Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets The 1960's

Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space The 1960's

---

Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space
Print Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

Print Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space Reading Comprehension

Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.12

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		reentry, test-pilot, historic, aircraft, russian, launched, take-off, atmosphere, newly, orbit, endure, capsule, satellite, bravery, education, extremely
	content words:		United States, Soviet Union, Yuri Gagarin, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, Soviet Air Force, Space Race, Air Force

---

Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space By Jane Runyon

---

¹     The race into space between the United States and the Soviet Union was in full swing in the early 1960s. Both countries had successfully launched artificial satellites into space. These satellites had orbited around the Earth. The Soviet Union had successfully launched a living being into space. It had put a dog named Laika into orbit around the Earth. The Sputnik satellite carrying Laika orbited the Earth for 163 days beginning in late 1957. Laika, however, died about a week into the trip. There was no known way of retrieving an orbital satellite at that time. It was not a surprise to the Soviets that she did not survive.
 
²     The next step in the quest to conquer space would be to put a human being into orbit. No one knew for sure what effect space travel would have on humans. Would weightlessness affect how the human brain worked? Would the pressure at take-off keep a man from being able to do the tasks that needed to be done? There were no volunteers in the Soviet Union who wanted to find out. None, that is, until Yuri Gagarin stepped up.
 
³     Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born to a collective farm carpenter and his wife. The farm was west of Moscow. Yuri had no desire to become a carpenter. He went to technical school and studied how to use metals. He decided to pursue a higher education by going to an industrial college. It was while he was in college that he developed a love of planes. He wanted to learn everything he could about flying. After college he joined the Soviet Air Force. He very quickly became the best pilot they had. He became a test-pilot. He loved flying newly invented aircraft to see if they would work.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Feedback on Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space

Leave your feedback on Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

The 1960's

The 1960's

---

United States

United States

American Government         Black History and Blacks in U.S. History         Children in History         Government Careers         Hispanic Heritage         How Can I Help?

Immigration         National Parks and Monuments         Native Americans         Presidents of the United States         Women's History

---

United States History

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)         A New Nation (1776-1830)         After the Civil War (1865-1870)         American Revolution         Cold War (1947-1991)         Colonial America (1492-1776)         Lewis and Clark (1804-1806)         Pearl Harbor         Spanish American War (1898)         The 1890's         The 1900's         The 1910's         The 1920's         The 1930's

The 1940's         The 1950's         The 1960's         The 1970's         The 1980's         The 1990's         The 2000's         The Civil War (1861-1865)         The Great Depression (1929-1945)         The United States Grows (1865-1900)         The War of 1812         Wild, Wild West         World War I (1914-1918)         World War II

---

50 States

Fifty States Theme Unit

---

Document Based Activities

Document Based Activities

Copyright © 2018 edHelper