Fly Me to the Moon

Photo credit: NASA

FINAL MISSION: Forty years ago today, the enormous (363-foot high!) Apollo 17 roared sky- and spaceward from Pad A, Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center. Apollo 17 was the final lunar landing mission. 

It was a nighttime launch (12:33 a.m.), and the fire in the sky show was spectacular! On board were astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, commander; astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot; and scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot.

There's a great video of the Apollo 17 lift off on YouTube featuring network TV and NASA footage. Watching the behemoth Saturn V clear the pad is SO different than space shuttle launches. You can (and should!) view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmwc8E9fCLI&feature=youtu.be
The best part is when you can hear the crew chatter as they're climbing.  

Last December, we had a chance to visit the San Diego Air and Space Museum, which was featuring a special NASA exhibit at the time. On one of its walls was this quote from Cernan, the last words ever spoken on the moon. ... 

Forty freaking years it has been. And now we can't even launch our own astronauts to the International Space Station in low earth orbit. Ugh. 

REPORTERS: In an ongoing effort to get the kids writing more frequently and in a more structured manner, I asked them to write a report, Annabelle was assigned Cuba and CJ was assigned Puerto Rico. 

First, we talked about elements one would expect to see in a report, such as a little history about the place, something about its geography/location, something about the government, and something(s) about the people (languages spoken, customs, food, etc.). I asked them to write a paragraph about each of the elements listed above, and I also told them a good reporter never uses just one source, and so they could not just use Wikipedia. 

I was working around the house as they worked on their computers. I was impressed when Annabelle pumped out a fact filled report post haste.   CJ took longer to write his. They each emailed me their 'final' reports, and later that afternoon, I read each of them and proceeded to freak out. 

First, Annabelle and I had a discussion about plagiarism. ... I asked her if she had just copied and pasted sections from Wikipedia into her report. She said she had, and seemed genuinely surprised that that was a bad thing. I think she thought she was just being efficient. She was mortified when I told her in the Real World the consequences of doing that can be devastating. So, we went over how to read, glean facts, and then include them in your own writing without straight up copying it. 

Then, turning my attention to CJ's report ... well, it was just crappy. He touched on half the elements he was supposed to, and what he did write was lame sauce. And so, I rejected his report, as well. 

Their second versions were markedly improved, though we've still got a long ways to go.  Interesting factoid we all learned yesterday. Check out the flags from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Do you know which is which?