TDS Lesson Plan

Teacher: Christopher Villafuerte

Title: The Great Space Race

Subject: US History

Grade Level: 11th grade

RULE §113.41 (2)(B) explain the significance of the following years as turning points: 1898
(Spanish-American War), 1914-1918 (World War I), 1929 (the Great Depression begins), 1939-
1945 (World War II), 1957 (Sputnik launch ignites U.S.-Soviet space race), 1968 (Martin Luther
TEKS: King Jr. assassination), 1969 (U.S. lands on the moon), 1991 (Cold War ends), 2001 (terrorist
attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon), and 2008 (election of first black
president, Barack Obama).

Students will explore the questions: What was the space race? Who won it? And why did it
Learning Objectives:
matter? Then they will connect the past to the current competition for space.

 Why was the Space Race important?

 How important is space exploration and development?
Essential Question(s):  Should nations fight for supremacy of space and other celestial bodies?
 How is the competition between Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX similar or
different from United States and the Soviet Union?
Sputnik, Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Program, Apollo 11, Yuri Gagarin, NASA, Alan Shepard,
Essential Vocabulary: John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins

 Space Race pop quiz

 PowerPoint,
 Kennedy Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RaRC6YuYCQ
 Apollo moon landing
Resources/Materials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjNClixr1s0
 Modern-day space race
https://youtu.be/U2vNidbb6M8?si=YjB4r_vP8T8zwkP6

Procedures:
Time: 5
Space Race pop quiz
minutes

Space Race PP lecture Time: 25

minutes

Time: 15
Students will answer questions that will be discussed in a group discussion to minutes
end class.
TDS Lesson Plan

Assessment: Exit Survey Time: 5

minutes