Is the Moon Really Made of Cheese?
by Carla Gajewskey
1 What a tasty treat it would be if the Moon was made of cheese. Sadly, the Moon is not made from cheese but from rocks.
2 Scientists believe that 4.5 billion years ago, a large object hit the Earth. Rocks flew out everywhere from this and orbited the Earth. The rocks melted together and then cooled down. For billions of years after that, rocks kept hitting the Moon. This caused big pits on the surface of the Moon. From Earth, these big holes look like a face. This is where the saying, “The man on the moon,” comes from.
3 Earth has an atmosphere. This Atmosphere is a layer of gas that surrounds a planet. This is why we have oxygen to breathe. The Moon does not have an atmosphere. This is why astronauts have to wear spacesuits and helmets. It protects them and provides oxygen that the Moon does not have.
4 You may wonder why the Moon is bright like a star if it is just made of rock. The Moon looks bright because the sunlight reflects off of the Moon. This makes it look like the Moon is lit up. As the Moon goes around the Earth, we see the sunlit part of the Moon. That is why you see the Moon go from a banana shape, also known as a crescent, to a full moon and back to a crescent in a month’s time. These shapes are called the phases of the Moon. The Moon is more than a pretty lit up rock in the sky. The gravity of the Moon pulls at the Earth. This pull causes two high tides on the Earth every day.
5 The Moon has been of interest to people since the beginning of their being. It wasn’t till the 1600s that a man by the name of Galileo made maps of the Moon. Galileo never walked on the Moon but used a telescope. He developed a telescope that could make objects look bigger up to 20 times. He was able to see the surface of the Moon. This was only the beginning.
6 As time went on, those maps would be used to explore the Moon. The first person to walk on the Moon was Neil Armstrong. On July 21, 1969, his spacecraft, the Eagle, landed on the Moon. He then did what many people only dream of doing. He set foot on the Moon. He wore a huge space suit and a space mask. He had to wear this because the Moon was airless, waterless, and lifeless. He then said these famous words, “That is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” These words are used to this day. They are a reminder of how far we have come and how far we will go.
Maps
by Carla Gajewskey
1 Have you ever heard the story of Hansel and Gretel? Two children are left in the woods by their mean step-mother. She takes them far into the woods so they cannot find their way back home.
2 Hansel and Gretel tear off pieces of bread and throw it behind them. They did this so they could follow the bread crumbs back home.
3 There is one big problem already, and we haven’t even got to the evil witch yet. Animals live in the woods, and love to eat bread. A bird finds these breadcrumbs and eats them. When Hansel and Gretel are ready to go home, their trail is gone. If they had used real landmarks, they would be able to find their way home.
4 It is a good thing we have maps. A map is a picture that shows you where things are. Pirates used maps to find treasure. Explorers made maps as they discovered new lands. Your sister may have made a map that leads to her diary.
5 Maps can represent something as big as the world or something as small as a city. Every map is made up of a map title, map symbol, map key, distance scale, compass rose, and cardinal directions. These are the things that help you read the map.
6 The map title tells you what the map is about. If it is about your town, then the title will be your town’s name. The map symbols are pictures that mean different things. The map key tells you what those things are. So if there is a symbol of a cross on your map, the map key might say it is a church. Also, a picture of an airplane shows an airport.
7 The distance scale is used to help you measure how far it is between two places. The compass rose is a drawing that is made up of the four cardinal directions, north, south, east, and west.
8 Some maps are found on paper. Paper maps are being used less and less. The reason for this is many maps today are electronic.
9 The ones that are found on smartphones and GPS systems use a satellite to give the most up to date directions. Some of them even give you verbal directions with the map.
10 A map is a useful tool, whether it is written or electronic. Just think how the story of Hansel and Gretel would have ended if they knew how to make a map of where they were going or where they had been.
