction/Biography
Page Count: 24
Word Count: 1,626 

Book Summary
Joe Kittinger is a man of extraordinary courage who made important contributions to the field of space exploration. Students will learn about Kittinger's work with high-altitude balloons and incredible acts of bravery that benefited both pilots and astronauts. Photographs support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Ask and answer questions

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of asking and answering questions to understand text
• Sequence events of a person's life
• Understand and use hyphenated compound adjectives
• Fluently read numbers within the text

Materials

• Book -- Joe Kittinger: An Unsung Hero (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• KWLS, vocabulary, sequence events, compound adjectives worksheets

   Indicates an opportunity for student to mark in the book. (All activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are reusable.)

Vocabulary

• Content words: accelerated, aeronautics, altitude, cosmonaut, elongated, fatal, gondola, hostile, invaluable, obsessed, solitary confinement, stratosphere

Build Background

• Write the word hero on the board. Ask students to share what they know about the meaning of the word and what they think the characteristics of a hero are.
• Write the name Joe Kittinger on the board. Invite students to share what they know about this person. Explain that Joe Kittinger is considered a hero in the field of space exploration.
• Create a KWLS chart on the board and hand out the KWLS worksheet. Review or explain that the K stands for knowledge we know, the W stands for information we want to know, the L stands for the knowledge we learned, and the S stands for what we still want to know about the topic. As various topics are discussed, fill in the first column (K) on the board with information students know about Joe Kittinger and space exploration. Have students complete the same section of their KWLS worksheet.
• Ask students what they would like to know about Joe Kittinger. Have them fill in the second column (W) of their worksheet. Write their questions on the class chart.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students their copy of the book. Guide them to the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers. Encourage them to offer ideas as to what type of book it is and what it might be about.
• Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name.)

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Discuss how having prior knowledge about the topic, and asking and answering questions while reading, can help readers understand and remember the information in a book.
• Direct students to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of the information in a book and how it is organized. After previewing the table of contents, use it to model asking questions.
• Think-aloud: I can use the table of contents to think of questions I would like to have answered about Joe Kittinger. For example, the third section is titled "Joe Sets Another Record." The word Another leads me to believe that Joe set more than one record. I wonder what types of records he set. I can tell by the use of the word set in the sentence that the word record does not mean a disk on which music is copied or to copy someone's voice. I wonder how old he was when he set them. I'll have to read the book to find out. I'll write these questions on the chart.
• Have students look at the other section titles. Have them write any questions they have based on the covers and table of contents in the W column of their KWLS worksheet.
• Have students preview the rest of the book, looking at photographs and captions. Show students the glossary and index. Have them add any additional questions they might have on their KWLS worksheet. Invite students to share their questions aloud. Write shared questions on the class chart.
• As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Sequence events

• Review or explain that biographies are stories about the events of a person's life. These events are generally told in order from beginning to end.
• Model sequencing major events in your life. Write key words about each event in order on the board as you describe them to students.
  Think-aloud: If I want someone to be able to tell the story of my life, certain events need to be included in order to tell the story correctly. The first event that happened is that I was born. The next important event was that I started school. Then, I learned how to drive a car. After that, I graduated from high school. [Continue telling events as applicable to your life.] I will write these events on the board in order.
• Explain that certain words are often used to explain a sequence of events. Read in order the list of events on the board to students, using words such as first, next, then, and last. Ask students to identify these types of sequencing words from the example.
• Have a volunteer use the key words on the board to sequence the events of your life out of order. Ask students to explain why the order of the events is important (the sequence does not make sense out of order).
• Point out to students that the sequence of events listed on the board shows only the events that were most important and/or most memorable in your life. It does not include all the details of a retelling.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• As students preview the book, ask them to talk about what they see in the photographs. Reinforce the vocabulary words they will encounter in the text.
• Write the following content vocabulary words on the board: aeronautics, altitude, and stratosphere.
• Explain to students that most of the time, good readers use context clues to help figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word in the text. However, sometimes they will not find enough context clues to clearly define the unfamiliar word. Model how students can use the glossary or a dictionary to locate a word's meaning. Have a volunteer read the definition for aeronautics in the glossary. Have students follow along on page 19 as you read the sentence in which the word aeronautics is found to confirm the meaning of the word.
• Have students locate each of the remaining content vocabulary words in the glossary. Read and discuss their definitions as a class.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the vocabulary worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.
• For tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students think about what they already know about Joe Kittinger and space exploration as they read the book to find answers to their questions, and to write what they learned in the L column of their KWLS worksheet. Remind students to also think about the events of Joe's life as they read.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 13. Remind them to look for information about Joe Kittinger that will answer questions on their KWLS worksheet. Encourage students who finish early to go back and reread.
• When students have finished reading, have them circle any questions on their KWLS worksheet that were answered. Ask students to write answers for the questions they circled in the L column on their KWLS worksheet and additional questions they raised in the W column.
• Model answering a question and filling in the third column (L) on the KWLS chart.
  Think-aloud: I wanted to know what types of records Joe Kittinger set and when he set them. So far, I learned about some of the amazing feats he accomplished. For example, he made a balloon flight three times higher than passenger jets fly. It seems as though he was the first person to accomplish this. Although it didn't directly say so in the text, I can infer that he set a record with this feat. With all of these incredible feats, I wonder whether Joe was ever hurt. I will write this question on my chart.
• Invite students to share the information they learned and the questions they generated as they read the book. Record shared responses on the class KWLS chart.
• Write the following events on the board: made balloon flight into the stratosphere; was aloft for almost seven hours; rode in a balloon higher than passenger jets and fell back to Earth; carried oxygen with him; wore a pressurized suit.
• Discuss and circle the events that are most important to correctly tell the story. (Joe made a balloon flight into the stratosphere; he rode in a balloon higher than passenger jets and fell back to Earth.) Point out that the other information is details that make the events interesting.
• Introduce and explain the sequence events worksheet. Have students write the events in order on their worksheet. Invite them to identify the dates when the events happened.
• Check for understanding: Have students read pages 14 through 18. When they have finished reading, have them circle any questions on their KWLS worksheet that were answered. Ask students to write answers for the questions they circled in the L column on their KWLS worksheet and additional questions they raised in the W column.
• Ask students to write additional important events in Joe Kittinger's life in order on their sequence events worksheet. Discuss the important events as a class and write them on the board in order. (Joe was born in 1928 in Tampa, Florida; at age 17, he flew his first solo flight; he joined the U. S. Air Force after two years of college; he began piloting balloons in 1955.) Allow students to make corrections to their worksheet.
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for and write answers to their KWLS worksheet questions. Encourage them to add new questions they might have to their worksheet as they read.

    Have students make a question mark in their book beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. Encourage them to use the strategies they have learned to read the word and figure out its meaning.

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

• Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their book. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
• Think-aloud: I wanted to know whether Joe ever got hurt while accomplishing his record-setting feats. I learned that in one of Joe's earlier jumps, the cord from the parachute wrapped around his neck, causing him to lose consciousness. He was able to safely float down to Earth when his safety chute opened.
• Ask students to share questions they added to their KWLS worksheet while reading, and ask them what questions were answered (or not answered) in the text.
• Reinforce that asking questions before and during reading, and looking for the answers while reading, keeps readers interested in the topic. It also encourages them to keep reading to find answers to their questions and helps them understand and enjoy what they read.
• Point out to students that all of their questions may not have been answered in this text. Brainstorm other sources they might use to locate additional information to answer their questions. Invite students to fill in the final column (S) of their worksheet with information they would still like to know about Joe Kittinger.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Review with students the sequence of events on their worksheet using sequencing words (first, next, then, after that, and so on). Point out how they used their own words to write each event.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the sequence events worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers aloud.
• Enduring understanding: In this book, you learned about a man who went against incredible odds to successfully achieve goals and help others. Now that you know this information, what things did Joe do to help him achieve success that you can do to successfully achieve a personal goal?

Grammar and Mechanics: Hyphenated compound adjectives

• Write the following sentence on the board: They flew in a small airplane. Have a volunteer come to the board and circle the adjective in the sentence (small). Then have him or her underline the noun that the adjective describes (airplane). Review or explain that adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns and tell which one, how many, or what kind.
• Write the following sentence on the board: Joe Kittinger flew high-altitude balloons. Underline the word balloons. Have a volunteer come to the board and circle the word that describes the balloons (high-altitude). Explain that this word is an example of a hyphenated compound adjective. The short line in between the words is a hyphen. Point out that each part of a hyphenated compound adjective alone does not accurately describe the noun. For exmple, the words high balloon or altitude balloon do not accurately describe the noun.

    Check for understanding: Ask students to identify and circle the hyphenated compound adjectives in the book. Have them underline the noun each adjective describes. When students have finished, discuss their answers.

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the compound adjectives worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.

Word Work: Numbers within text

• Direct students to page 6. Point out that when reading aloud, readers will sometimes encounter different symbols, numbers, and abbreviations within the text. Good readers read these parts of the text fluently, just as they read the words.
• Ask students to locate numbers within the text on page 6 (1957; 29,000; 96,000; 1960; 31,333; 102,800; 9,144; 30,000). Write the numbers on the board and read them aloud with students. Review or explain that when reading the sentences aloud, the numbers are read in the same manner as the words. Explain that sometimes they will find numbers spelled out, such as seven. At other times, they will find numbers written as numerals instead of with letters.
• Point out that two of the numbers on page 6 are dates (1957, 1960), which are read differently from the four-digit number (read, for example, nineteen fifty-seven, not one thousand nine hundred fifty-seven). Explain that good readers look for context clues to know whether a four-digit number should be read as a date. Write the corresponding words on the board under each number.
• Have students turn to page 9. Have them locate the numbers within the text (31,333; 102,800; 32; 20; 9.5; 48; 6; 30; -68; -90). Next to the numbers, have students write the word equivalents.
• Check for understanding: Have students turn to pages 11 and 12, and practice reading aloud the numbers within text fluently to a partner. When everyone has read the pages aloud, ask volunteers to write each number and the word(s) for each number on the board.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently. Additionally, partners can take turns reading parts of the book to each other.

Home Connection

• Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have students share their KWLS worksheet with someone at home, explaining how it works and what they learned.

Math Connection
Have students complete the Math Minute activity on page 11 on a separate piece of paper. When students have finished, have them discuss their answers.

Assessment