T- Minus: The Race to the Moon

Historical, Drama, Memorable, Iconic Imagery and Educational

T Minus The Race to the Moon by Jim Ottaviani and Illustrations by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon

Published by Aladdin

Copyright 2009

“Just as rocket science works from the ground up, Ottaviani tracks the history of man's first flight to the moon from its very inception. Starting with dreamers as far back as the 1880s and moving through the scientists and astronauts of later years, T-Minus is a fictionalized graphic-format examination of the race for the moon. It is loaded with historical and technical information, but effective as both a human drama and a recollection of a bygone era, when everybody from children listening to Sputnik's signal on the radio to President Kennedy himself were caught up in space-age wonderment.” -Booklist

This book written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon is a black and white graphic novel that will have the children turning the pages vigorously. The format of this book is a creative fun way for children to read. What happens when you take two global superpowers, dozens of daring pilots, thousands of engineers and scientist, and then point them at the night sky and say, “Go”? The answer is a space race! When the first man was sent to the moon, the whole world watched a countdown but this book tells the story about how they made it happen, who made it happen and the behind scenes look into sending someone to space. This space race is between the United States and Russia and it shows the effort of both countries to be the first country to send a man to the moon. It will captivate a reader by allowing them to follow along through the eyes of the people who were behind the scenes that made this miracle happen.

Description: Historical Fiction, Graphic Novel

Suggested Delivery: Small Group Read

Reading Level: Lexile Framework- 530L

Electronic Resources:

The Moon Landing

This website is a great site for children to look further into the first moon landing. They will be able to read about the Apollo 11 Crew, the launch, the moon landing etc. This will be a great site to use before reading this graphic novel.

History for Kids

This website also gives a brief summary about the Moon Landing in 1969. The site also features a poem that will help children learn about the moon landing in a fun way. The site also provides many facts about the moon landing that the children can read after reading this graphic novel.

Key Vocabulary: Satellites, International, Frequency, Surprise, Cockpit, NASA, and Deployed.

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Use this text for a social studies lesson to teach children about the first man to land on the moon.

2. Use this text for a science lesson when teaching students about the moon.

3. Use this text and have students research historical astronauts.

Comprehension Strategies:

Pre-reading- Before reading, have the students build on what they already know. You can do this by asking the students questions to what they already know regarding the reading selection. Expand on the vocabulary and information before reading to activate their prior knowledge.

During Reading- Provide the students with sticky notes to use when reading the selection and have them write their thoughts, notes and questions they have while reading.  

Post- Reading- Have each student write down his or her thoughts about a subject in the book. Then have the student’s pair up and share their ideas. Then each pair will share their thoughts with the whole class. This will help the whole class interact and the teacher can make sure that each student comprehended the text.

Writing Activity- Have each student pick an event that they accomplished in their life. The students will then have to determine who helped make it happen and the details about what happened. For example, a student can write about getting a good grade. Then they will have to describe why they got that good grade and if anyone helped in the process. You can provide the students will the questions you want them to answer.

1.    What was an event that happened in your life?

2.    What were the details about that event?

3.    Did anyone help make that event happen? (Explain how)

Ottaviani, Jim, Zander Cannon, and Kevin Cannon. T-minus: the race to the moon. New York: Aladdin, 2009. Print.