Image of space kids
Art by Randy Pollak; Rysak/Adobe Stock (Robot Cat); Shutterstock.com (all other images)
Fiction,

The Visit

A city on the moon. Guests from far away. And a deadly problem that must be fixed . . . before it’s too late.  

By Sarah McCarry | Art by Randy Pollak
From the May/June 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will read a science fiction story to analyze details about the story’s setting.

Complexity Factors
  • Purpose & Levels of Meaning
    Students will read this science fiction story and analyze how details in the story show what life is like for Robbie on the moon.
  • Structure
    The story is in the first person and is chronological. It contains elements of the science fiction genre, including a future setting, space travel, and futuristic technology.
  • Language
    The language is mostly conversational and includes a lot of dialogue.
  • Knowledge Demands
    Some familiarity with the moon or science fiction may aid comprehension but is not necessary.
Lexiles: 500L-600L
Featured Skill: Setting,
Other Key Skills: cause and effect, text evidence, figurative language, character’s motivation, main idea and supporting details, text features, visual literacy, summarizing, plot, inference, how a character changes, problem and solution, vocabulary, interpreting text, theme
Standards
  • Common Core
    RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RL.3.4, RL.3.7, W.3.1, W.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, L.3.6
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6i, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7f, 7g, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 10a, 10c, 10d, 10e, 12a, 12b
Content-Area Connections
  • Social and Life Skills
    self-management (showing initiative); self-awareness (demonstrating honesty and integrity, having a growth mindset); relationship skills (communicating effectively, developing positive relationships)

Presentation View
See Student View
Think and Read: Setting

As you read, look for details that tell you what life on the moon is like for Robbie.

I know what kids on Earth must say about living on the moon. Sure, we don’t have oceans or forests. No rain, no wind. No animals. But to me, it’s beautiful . . . so still and peaceful, you can hear your own thoughts. 

I’ve lived on the moon my whole life. People have been here since the year 2125, when the first moon colony was set up. Now, in 2175, scientists like my mom and dad live here and work on exciting new moon projects. 

I think the moon is the coolest place in the universe. But my best friend, Emma, feels the opposite. 

“Robbie, it’s the most boring rock in the universe,” she always says. 

Emma can’t wait to leave. Her dream is to move to Earth and study whales. Sometimes it feels like she’s already gone, even when she’s standing right next to me.

PAUSE AND THINK: What does Robbie think about living on the moon?

Like a Web

One night, I’m sitting around the kitchen table with my mom and dad. Like all the buildings on the moon, our home is inside a giant biodome. We can’t breathe the air on the moon, so biodomes let us live here. If we step outside them without wearing a spacesuit, we die!

I’ve been helping my parents with a project to update the biggest biodome. My dream is to make the moon a safe place to live for years to come. 

My robocat, Iggy, jumps into my lap, and my thoughts turn to Emma. She says real animals are better than robot ones. But Iggy feels real enough to me. Thinking about Emma makes my chest feel heavy. 

“Robbie, what’s the matter?” Mom asks. “Aren’t you excited for the Earth kids to visit?” 

In the morning, families from Earth will be arriving on the moon. Emma can’t wait to meet them.

“They’ll probably get bored and want to leave,” I say. Like Emma, I don’t say. 

“Is this about Emma?” Mom asks gently. 

“Maybe,” I say, looking down. I swear my parents can see into my skull and read my thoughts!

“You know,” Mom says, “friendship is a powerful thing. When you find a real connection with someone, it grows with you.”

“It’s like a web. It can get bigger while still keeping you together. It’s big enough to hold both of you,” my dad says kindly.  

I nod and smile, but I’m not sure I understand what they mean.

PAUSE AND THINK: What project are Robbie and his parents working on?

The Earth Kids

The next day, a spaceship lands in an explosion of gray dust. Its doors open, and adults and kids pour out. In their spacesuits, they look just like us. 

“Why don’t you show one of the Earth kids around,” my mom says to me and Emma as a kid bounds toward us. 

“I’m Milo!” he yells, grinning his big Earth grin. “I can’t believe you actually live here!” 

Milo follows us around like an overexcited puppy. He gazes at the moon-brick streets and the neat rows of biodomes. He cranes his head, trying to look at everything all at once. 

“The moon’s gravity is much weaker than Earth’s,” I tell him. “So you can jump 10 feet high!”

“Cool! It’s like flying!” Milo laughs as he hops around. I was sure the Earth kids would be bored, but Milo is having a great time.

PAUSE AND THINK: What does Milo do when he lands on the moon?

Serious Danger

Later that day, we take Milo along the outer edge of the biggest biodome to get a better view of the moon.

“Robbie’s designing his own hoverboard,” Emma tells Milo. “No wheels­—it just slides over the moon’s surface. He’s also helping his parents design a new biodome.” 

“Seriously?” Milo asks. “That’s awesome. You guys are so brave, living up here! On Earth, everything is easy.”

“Earth must be beautiful,” Emma sighs. “You have trees. And colorful sunsets. And animals. I want to go there more than anything.”

Emma pauses, and we all gaze out at the shining blue-green ball: Earth. It looks like a marble spinning in the sky.

 “I can’t wait to see whales,” Emma continues. The hope in her voice makes my heart hurt. 

“What is that?” Milo asks suddenly.

He’s pointing to a spot on the dome just above where it meets the ground. And I see it: a jagged crack in the dome itself, like an open wound. 

The crack whistles as the air we need to live escapes the dome. I’ve never seen a crack before. But I know exactly what it means: serious danger!

PAUSE AND THINK: Where does Emma want to go and why?

Not a Drill

The crack is already spreading. Soon the entire dome will weaken and shatter. And in a matter of minutes, everyone in this biodome will die. Not just me and Emma—all the Earth visitors too!

“We don’t have much time,” I say.

“Probably minutes,” Emma replies.

“What’s happening?” Milo gasps.

Emma and I look at each other. We’ve been doing drills for this our whole lives. But this is not a drill. 

Luckily, we know each other so well that we can talk without saying any words. I don’t have to tell Emma to run for the alarm. She’s already there, pushing the red emergency button. A loud siren starts wailing.

And Emma doesn’t have to tell me to find the emergency patch kit. It’s in a bright-orange box. I’m already connecting the big plastic patch to the dome. Then I hear the roar of a space rover. A second later, my parents and a group of scientists jump out.

“Great job, Robs,” my mom says, running over. “We’ll take it from here.”

PAUSE AND THINK: What would happen if the dome were to shatter?

Coolest in the Universe

Shutterstock.com

We stand back as Mom and Dad work. A crowd gathers around them. Mom and Dad finish the patch, and a relieved cheer goes up. 

“We’re safe!” Dad says. “Thanks to Robbie, Emma, and their new friend.” Dad grins at Milo. “And soon we’ll have a safer biodome.”

“I can’t believe you’re helping with the design,” Milo says, turning to me and Emma. “You have to come to Earth sometime. I’ll show you both around. I live by the ocean. We’ll go surfing. It’s like flying across the water! It’s the coolest thing in the universe.”

“Wow!” Emma breathes. She looks at me. “You’ll come too, right, Robs?”

I pause for a minute. Maybe Earth wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe it would be fun to visit Milo. I imagine visiting Emma there one day. Her life there could be big enough to have a place for me too. 

I think of what my parents said about webs and how they can expand. And finally, I understand what they meant. 

“Definitely,” I say. And I mean it. 

THINK AND WRITE

Imagine you live on the moon in Robbie’s colony. Using details from the story, write a letter to a friend who lives on Earth explaining what the moon is like.

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Can't Miss Teaching Extras

Don’t leave outer space just yet! Read the Time Machine “Mission to the Moon!” to learn about NASA’s planned trips to the moon in the next few years. 

Blast off to space (again!) in “A Vacation in Space,” a Time Machine that takes readers on the trip of a lifetime.

During the story, Robbie and Emma work together to solve the disaster at the biodome. Read the Fiction story “Jewel of the Sand Dragon” to meet another pair of friends who work together to solve a problem.

What could be cooler than traveling to the moon? How about traveling to Mars! Journey to the future and discover what life could be like on Mars one day in “Welcome to Mars.”

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. Class Discussion

4. Skill Building and Writing

5. Differentiate and Customize

Striving Readers, Multilingual Learners, Advanced Readers

1. Preparing to Read

Introduce the Text and Preview Text Features

  • Ask students to predict what this article will be about based on the headline and subhead on page 10 and the illustration on page 11. Review the predictions after reading.

Set a Purpose for Reading

  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 10 and the Think and Write box on page 15.
  • Remind students to keep these prompts in mind while reading the story.

Introduce the Featured Skill

  • Build on the Think and Read prompt by explaining this story’s featured skill: Setting. Encourage students to think about any details that show what life is like on the moon for Robbie. 

Introduce Vocabulary

 
  • Show or assign the Vocabulary Slideshow to preview challenging words. Then assign the Vocabulary Skill Builder before or after reading.

2. Close Reading

Reading and Unpacking the Text

  • Read the story as a class or have students follow along as they listen to the Read-Aloud. 

  • Stop and use the Pause and Think questions at the end of each section for a comprehension check. Encourage students to go back to the text to support their answers. 

  • Project or assign the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions. (Alternatively, use all or part of the Learning Journey Slide Deck.)

Close-Reading Questions

  • Read the first section. Where and when does this story take place? The story takes place on a moon colony in 2175. (setting)
  • When Robbie talks about Emma, why does he say “Sometimes it feels like she’s already gone, even when she’s standing right next to me?” Robbie feels like Emma’s already gone because he knows how badly she wants to leave the moon. It seems to him like she’s already left the moon and moved to Earth to study whales. (cause and effect)
  • Read “Like a Web.” Robbie says, “Thinking about Emma makes my chest feel heavy.” What do these words tell you about Robbie’s feelings for Emma? Robbie’s words tell me how much Emma means to Robbie. Thinking about her leaving the moon makes Robbie feel sad. The sadness feels like a weight on his chest. (inference, figurative language)
  • When Robbie’s dad talks to him about his friendship with Emma, he says, “It’s like a web. It can get bigger while still keeping you together. It’s big enough to hold both of you.” Why do you think Robbie’s dad compares friendship to a web? Just like a web gets bigger in size, a friendship can continue to grow too. That means there will always be room for both friends in the relationship, no matter where the friends live. (figurative language)
  • Read “The Earth Kids.” What happens after the spaceship from Earth lands on the moon? After the spaceship lands on the moon, adults and kids from Earth come out of the spaceship. They are all wearing spacesuits. Emma and Robbie meet Milo, one of the Earth kids. They show him around the moon colony. Milo has a wonderful time and is so excited to be on the moon. (plot)
  • Read “Serious Danger.” After Emma tells Milo that she can’t wait to see the whales on Earth, Robbie says, “The hope in her voice makes my heart hurt.” What does Robbie mean when he says this? Robbie describes how painful it is for him to hear how much Emma wants to leave the moon colony. It makes his heart hurt to think about Emma living on Earth. (inference, figurative language)
  • Read “Not a Drill.” After the biodome cracks, Robbie and Emma look at each other. Then he thinks, “Luckily, we know each other so well that we can talk without saying any words.” What point is Robbie making about their friendship? Robbie is making the point that he and Emma know each other so well that they can understand each other’s thoughts and feelings without putting them into words. (interpreting text)
  • How do Emma and Robbie work together to save everyone in the biodome? Emma and Robbie work together to save everyone in the biodome by remembering what they have done in drills. First Emma immediately pushes the red emergency button on the alarm. Then Robbie connects a big plastic patch to the dome. (problem and solution)
  • Read “Coolest in the Universe.” Look at the text feature on page 15 and read the speech bubbles. What part of the story does the text feature show? The text feature shows Milo, Emma, and Robbie in their spacesuits on the moon. In the text feature, Emma imagines visiting Milo on Earth. Robbie is visiting with them. The three friends stand at the beach next to Milo’s surfboard. (text features)

Critical-Thinking Question

  • How does Robbie change from the beginning of the story to the end? In the beginning of the story, Robbie explains how much he loves living on the moon. He is very sad because his best friend, Emma, can’t wait to move to Earth and study whales. It makes him sad to think this because he believes it could be the end of their close friendship. He would miss Emma very much. But by the end of the story, Robbie imagines himself visiting Emma on Earth one day. He hears how cool Earth sounds from Milo. Robbie understands that there would be a place for him in her life there. (how a character changes)

3. Class Discussion: Changing Your Mind

At the beginning of the story, Robbie feels sad that his best friend, Emma, wants to move to Earth so badly. It makes him sad to think he could lose his best friend forever. But at the end of the story, Robbie changes his mind and thinks that visiting Earth sounds pretty cool. Robbie’s mind changed a lot from the beginning of the story to the end. Have a discussion with your class about experiences they have had changing their minds. Have them think about a time where they changed their mind or their feelings. How did they feel at first? How did they feel afterward? Why is it important to keep an open mind about situations and even change your mind about something? (connecting to the text, theme)

4. Skill Building and Writing

Featured Skill: Setting

  • Distribute or digitally assign the Setting Skill Builder.
  • Ask students to write a response to the Think and Write prompt on page 15.

 

Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers

To help striving readers, play the audio of the story as students follow along in their magazines. Pause at the end of each section to discuss what happened, and together write answers to each of the Pause and Think questions.

For Multilingual Learners

This story has a number of words that establish the moon colony setting of the story. Before reading, go over these terms: biodome, colony, robocat, rover, spacesuits, spaceship, and gravity. Ask students to identify which words they know and don’t know. If possible, show pictures of the words.

For Advanced Readers

Ask students to rewrite one of the last two sections from Emma’s perspective. How would the story change based on her point of view? What might she think or hope, and how would it be different from how Robbie told the story?

Text-to-Speech