Teach with Movies

  • FOR TEACHERS
  • FOR PARENTS
  • FOR HOME SCHOOL
  • TESTIMONIALS
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • DMCA COMPLIANCE
  • GRATUITOUS VIOLENCE
  • MOVIES IN THE CLASSROOM
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • U.S. HISTORY
  • WORLD HISTORY
  • SUBJECT MATTER
  • APPROPRIATE AGE LEVEL
  • MORAL/ETHICAL EMPHASIS

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING

  • SNIPPETS & SHORT SUBJECTS
  • MOVIES BY THE CALENDAR
  • DOCUMENTARIES & NON-FICTION
  • TALKING AND PLAYING WITH MOVIES: AGES 3-8
  • TWM’S BEST TEACHING FILMS
  • TALKING AND PLAYING WITH MOVIES
  • SET-UP-THE-SUB
  • ARTICLES & STUDENT HANDOUTS
  • MOVIE PERMISSION SLIP
  • MOVIE & TELEVISION WORKSHEETS
  • MATHEMATICS
  • EARTH SCIENCE
  • ANY FILM THAT IS A WORK OF FICTION
  • FILM ADAPTATIONS OF NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, OR PLAYS
  • ANY FILM THAT IS A DOCUMENTARY
  • ANY FILM THAT EXPLORES ETHICAL ISSUES
  • ADAPTATION OF A NOVEL
  • DOCUMENTARIES
  • HERO’S JOURNEY
  • SCIENCE FICTION
  • WORK OF FICTION
  • WORK OF HISTORICAL FICTION
  • PERSUASIVE DOCUMENTARY
  • FICTION (SOAPS, DRAMAS, AND REALITY/SURVIVAL SHOW)
  • HISTORICAL FICTION
  • INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTARY
  • NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS
  • SEARCH [Custom]

movie worksheet october sky answers

OCTOBER SKY

SUBJECTS — Space Exploration; U.S./1945-1991 & West Virginia; Science- Technology;

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING — Parenting; Father/Son; Mother/Son; Breaking Out; Friendship;

MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS — Responsibility; Caring.

AGE : 10+; MPAA Rating — PG for language, brief teen sensuality, and alcohol use, and for some thematic elements;

Drama; 1999; 108 minutes; Color. Available from Amazon.com .

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Benefits of the Movie Possible Problems Parenting Points Selected Awards & Cast

Using the Movie in the Classroom Discussion Questions Social-Emotional Learning Moral-Ethical Emphasis

Assignments and Projects Bridges to Reading Links to the Internet

MOVIE WORKSHEETS & STUDENT HANDOUTS

TWM offers the following movie worksheets to keep students’ minds on the film and to focus their attention on the lessons to be learned from the movie.

Film Study Worksheet for a Work of Historical Fiction ;

Film Study Worksheet for ELA Classes ; and

Worksheet for Cinematic and Theatrical Elements and Their Effects .

Teachers can modify the movie worksheets to fit the needs of each class. See also TWM’s Historical Fiction in Film Cross-Curricular Homework Project and Movies as Literature Homework Project .

Additional ideas for lesson plans for this movie can be found at TWM’s guide to Lesson Plans Using Film Adaptations of Novels, Short Stories or Plays .

DESCRIPTION

Inspired by the launch of Sputnik (October, 1957), a high school student in a coal town in West Virginia decides to make his own rockets. Despite his father’s initial opposition, Homer and his “outsider” friends persist and succeed. They have the support of their science teacher and Homer’s mother, who is determined that her son will not end up as a miner. Against all odds, the boys win the national science fair with an entry describing their rockets. All of the boys go to college, something unusual in coal country at the time. Homer becomes an engineer with NASA.

October Sky is a charming tale and the boys’ success is inspiring. The movie is taken from an autobiographical novel by Homer H. Hickam originally entitled Rocket Boys. The book has been republished under the same name as the film.

movie worksheet october sky answers

October 4, 1957 — Sputnik destroyed U.S. complacency

SELECTED AWARDS & CAST

Selected Awards:

Featured Actors:

Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen.

Joe Johnston.

BENEFITS OF THE MOVIE

This film can be used to illustrate an important event in American history, the launch by Soviet Russia of the first space satellite. It can spark or enhance interest in space science, engineering, or math. It can inspire children to work hard to fulfill their dreams. October Sky demonstrates the rewards of working toward a goal against daunting odds. The movie shows the positive influence teachers can have on their students, a mother’s support for her child’s dreams, the love of a son for his father and his need for his father’s approval, as well as the value of people who are different from most of us. The fact that the film is based on a true story adds emphasis to these lessons.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS

MINOR. The movie contains mild profanity used in stressful situations. The film alters the true story in a number of ways. See discussion below.

PARENTING POINTS

Make sure your child understands that in almost every respect this is a true story. Review the points made in Before Watching the Movie. When the movie is over, review with your child what is true and what isn’t true. See After Watching the Movie. When your child is ready to read the book, get it for him or her from the library. It’s better than the movie.

The movie teaches important lessons in social-emotional learning. It shows that a child with a dream can go far beyond family expectations. This concept is stressed in the film and parents can reinforce it by commenting on the theme or by giving examples of people known to the child who have done something with their lives that was much different than what was expected of them. Also stressed in the movie is the concept that children can prevail over daunting odds. A parental comment about how great it was that these kids didn’t give up will help stress this idea. In addition, the movie tells us that most often excellence is the result of a community effort or at least comes with the help of many people, as it did in this case. Parents can explore this issue by asking and helping their child to answer the Quick Discussion Question. See also the Social-Emotional Learning Discussion Questions and the Moral-Ethical Emphasis Discussion Questions.

USING THE MOVIE IN THE CLASSROOM

movie worksheet october sky answers

Before Watching the Movie:

The following will greatly enhance a child’s understanding and appreciation of this movie:

  • From 1946 to 1991, the U.S. was locked in a Cold War with Russian Communism. The Soviets claimed that Communism was the wave of the future and that it would bury capitalism, democracy, and the United States. Russia and Communism were a serious threat to the U.S. and the Western democracies.
  • In the 1950s, the United States believed that its technology was the best in the world. We had more cars than any country in the world. We had the best televisions, refrigerators, record players and a host of other consumer goods. At that time, U.S. factories were building these products. Japan was still recovering from WWII and China was still undeveloped. We had been first with the atomic bomb and first with the hydrogen bomb. Our airplanes and jet fighters were the best in the world. We thought that our military equipment was better than the Russians’. Americans took comfort in the belief that we had the best scientists and engineers that ever lived.
  • The belief in American technical superiority changed in 1958. Sputnik was the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth. It was sent up, not by the Americans, but by the Russians. Americans looked up to see a Communist star traversing the heavens and realized that in the important arena of space, our technology was inferior to that of the Russians. People worried about what would happen if the Russians put an atomic bomb on one of their satellites. This insecurity deepened as the first several U.S. efforts to orbit a satellite failed miserably. Rockets exploded on the launch pads or they crashed soon after lift-off. All of this occurred live on world-wide television. It was more than embarrassing. It was frightening.
  • For years, the Soviets led the space race, hoisting larger payloads into space than the U.S., including the first animal in space and the first man in space. All of this occurred during one of the most distrustful and competitive periods of the Cold War. The launch of Sputnik shook the United States to its roots.
  • October Sky shows one boy’s reaction to this event. The story told by this movie is pretty much true.
  • The movie takes place in a coal town in West Virginia. Coal towns existed for the sole purpose of mining coal. Everything in the town was owned by the coal company: the stores, the church, the schools and the houses in which the miners lived. If a miner was incapacitated and could no longer work, his family was forced to move out of their company-owned house, which meant leaving town. Often, when the father was injured, the children had to work in the mines to pay the rent and remain eligible to live in company-owned housing. If a miner died in the mines, his family had a very short time (usually two weeks) to move. The coal company didn’t want the grim reminders of the dangers of the mine to be around too long. Coalwood, where Homer lived, was one of the better company towns, but it was still subject to harsh practices by the mine owners.
  • In a mine, coal dust pollutes the air and literally covers everything. A common ailment among miners is black lung disease (pneumoconiosis) caused by inhaling coal dust. Homer’s father was suffering from this disease. The mine owners refused to compensate miners for this occupational hazard, so the Federal Government stepped in and set up a health and worker’s compensation plan for the miners.

movie worksheet october sky answers

December 6, 1957: Two seconds after launch Vanguard was four feet off the pad. Thrust ceased, it crumpled and then exploded.

After Watching the Movie:

It was very unusual for any boys from Homer’s home town to go to college, other than on a sports scholarship. However, each of the Rocket Boys graduated from college and Homer Hickam fulfilled his dream by becoming an engineer for NASA.

The U.S. eventually pulled equal to the Russians in the space race and was victorious in the Cold War. Russia abandoned Communism in 1991 and has adopted a capitalist model. It is no longer a superpower that competes with the U.S. Space exploration is now a cooperative international effort. The Russians are making money by charging very rich people (often Americans) millions of dollars for a trip into space in a Russian space capsule.

Homer Hickam’s book, The Rocket Boys, is better than the movie and contains a number of wonderful vignettes that are not in the film. For example, as the boys built more complex rockets, Homer realized that they needed to learn calculus to take the next steps in rocket design. Homer and the science teacher convinced the principal of the high school to offer a new course in calculus. The enrollment was limited to six people, the exact number of boys involved in the effort to make the rockets. No one expected anyone else at the school to sign up for the class.

However, the girl that Homer had a crush on signed up too, and since Homer’s grades in math were the worst of any of the applicants, he was excluded from the class. The principal at this point was not sure that the Rocket Boys were really up to any good and called them “bombers,” a reference to their first effort which had blown up Homer’s mother’s fence. The principal would not increase the enrollment in the class by one person to allow Homer to take it. Initially, Homer felt that his dreams of a career in rocketry were over, but in the depths of his depression, he found a calculus text on the bookshelf at home. There were notes in the book in his father’s handwriting showing that his father, who had never gone to college but who was called upon to supervise engineers, had taught himself calculus. Homer began to study the text and the other members of the club helped him. Homer learned calculus without the class, to his own amazement and that of his teachers and the principal.

The film does not present a sympathetic view of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) local in Coalwood. This is a departure from the book. While Homer’s father was the manager of the mine and a company man through and through, and while he believed that the reasons for the strike were trivial, it is not clear that he was right. Moreover, the Union men supported the Rocket Boys long before Homer’s father did and they were instrumental in facing down the company when it wanted to shut down the boys’ test firing range (it was on a massive expanse of tailings from the mine). Overall, the UMW has made an important positive contribution to U.S. history, forcing the coal operators to make the mines safer and to pay a living wage. For a film that shows some of the difficulties, the miners had in organizing their union and gaining recognition from the mine owners, see Matewan .

Also in the book, and not in the film, is a clear explanation of how the Rocket Boys got the precision nozzles necessary to fly their rockets. After Homer’s father had sent Mr. Bikovsky (the first machinist to help the Rocket Boys) into the mine as punishment, the town coalesced behind them. Homer then convinced the supervisor of another mine machine shop to make the nozzles and Homer’s father permitted company time and company materials to be used. A fundamental truth illuminated by this story is that to perform amazing feats, not only do people need to be committed and work hard, they often need the support of their communities. Moreover, they need to seek out and get that help. This is especially true in today’s complex environment.

The sequence in which Homer quits high school and goes to work in the mine is fictional but rings true from a former time when the mine owners provided no benefits for the miners or their families. (The real Homer Hickam did work in the mine during the summer after his first year of college, but he was not forced to take the job.) Homer Hickam had this to say about the movie and about this incident:

It was great fun to see Rocket Boys become the movie “October Sky.” Of course, I thought they should have just filmed it exactly the way I wrote it down in my book but Hollywood has its ways, and they’re not generally the same as book-writers. But only good things have come of it, I’d have to say, even though I didn’t like that the movie showed me quitting [high] school. I would have never quit school. My parents would have lived in a tree before they would have ever let that happen! But so many people across the world have been inspired by the movie. A lot of astronauts even watch it the night before they climb aboard the shuttle. Now, that’s pretty special! [Quoted from Bookwire Speaks with Homer Hickam.]

The black machinist tells Homer that he flew with the “Red Tails.” This is a reference to the “Red Tailed Angels” of the all African-American 332nd Fighter Group. In the Second World War, the 332nd was the only Fighter Group which never lost a bomber to enemy planes, thereby destroying the prejudice that blacks could not fly modern fighters. See Learning Guide to “ The Tuskegee Airmen “.

Notes on Coal Mining

There are two principal methods of mining coal. Strip mining coal close to the surface is the most economical, but also the most environmentally destructive. Power equipment (power shovels or drag lines) removes the earth and rock to expose the coal. The coal is then broken up and loaded onto trucks or railroad cars.

When the coal is not located close to the surface, a method called underground or deep mining is used. A shaft is dug to the location of the coal seam, either vertically, on a slant or, if the coal is located in a mountain, horizontally. The coal is cut, using machines or controlled explosions. The key to deep mining is controlling cave-ins, dispersing gas, particularly methane and carbon dioxide, and suppressing coal dust. Pillars of coal are left to help support the roof. Steel beams are placed across the roof to prevent the rock from falling onto the miners. In some mines the roof behind the coal face is allowed to collapse as the face moves forward along the seam. Huge fans and complicated ventilation systems are used to draw out the gases and bring in clean air. Coal dust is highly combustible and must be strictly controlled. Limestone dust is sprayed in the mine to keep the coal dust in check. The work in the deep mines is automated as much as possible. Continuous mining machines combine the separate steps of cutting, drilling, blasting and loading the coal at rates as high as 10.8 metric tons of coal per minute. The coal is then transferred by electric trolley to the surface where it is taken to preparation plants. There it is screened, washed, sorted by size, and crushed before shipment.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. See Discussion Questions for Use With any Film that is a Work of Fiction .

2. Should the people in the early U.S. space program have been deterred by their many failures to launch rockets?

Suggested Response:

Daniel S. Goldin, former administrator of NASA, said that one should never be deterred by failure but that if you learned from your failures they would be the building blocks for later success. Commencement address to the 2001 graduating class of the Engineering School, University of California, Berkeley.

3. What would have happened to Homer’s family if no one had been working in the mine even though his father was still recuperating from injuries he had received saving the lives of other miners?

If no one in the family was working in the mine, the family would have been evicted from its home by the coal company. This was true even if the miner was still recuperating from injuries received in a mine accident. (We don’t know if the mine owners applied the same standard to management employees like Homer’s father. But it did apply to the miners, the vast majority of the company’s employees.) If a miner died or was too injured to work, the mine owners would evict the family. This meant forcing them to move out of town, since the mine company owned everything in the town. The family would generally have to move within a few weeks of the injury or the death of the miner. The company didn’t want any grim reminders to stay around and spook the other miners.

4. What did the Rocket Boys prove by their success?

That you can achieve great things if you put your mind to it. Success and achievement can come from very unlikely places and you have to keep an open mind about people.

PARENTING – MOTHER/SON – FATHER/SON

1. Everyone in Homer’s family wanted to get out of Coalwood except his father. (Remember the mural the mother was painting throughout the film.) How did each member of the family deal with this desire?

The mother submitted. The brother excelled in football, a way to get out approved and accepted by the community. Homer went his own way.

2. Review Homer’s father’s feelings about his son change as the film progresses. Describe how Homer’s father felt about his youngest son at each of the following points in the movie:

(a) when Homer begins experimenting with rockets; after Homer had gone to work in the mine;

(b) when Homer quits the mine; and

(c) at the end of the film.

[When students respond ask them to illustrate their point with direct reference to the film.]

3. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of Homer’s father as a parent.

The weakness is that Homer’s father took much too long to see his son as an individual who would go his own way and that that way might not be the way his father went. The father obviously loved his son and eventually came to support his efforts to be an engineer. When students respond ask them to illustrate their point with direct reference to the film.

4. Cite some examples of nurturing between individuals and in terms of the community as a whole.

Almost everyone in this movie, and certainly all the major characters nurture others. Make sure that the class sees the nurturing qualities in the father and in the members of the community in general. The father nurtured Homer when he went into the mine. In fact, as shown by the book, the community was always supportive of the Rocket Boys.

5. How does friendship help Homer break away from the path of working in the coal mine? What was the strongest act of friendship shown in this film?

Individual responses may vary. Any well-supported response will be adequate. When students respond ask them to illustrate their point with direct reference to the film.

MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS (CHARACTER COUNTS)

Discussion Questions Relating to Ethical Issues will facilitate the use of this film to teach ethical principles and critical viewing. Additional questions are set out below.

RESPONSIBILITY

(Do what you are supposed to do; Persevere: keep on trying!; Always do your best; Use self-control; Be self-disciplined; Think before you act — consider the consequences; Be accountable for your choices)

1. To persevere is to continue on a course of action despite difficulties and lack of success. Cite examples of perseverance in this film.

In this movie, the Rocket Boys kept on trying to perfect their rockets despite their initial lack of success. The theme of perseverance also relates to the U.S. space program which, despite its failures at the beginning, eventually triumphed over the Russians in most areas of space exploration. See also the quote from Daniel Goldin, former NASA administrator, in suggested response to Discussion Question #2.

2. Put yourself in the position of Homer in this story. Your father is badly injured and cannot work. Someone must work in the mine if the family is to avoid eviction from company housing and being forced to move out of the town. Your brother is on track to escape to college on a football scholarship, but he must finish school. He will never have another chance to go to college. If you go to work in the mine you will probably do well and rise to a position in management, just like your father. What would you do if you were in Homer’s position?

This question tests the limits of responsibility and caring. Homer and his brother did have some responsibility to help the family keep a home. This didn’t require one of them to work only in the mine, but they did have to shoulder the burden or at least part of the burden their father could no longer carry. Homer, because he cared for his brother, didn’t want him to miss the chance to go to college on an athletic scholarship. There is also a sense that Homer knew that, while going into the mine was risky, his father had made a good career there. Homer would probably also rise to a manager’s position. Given these facts, what Homer did was the most ethical thing to do based upon his responsibility to his family and his love for his brother. There are three other interesting points about this subplot. First, there are limits to what a child can be asked to do for the family. If going into the mine had been a complete dead-end for Homer, the answer to this question would be different. See, e.g., The Glass Menagerie. Second, the real Homer Hickam worked in the mine only for a summer during college. This subplot is one of the few parts of the movie that didn’t really happen and he disliked it. He commented, referring to the situation in which the Homer Hickam character in the movie dropped out of high school: “My parents would have lived in a tree before they would have ever let that happen!” This fact illustrates that there are many situations in which both parents and children have a responsibility. Third, compare the scene in which Homer must put his dreams aside and work in the mine to It’s A Wonderful Life, in which the leading character gave up his dreams of a career as an architect in New York so that his brother could attend college and yet he lived a “wonderful life”.

3. Homer’s brother was set to get a football scholarship which was the only way that, in the past, kids had gotten out of Coalwood and into the larger world. Did Homer’s older brother do the right thing to let Homer work in the coal mines so that the brother could continue on to college?

Yes. There is no responsibility not to accept the gifts or moral conduct of others. However, Homer’s brother did owe Homer a great debt.

(Be kind; Be compassionate and show you care; Express gratitude; Forgive others; Help people in need)

4. Name the characters in this film who honored the concept of “caring” and describe what they did that leads you to that conclusion.

The mother, because she always wanted what was best for her sons. The teacher who encouraged the Rocket Boys. The Rocket Boys, who unanimously chose Homer to go to the science fair. The Union members, including the machinists, and the people in Coalwood who encouraged and helped the Rocket Boys. Homer’s father, who finally came round. (See question below for more on Homer’s father.)

5. Who, in this film, had the most trouble practicing the concept of caring? What were the reasons? How did he or she resolve it?

Our vote goes to Homer’s father. At the beginning, he wanted Homer to work in the mine and eventually become a manager, like he was. He saw a lot of himself in Homer which is probably why he was so strict with the boy. When Homer started to branch out onto his own path, the father felt rejected and insecure. These are not appropriate feelings for a parent. Parents should recognize that children are not born to adopt their parents’ values wholesale, or to follow in their footsteps. Children must be allowed and encouraged to find the life that is right for them. That is the true gift of a caring parent. Eventually, Homer’s father endorsed the Rocket Boys’ efforts. In so doing, he recognized and fulfilled the love he had for his son. Homer’s father was forced to choose between his dream that Homer would work with him in the mine and what was best for his son. After some delay, he made the right choice.

ASSIGNMENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

See Assignments, Projects, and Activities for Use With Any Film that is a Work of Fiction .

Have students research and write a paper on the size and future of the coal industry in the United States? What are the threats to the industry? Are there still coal towns?

BRIDGES TO READING

The book October Sky (original title: Rocket Boys) is excellent for advanced adolescent readers. It contains significant additional details concerning Mr. Hickam’s experience and life in the U.S. in the 1950s.  Rocket Boys is part of a trilogy. The other volumes are The Coalwood Way, which focuses on the Rocket Boys’ last Christmas together in 1959, and Sky of Stone, which describes the summer of 1961 when Homer worked in the mine after his freshman year in college.

LINKS TO THE INTERNET

  • See Homer Hickam’s excellent website at HomerHickam.com ; it contains an entire section with features designed for educators;
  • The NASA Website has a section for students and another for teachers;
  • Sputnik and the Launch of the Space Age ;
  • The Times Looks Back: Sputnik (This is a gateway to a series of articles about Sputnik and its effect on the U.S.);
  • Sputnik’s Legacy ; and
  • Vanguard – A History .

This Learning Guide was last updated on February 10, 2012.

October Sky Worksheet Worksheet

October Sky Science Movie Worksheet Answers

October Sky Science Movie Worksheet Answers – If you want to help your child learn about science, you may need Science Worksheets Answers. These are printable worksheets that can be printed from a website. Students who are studying the subject may find them challenging, but they can be helped by these worksheets. These worksheets are online and can help students understand the subject as well as the theories.

Downloadable worksheets for animals

You can download free printable animal science worksheets to help your child learn more about animal classification. Coloring is a great way to develop fine motor skills and help kids learn about a variety of subjects. To help your child understand the differences in their bodies, you can find coloring pages for birds, mammals, or amphibians. For example, frogs have gills, while salamanders and toads have skin and lungs.

October Sky Part 1 ESL Worksheet By Bar1518

You can download free animal science worksheets, including pyramid charts and animal classification cards. These worksheets are perfect for a classroom lesson on animal classification. Each page features a picture and brief fact about the animal. They are available in five different sizes. Print two or more at once.

To test your knowledge on different animals, there are quizzes you can give to your child. The quizzes are free to print and can be used both in class and at home.

Downloadable Human Brain Worksheets

These Free Printable Human Brain Science Worksheets will help your students learn about the human brain and all of its functions. These worksheets are suitable for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Each one contains information about the different parts of the brain, how they function, and how they work together to maintain life.

October Sky Questions Worksheets Answers The Facts Show Resume Sample

It is fascinating to discover more about the brain, which is a complex organ. It has billions of neurons which send messages to each other in order to perform different tasks. The brain communicates with the rest of the body through the spinal cord. The brain is connected to many parts of the body, making it one the most complex parts.

Free Printable Flower Worksheets

You can download free printable worksheets on flower science to help your child understand the different parts of a particular flower. These worksheets include activities like labeling parts of a plant, matching vocabulary words and creating a journal about flowers. These worksheets can also be helpful in practicing writing skills. Some of them can even help your child learn the parts of a flower by using cipher wheels.

October Sky Worksheet Worksheet

These flower science worksheets are ideal for preschoolers, kindergartners, and grade one or two students. They can be used to practice math, literacy, and fine motor skills. Many of these printables can be printed as pdf files for your child to use at home or at school.

You’ll find plenty of options and high quality flower science worksheets, whether you want to use them in the classroom or at home. They will pair well with homeschool science and math curricula. And they are perfect for spring and summer learning.

Gallery of October Sky Science Movie Worksheet Answers

October Sky Part 1 ESL Worksheet By Bar1518

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

movie questions for october sky

All Formats

Resource types, all resource types.

  • Rating Count
  • Price (Ascending)
  • Price (Descending)
  • Most Recent

Movie questions for october sky

Preview of October Sky Movie Guide | Questions | Worksheet | Google Formats  (PG - 1999)

October Sky Movie Guide | Questions | Worksheet | Google Formats (PG - 1999)

movie worksheet october sky answers

  • Google Apps™

Preview of October Sky Movie Questions

October Sky Movie Questions

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky Movie Guide + Activities - Answer Keys Included

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky Movie Guide (1999) - Movie Questions with Extra Activities

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky - Movie Short Answer Questions

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky Movie Questions + Answer Key

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky (1999) - 25 Movie Questions with Answer Key (Quick Guide)

Preview of October Sky Movie: 50 Comprehension questions Quiz with answer keys

October Sky Movie : 50 Comprehension questions Quiz with answer keys

movie worksheet october sky answers

  • Word Document File

Preview of October Sky movie questions and open-response writings

October Sky movie questions and open-response writings

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky Short Answer Movie Questions

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky Math Related Movie Questions

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky Video Questions

movie worksheet october sky answers

  • Rich Text Format

Preview of October Sky Movie Guide (1999)

October Sky Movie Guide (1999)

movie worksheet october sky answers

Mathematics of October Sky (1999) Movie Viewing Guide:Summary/Vocabulary/ Questions

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky Movie Guide + Reflection & Analysis Questions

movie worksheet october sky answers

  • Google Drive™ folder

Preview of October Sky - Question Bank

October Sky - Question Bank

movie worksheet october sky answers

  • ExamView Question Bank File

Preview of October Sky (1999) Movie Viewing Guide: Summary/Vocabulary/10 Movie Questions

October Sky (1999) Movie Viewing Guide: Summary/Vocabulary/10 Movie Questions

Preview of OCTOBER SKY - Movie Guide Q&A, Storyboard & Writing Frames

OCTOBER SKY - Movie Guide Q&A, Storyboard & Writing Frames

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky - Film Questions and PowerPoint

movie worksheet october sky answers

" October Sky " Viewing Guide and Follow-up Questions

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky video questions

movie worksheet october sky answers

  • Google Docs™

Preview of October Sky Movie Guide

October Sky Movie Guide

movie worksheet october sky answers

October Sky video viewing and after activities

movie worksheet october sky answers

  • We're hiring
  • Help & FAQ
  • Privacy policy
  • Student privacy
  • Terms of service
  • Tell us what you think

Garden & Gun logo

Subscribe Now

movie worksheet october sky answers

Arts & Culture

October Sky Turns Twenty-Five

Visitors still travel to the little West Virginia town that inspired the film and the book, Rocket Boys

By Larry Bleiberg

February 14, 2024

A group of teens look up at the sky

Photo: Universal Pictures

Twenty-five years ago, the film October Sky introduced much of the world to Coalwood, West Virginia. Joe Johnston directed the film, which starred a young Jake Gyllenhaal as protagonist Homer Hickam and Laura Dern as Miss Riley, his encouraging teacher. The film premiered on February 19, 1999, to critical acclaim. “This movie has deep values,” Roger Ebert concluded in his review .

The story of teenagers inspired to build rockets by the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik continues to reach new fans, says the real-life Homer Hickam, whose best-selling memoir, Rocket Boys , inspired the movie. (Fun fact: The filmmakers reordered the letters of the book title to give October Sky its name, which also nods to the fact that Sputnik was launched in October of 1957 and can be seen racing across the sky in the movie.)

movie worksheet october sky answers

“There’s a whole new generation that’s seeing it for the first time,” Hickam adds. The film now streams on Amazon Prime Video , and “every substitute teacher in the world” seems to show it, he says. “It works for every class”—science, English, history. “It’s a timeless, universal story.” 

Hickam, who worked for NASA and lives in Huntsville, Alabama, is planning a movie sequel , December Sky , based on his book The Coalwood Way . (While the original was filmed in Tennessee, Hickam wants to shoot in West Virginia this time.)

movie worksheet october sky answers

An online map of October Sky filming locations in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, includes the Coalwood General Store, Union Hall, and Miss Riley’s home. In Virginia, about an hour away from Coalwood, the Pocahontas Exhibition Mine gives tours of a former working mine from spring to fall. ( Find more information here .) And although Coalwood, West Virginia, is much smaller now than when Hickam lived there, movie fans still stop by the spots that inspired it all. “The church is still standing, and across the street are the machine shops where we built our rockets,” he says. A rough road leads to “Cape Coalwood,” the slack coal field where the boys drew crowds for test launches. “A lot of people make that pilgrimage.”

Katherine Jarvis contributed to this piece.

Garden & Gun  has an affiliate partnership with  bookshop.org  and may receive a portion of sales when a reader clicks to buy a book.

  • Television/film
  • West Virginia

Related Stories:

A painting of a pointer dog with a brown head and white body with brown speckles.

The Wild South

Bird dogs and wildlife mingle with fragments of history and more in the Georgia artist’s striking creations

movie worksheet october sky answers

Percival Everett’s marvelous James shakes up the American canon

movie worksheet october sky answers

Dramatic installations, handmade treasures, live performances, and sidewalk chalk paint the South

Trending Stories:

An oyster with cocktail sauce sits on a bed of crushed ice next to a lemon wedge with a fork in it.

Food & Drink

G&G readers have their say, and it might make you feel better about your next briny binge

Mathis’s 150-vessel-strong Ozark Roadside Tourist Pottery collection in his Oklahoma City living room. The vessels have swirling, colorful patterns.

How the vibrant roadside vessels inspired an obsession

A collage of three images: green fronds; an alligator in a green pond in a forest; a sign that says "No shirt, no shoes, no pancakes" on wood.

Along the St. Johns river-to-sea loop, historic towns, emerald springs, and cypress wildlands reward the unhurried traveler

Subscribe today and save.

IMAGES

  1. October Sky Worksheet Answers

    movie worksheet october sky answers

  2. October Sky Questions Grade 9.doc

    movie worksheet october sky answers

  3. Movie Worksheet October Sky

    movie worksheet october sky answers

  4. October Sky Movie Guide + Activities

    movie worksheet october sky answers

  5. Movie Worksheet October Sky Answers

    movie worksheet october sky answers

  6. October Sky Science Movie Worksheet Answers

    movie worksheet october sky answers

VIDEO

  1. watching the sky

COMMENTS

  1. OCTOBER SKY

    DESCRIPTION Inspired by the launch of Sputnik (October, 1957), a high school student in a coal town in West Virginia decides to make his own rockets. Despite his father's initial opposition, Homer and his "outsider" friends persist and succeed.

  2. October Sky Movie Questions Flashcards

    1 / 11 Flashcards Learn Test Match Q-Chat Created by CatsOnTermPapers Students also viewed October Sky Video Questions (8) Teacher 49 terms brilliantbrandon Preview October Sky 14 terms emilyesteves Preview Geologic Time 70 terms Nerds32 Preview Phrasal Verbs Teacher 20 terms pelindurukck Preview october sky 25 terms laurenmack_ Preview

  3. October Sky Movie Guide + Activities

    What educators are saying My students read Rocket Boys and watched October Sky at the end of the year last year. This was a great movie guide to help them focus on what was going on in the movie, and we used it as a resource to compare and contrast the movie vs. the book afterwards. — Christina M.

  4. PDF Movie Worksheet: October Sky

    Movie Worksheet: October Sky 1. What expectations does Homer's father have for him? 2. What challenges and/ or obstacles does Homer face in his quest to build rockets? 3. What role does Homer's teacher play in the achievement of his goals? 4. How do Homer's friend(s) help/ hinder his plan to build rockets? 5.

  5. PDF October Sky Student Worksheet

    October Sky Student Worksheets October Sky A Movie That Clearly Displays The Standards for Mathematical Practice Mark P. Tully Student Worksheet p. 1 1. List five obstacles that Homer and the Rocket Boys faced and tell how they overcame each one. Obstacle __________________________ __________________________ __________________________

  6. PDF dt 16 1 16 a 2

    October Sky The movie October Sky is the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son in 1950 West Virginia, who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes. As Homer and his friends experiment with building rockets, they experience various mishaps and are accused of setting a fire.

  7. October Sky Questions and Answers

    What was the size of Auk 31? How many Auks were launched and how high did they go? Describe Homer Hickam's character in October Sky. What is the conflict between Sonny's parents in October Sky?...

  8. October Sky Movie: 50 Comprehension questions Quiz with answer keys

    5 pages Answer Key N/A Teaching Duration N/A Report this resource to TPT Reported resources will be reviewed by our team. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates TPT's content guidelines. This is October Sky Movie Comprehensions Quiz with answer keys. there are 50 questions that cover many aspects of the Film.

  9. October Sky Movie Teaching Resources

    TeacherTravis 23 $4.99 Zip Google Apps™ October Sky Movie Guide | Questions | Worksheet | Google Formats (PG - 1999) challenges students to transport themselves into a coal mining town in West Virginia during the Soviet Space Race of the 1950s.

  10. October Sky Flashcards

    Dxll. October Sky is a 1999 American biographical film based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik 1 to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and who eventually became a NASA engineer.

  11. Worksheet October Sky

    Answer the following questions during and after the movie October Sky.

  12. October Sky Video Questions Flashcards

    1 / 23 Flashcards Learn Test Match Q-Chat Created by Cheryl_Greiner Teacher For Mr. C's class. Please fix any wrong answers... Students also viewed October Sky Video Questions (8) Teacher 49 terms brilliantbrandon Preview October Sky 14 terms emilyesteves Preview october sky 25 terms laurenmack_ Preview Into the Woods 7 terms quizlette86688566

  13. October Sky Lesson Plans & Worksheets Reviewed by Teachers

    October Sky. For Students 9th - 12th. In this rockets worksheet, students complete the questions while watching the video, October Sky. Students learn about the experimental aspects of building a rocket. Students complete 4 graphic organizers and 11 short answer questions.

  14. October Sky Movie Worksheet

    View October Sky Movie Worksheet from ENGLISH MISC at Segerstrom High. NAME: Natalie Martinez DATE: Oct 2, 2019 Movie Worksheet: October Sky 1. ... Please choose one of the options above and answer using the text you don't have to read the whole thing just need one question answered in-depth please, using quotes and paraphrase as evidence ...

  15. OCTOBER SKY

    teach with movies. lesson plans grounded on movies & pick clicks! welcome. teach is movies. for teachers; for parents; for home school; about columbia: faq; who we are; testimonials; follow us: sign; social communications; get in touching: your us; legislative information: dmca compliance; gratuitous violence;

  16. October Sky Movie Worksheet.pdf

    View October_Sky_Movie_Worksheet.pdf from ENGLISH MISC at Bishop Kenny High School. NAME: _ DATE: _ Movie Worksheet: October Sky 1. What expectations does Homer's father have for. AI Homework Help. Expert Help. Study Resources. ... Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

  17. October Sky Movie Questions + Answer Key by History in Films

    Q&A More from History in Films Description October Sky is a 1999 American biographical drama film directed by Joe Johnston, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Chris Owen, and Laura Dern.

  18. October Sky Science Movie Worksheet Answers

    October 12, 2022 by tamble October Sky Science Movie Worksheet Answers - If you want to help your child learn about science, you may need Science Worksheets Answers. These are printable worksheets that can be printed from a website. Students who are studying the subject may find them challenging, but they can be helped by these worksheets.

  19. Results for october sky viewing guide

    TeacherTravis October Sky Movie Guide | Questions | Worksheet | Google Formats (PG - 1999) challenges students to transport themselves into a coal mining town in West Virginia during the Soviet Space Race of the 1950s.

  20. DOC October Sky: Movie Worksheet

    How is your own life similar or different from Homer's? Movie Worksheet: October Sky. 1. What expectations does Homer's father have for him? 2. What challenges and/ or obstacles does Homer face in his quest to build rockets? 3. What role does Homer's teacher play in the achievement of his goals? 4.

  21. DOC October Sky: Movie Worksheet

    5. Which character are you most like in this video? Explain why. 6. How is your own life similar or different from Homer's? Homer was inspired to build rockets after viewing the Sputnik satellite in the night sky. I want you to reflect on an event that has inspired you. Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

  22. Movie Questions For October Sky Teaching Resources

    Browse movie questions for october sky resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources. 🎉 May Sale Save up to 25 % using promo code THANKYOU22 .

  23. October Sky Turns Twenty-Five

    Twenty-five years ago, the film October Sky introduced much of the world to Coalwood, West Virginia. Joe Johnston directed the film, which starred a young Jake Gyllenhaal as protagonist Homer Hickam and Laura Dern as Miss Riley, his encouraging teacher. The film premiered on February 19, 1999, to critical acclaim.