30 lance armstrong

Level: L
DRA: 24
Genre:
Narrative Nonfiction
Strategy:
Summarize
Skill:
Understanding Characters
Word Count: 444

Lance Armstrong

1.6.30

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

by David Lau

ISBN-13:978-0-547-02736-4
ISBN-10:0-547-02736-2

1032768
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN

1_027364_AL_LRSE_CVR_L30_ARMST.indd 1

5/17/10 6:59:49 PM

Lance
Armstrong

by David Lau

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover © Doug Pensinger/Getty Images; 1 © Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images;
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10 © Laurent Rebours
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ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02736-4
ISBN-10: 0-547-02736-2
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When he was young,
Lance Armstrong was a lot like
other kids. He didn’t have any
brothers or sisters. He liked to
play, swim, and ride his bike.

But Lance could also ride his
bike for hours and swim for
miles. Lance liked to race, and
he never gave up.
2


Lance liked
many sports, but
he was happier
in a race than on
a football or
soccer field. He
loved to cross a
finish line first!
When Lance
ran a race, he ran
hard. If he fell
behind, he didn’t
give up. He just
ran harder.

3


Lance also liked swimming
races. He often beat swimmers
who were older and stronger!
Lance trained hard to win.
Each morning, he rode his bike

ten miles and swam three miles.
After school, he did it again!
4


Lance runs in a triathlon at age 17.

One day, Lance heard about a
race called a triathlon. In this
race, racers swim, run, and ride
a bike. Lance thought he would
be good at this race.
He won the Iron Kids Triathlon
when he was only thirteen!
5

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To train for triathlons, Lance
took long bike rides. Sometimes
he rode all the way out of Texas!
Then Lance had to call his mom.
She would have to drive her
car to pick him up!
Lance was sorry to make her
drive so far. But his mom was
proud that he was one of the

best triathlon racers in Texas.
6


As he got older,
Lance decided that
he liked bike
racing the most.
Then everything
changed. Lance got
very sick. He was
weak and in pain.
The doctors didn’t
know if he would
ever get well, or
if he would ever
race again.
Fighting to get well was much
harder than racing, but Lance
still didn’t give up.
7


In time, Lance
got stronger. He
went to France
for a big race.
The first day
went well, but
the second day

was too hard.
He had to leave
the race. People
wondered if
Lance had given
up on becoming
a champion.

8


Lance wanted to try again.
He asked his coach for help.
His coach told him to go slow
at the beginning of the race.
Then, when other riders were
tired, Lance could ride his
hardest to take the lead.
9


It worked! Lance was soon
winning races all over the world.
Lance had finally achieved
his dream. He was a champion!
Now everyone knows Lance
Armstrong’s name. They also
know that he never gives up!
10

Responding
Understanding
Characters What does Lance
Armstrong say in the story?
What does he do? How does
he feel? Make a chart.
TARGET SKILL

Write About It
Text to Text Think of the story
you read about Mia Hamm. Do
you admire Mia or Lance more?
Write two sentences to tell what
you think and why.
11


WORDS TO KNOW

brothers

loved

people

everyone

most

sorry

field

only
LEARN MORE WORDS

champion coach

train

Understanding
Characters Tell more about
characters.
TARGET SKILL

Summarize
Stop to tell important ideas as
you read.
TARGET STRATEGY

GENRE Narrative nonfiction tells
a true story about a topic.
12


Level: L
DRA: 24
Genre:
Narrative Nonfiction

Strategy:
Summarize
Skill:
Understanding Characters
Word Count: 444

Lance Armstrong

1.6.30

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

by David Lau

ISBN-13:978-0-547-02736-4
ISBN-10:0-547-02736-2

1032768
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN

1_027364_AL_LRSE_CVR_L30_ARMST.indd 1

5/17/10 6:59:49 PM