By The Way of The Moon

• Introduction
• Task
• Process
• Evaluation
• Conclusion
• Credits


• Teacher Page

by Sarah Roberts, Western New Mexico University

Overview: Students will analyze the space program in the 1960's in regard to its social, political, and economic effects. It will involve the language arts and science disciplines. It would be appropriate for middle school students but could be adapted for elementary or high school students It supports the South Carolina Curriculum Strands of comprehension, analysis, interpretation, research, and decision making

Introduction

Introduction

If you had the opportunity to travel to the moon, would you? This was "big" stuff in the 1960's. The space program had just gotten started and a new President, John F. Kennedy, had given a challenge to the people of the U.S. He said that we would have a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Was this a reality or just a dream of the youngest President of the U.S.? The Russians were ahead of the U.S. in the space program at this time. The pressure was on the President and the U.S. government to see that we excelled beyond all expectations. The program began in the early 1960's with unmanned space crafts photographing the moon's surface and its craters. The program continued to expand and in 1969 the first men landed on the moon. President Kennedy had been assassinated by this time, however his challenge had been fulfilled. Was the space program worth the cost?