Reading Comprehension - Eugene Gene Cernan: The Last Man on the Moon

January 2017

Everyone knows that Neil Armstrong was the first man on the Moon, but few people know the name of the last.

In January 2017, Eugene Cernan passed away. He was the last man to set foot on the surface of the Moon in the final Apollo mission, 1972.

In this comprehension, your students will learn about the life and of this US hero. They will answer questions on a timeline; look through facts, stats and records from his remarkable career; and read tributes paid to him.

Students will use inference and deduction skills as well as fact retrieval. They will be given a chance to choose key facts about his life and justify why they are so important. They will also make a judgment on whether humans will ever walk on the Moon again, based on what they have read.

Questions and answers are provided, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required.

As with all of my reading exercises, I try to write content that is interesting and engaging - stories that may not be on the curriculum, but are important for children to know.

I hope you enjoy this activity on the life of a remarkable astronaut and United States hero.