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James Madison University Center for Economic Education Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 1 Provided by:

James Madison University Center for Economic Education Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 2 Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race Introduction: During the time of Jim Crow laws, Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden were able to use their talents to advance science and secure America’s legacy in the space race. Time Required: 20-25 minutes. Materials: • A copy of Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly • Characteristic Cards – (Best printed on cardstock) Objectives: • The student will be introduced to the characteristics of the four women featured in Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race • The student will participate in a teacher directed activity ranking the characteristics of these successful as applied to specific scenarios. Virginia Standards of Learning – History & Social Sciences 1.8 The student will explain that people make choices because they cannot have everything they want. USII.9c) The student will apply social science skills to understand the key domestic and international issues during the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries by c) analyzing how representative citizens have influenced America scientifically, culturally, academically, and economically; CE.14 The student will apply social science skills to understand personal finance and career opportunities by a) identifying talents, interests, and aspirations that influence career choice; b) identifying human capital such as attitudes and behaviors that strengthen the individual work ethic and promote career success; c) identifying human capital such as abilities, skills, and education and the changing supply of and demand for them in the economy;

James Madison University Center for Economic Education Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 3 Procedure: 1. Collect and prepare materials prior to class. 2. Introduce the lesson by asking the students if they know what a “computer” is. Explain that today computers are considered machines, however in the 1940’s computers were people whose job it was to do math. 3. Show the students the cover of the book Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race. Tell the students that the four women depicted were “computers” for NASA and helped make the space program a success. 4. Ask the students if they can see any visual hints by the illustrator that would indicate that these women were good at math and worked in America’s space program. [There are math equations on their clothing and their earrings are planets and stars. The moon is in the background and a rocket is approaching it.] 5. Read the book to the students if time allows. This takes between seven and eight minutes. A YouTube reading can be located here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKFiSCQK5uY 6. Tell the students that Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden were very smart women who managed to be successful in the fields of math, science, and technology: jobs that were mostly held by men during this time. Ask the students if they can name some qualities or characteristics that these women had that enabled them to be successful. [Students will often mention that they were very smart.] 7. Explain to the students that they are going to participating in an activity that has no right or wrong answers. 8. Show the students the characteristic cards and read the descriptive word on each card, defining them if necessary. 9. Distribute the cards to eight students. Ask them to come up to the front of the classroom. Tell the students that you will be reading a scenario to them describing a situation that one or more of the women in the book may have faced. The students are to arrange the characteristic cards, from left to right, from the characteristics that would be the most helpful to the least helpful in that situation. 10. Solicit comments and suggestions from other members of the class. Ask the students to explain their ranking. 11. Continue with some of the other scenarios as time allows. 12. Conclude the activity by reinforcing that a person’s success often depends on how they use the talents they have in the time period in which they live. Extension Activities:

James Madison University Center for Economic Education Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 4 • Challenge students to write interesting scenarios based on the content of the text. Encourage them to share these with the class. • Instruct the students to visit the biography section of the school’s library to discover other books about scientists, African Americans, and women trailblazers. Successful “Computer” Characteristic Cards African American Competitive Curious Determined Energetic Female Helpful Mathematical

James Madison University Center for Economic Education Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 5 Smart Scenario Cards Mary Jackson wanted to help other women and minorities. Late in her career she took a position in NASA’s Equal Opportunity Office. What personal characteristics would be the most helpful to her in this job? Dorothy Vaughn was curious when new machine computers were brought in to Langley to help with the space program. She wanted to learn how to program these computers and then teach others how to also. What personal characteristics do you think would be most helpful to accomplish this goal? Before he would go into and orbit the Earth, Astronaut John Glenn wanted Katherine Johnson to double-check the calculations made by the new computer machine. What characteristics of Katherine do you think John Glen recognized as being important to his safety and the success of the mission? Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden all were high school math teachers at some point in their careers. What characteristics do you think are important to be a good math teacher?

James Madison University Center for Economic Education Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 6 Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race Before reading: Introduce the book by asking the students if they know what a “computer” is. Explain that modern computers are considered machines, however in the 1940’s computers were people whose job it was to do math. Show the students the cover of the book Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race. Explain that the four women depicted on the cover were “computers” for NASA. Their math skills helped make the space program a success. Ask the students if they can see any visual clues that indicate these women were good at math and worked in America’s space program. [There are math equations on their clothing and their earrings are planets and stars. There is a moon behind them and a rocket is approaching it.] After reading discussion questions: 1. What was Dorothy Vaughan’s incentive for wanting to work for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1943? [The United States was involved in World War II and she wanted to help to use her math skill to help make airplanes fly faster and be safer.] 2. Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden were very smart and good students. After graduating from high school they all went to college even though most women during this time did not. Why do you think they went to college? [They loved learning and wanted to become even more knowledgeable, skilled, and valuable as a human resource. In economic terms, these four women were investing in their human capital.) 3. Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden were human resources with many skills and abilities. What are some of the skills that made them valuable human resources? [They were good at math. They liked working with people. They enjoyed learning and strived to get a good education. They were willing to work hard and overcome social injustices.] 4. Work is using skills and knowledge to get something done and achieve a purpose or result. People often do work to get paid and earn an income. What was the work the four women did for NASA? How do we know their work was valued by NASA? [The four women were “computers”, or mathematicians. We know NASA valued their work because they were paid for their time and effort.] 5. Why did NASA hire these women and pay them wages? [As human “computers” they have skills and knowledge that NASA needed in the 1960’s as it worked hard to get an American astronaut on the moon.]

James Madison University Center for Economic Education Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 7 6. NASA needed productive resources to prepare a spacecraft to orbit the earth. What were some of the resources it used? [Capital resources –Tools, buildings, machines, transportation devices. Natural Resources – metals. Human resources –Scientists, “computers”, astronauts, builders, planners, record keepers.] 7. Mary Jackson worked in a supersonic wind tunnel and wanted to become an engineer. She had to get special permission to attend classes which were held in a whites-only high school. Why did Mary want to become an engineer? [In 1958, Mary was able to become the first female African-American aerospace engineer at NASA. She was able to achieve her goal, earn more money, and set an example for other women and minorities aspiring to work in the sciences.] 8. In the 1950s Langley laboratory bought a machine computer that could do math much faster than the human computers. At first these machines made mistakes, but Dorothy Vaughan learned how to program the machines so that they got the right answer. If Dorothy had not learned how to program the new computer, do you think she would have been out of a job? [Probably.] People are always trying to improve technology so things can be done faster. When technology is improved or implemented, how does this usually impact the jobs that were needed to accomplish the same goals before. [Less people are needed to produce the same results and/or the skills and knowledge of the people doing the job needs to increase. Discuss some examples in history or today where technology has changed the number or skill level of the human resources needed.] 9. Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden all chose to work for NASA. All choices have costs (negatives) and benefits (positives). What do you think were some of the costs Katherine Johnson incurred while working for NASA during the space race? [She worked hard. Because she was a woman, initially she was not allowed to attend meetings to work on research reports or take credit for her research reports. Because she was African-American, she had to leave the building she worked in to use a segregated lunchroom and bathroom. She worked many hours and could not be with her family.] 10. What are some of the benefits Katherine Johnson incurred while working for NASA during the space race? [She was able to use her math skills and was finally allowed to attend meetings and take credit for her work. Astronaut John Glenn had so much confidence in her abilities that he waited until she had double checked the trajectory calculations before he orbited the Earth. She became a role model for women and minorities.]

James Madison University Center for Economic Education Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 8 11. Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden not only achieved great personal goals, they also worked for the rights of women and minorities. They understood that all people have strengths and can contribute to society if they work hard to gain knowledge and skills and apply it. Can you think of ways that you can help others?