#10 Comparing Themes and Texts

Read the excerpt from Moon Mission.

People first set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped from the Apollo 11 spacecraft and planted an American flag on the moon’s rocky surface. Six NASA lunar missions followed over the next few years, and 10 more astronauts walked the lunar surface. Then the United States government stopped funding such missions. NASA hasn’t sent a crew to the moon since 1972.

Which central idea is best supported by the excerpt details?

• The United States government was afraid to try to send people into space.

• NASA determined it was less expensive to send satellites to the moon instead of people.

• Lunar missions were strong for a few years until NASA ran out of money to support them.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

Read the excerpt from the passage Moon Mission.

NASA sees Gateway as a base for staging missions beyond the moon. What’s the next stop? Mars. The space agency plans to build a special craft for the trip. The Deep Space Transport will carry astronauts from Gateway to the Red Planet and back. This will reduce the enormous cost of shuttling supplies for a Mars mission all the way from Earth. The Mars transport could even expand its size by attaching one of Gateway’s habitat modules.

Which statement is a central idea supported by the details in the excerpt?

• Gateway was designed to conduct an exploration of Mars.

• The trip to Mars for exploration is extremely expensive.

• Gateway is only the beginning of NASA’s space exploration plans.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

Read the excerpt from the passage Moon Mission.

The U.S. Congress will have to get on board too. It’s up to them to provide the money to build Gateway. When President John F. Kennedy encouraged Americans to support the space program in 1962, he said in a speech, "We choose to go to the moon.” The most powerful word in that line was choose. We chose then. We can choose again. It’s entirely up to us.

Which central idea is supported by the details in the excerpt?

• It is up to Americans to make the decision to continue space missions.

• Presidents often talk about space exploration in their speeches.

• The US Congress is in control of all funding from the government.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

Read the excerpt from the passage Moon Mission.

Gateway will be smaller than the International Space Station. The ISS is made up of 15 modules, or interlocking parts. Gateway will have five modules. One or two of them, each about the size of a school bus, will house astronauts. Another module will provide solar electric power, for propulsion. Others will serve as an air lock for spacewalking astronauts and a docking port for vehicles. Astronauts will travel to the moon’s surface and back in a smaller, reusable craft.

The details from the excerpt support which central idea?

• The space station is larger than two school buses.

• Astronauts can live in space for long periods of time.

• Gateway will be built differently than the International Space Station.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

Read the excerpt from Moon Mission.

In the next few years, NASA plans to use unmanned rockets to send parts for Gateway into lunar orbit. "We're working to have astronauts on the moon by the mid-2020s," says Bill Gerstenmaier. He is NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations.

The details in the excerpt support the central idea that

• NASA is continuing to prepare for moon exploration.

• Gateway has multiple parts that need to be fixed.

• many people work for NASA to assist with space exploration.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.1

Which statement is true about the theme of a text?

• Each theme is specific to only one text.

• The theme of a text is not stated directly.

• The theme is repeated numerous times in a text.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Which statement gives the best strategy for determining theme?

• Look for important facts in a text.

• Connect ideas in the text to your own experiences.

• Summarize or retell the story using the most important key events.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Read the excerpt from Laika.

What theme do the details in the excerpt best support?

• Not all dogs are working dogs.

• The success of a team relies on the participation of its players.

• Some people are not fully capable of completing certain tasks.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

The theme of a passage can be thought of as a

• topic.

• detail.

• message.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

The theme of a text is best stated using a

• word.

• phrase.

• sentence.

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CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.9