Pictures
True or False
Fill in the Blank
Multiple Choice
Read and Respond
100
Everybody do 10 jumping jacks!
If you did jumping jacks, you earned a Dojo Point!
100
True or False
Katherine Johnson hated math.
False!
100
If you picked this question, you get to lead one round of Simon Says!
Everyone who participated gets one Dojo Point!
100
Which of the following best describes attitudes toward girls at the time Katherine Johnson was born?
- A
Girls weren’t valued for their intellectual abilities.
- B
Girls were considered equal to boys in every way.
- C
Girls were highly valued for their contributions to math and science.
- D
Girls were given more opportunities than boys.
Girls weren’t valued for their intellectual abilities.
100
There’s only one word in the dictionary that’s spelled wrong. What is it?
The word “wrong.” It’s the only word that’s spelled W-R-O-N-G!
200
Who is this?
A) Ruby Bridges
B) Katherine Johnson
C) Michelle Obama
This is Katherine Johnson!
200
True or False
Pizza is delicious.
This is an opinion question, so whatever you think is correct!
200
Fill in the blank
This was before computers had silicon chips.
Computers back then had a pulse in their wrists.
These women at ________ crunched numbers nonstop.
Without them, the engineers couldn’t do their jobs.
These women at NASA crunched numbers nonstop.
200
As a young child, Katherine Johnson was very interested in math. By her own description, she “counted everything.” Intelligent and hardworking, she wound up skipping several grades in school. Johnson’s father placed a lot of importance on his children’s education. In Johnson’s hometown of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, as in many other places at the time, African Americans like Johnson were not allowed to go to school past eighth grade. Johnson’s father moved the family 125 miles away so that she could continue on to attend high school, which she began at age 10.
According to the passage, what is one challenge Johnson faced as a child?
A) She had difficulty understanding math concepts.
B) Her father didn’t support her interest in mathematics.
C) In her hometown, African Americans were not allowed to complete their education.
D) There were no elementary schools in her hometown of White Sulphur Springs, WV.
In her hometown, African Americans were not allowed to complete their education.
300
Who is this?
/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/45/5c/455c3b77-e592-4058-93d6-9527bb036a40/s-61-2525.jpg)
A) John Glenn
B) George Washington
C) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This is John Glenn!
300
True or False
Katherine Johnson was an astronaut.
False!
Katherine Johnson worked for NASA as a human computer. Her calculations helped the engineers and astronauts with their jobs.
300
Though _________ split the group [of computers] in half.
Different bathrooms, cafeterias, workspace.
Unequal treatment hurt in the worst way.
Though segregation split the group [of computers] in half.
300
The human computers at NASA were
- A
young children with strong math skills.
- B
electronic machines made of metal and wires.
- C
women who did calculations with numbers.
- D
rockets that orbited Earth.
The human computers at NASA were women who did calculations with numbers.
300
At 15, Johnson began college at West Virginia State University, where her professors recognized her mathematical abilities. One of these professors, W.W Schiefflin Claytor, was the third African-American man to earn a doctoral degree in mathematics. Claytor told Johnson that she would make a good research mathematician and encouraged her to take many math classes, including a class he created specifically for her about the geometry of space. Johnson graduated college at 18 with degrees in mathematics and French. Despite her dreams of working in the mathematics field, women were limited to careers in teaching and nursing at the time. Johnson became a teacher.
Based on the passage, what is true about Johnson’s life after college?
A) She got a job working as a research mathematician.
B) She was not immediately able to pursue the career she most wanted.
C) She began teaching at West Virginia State University.
D) She started developing new theories about the geometry of space.
She was not immediately able to pursue the career she most wanted.
400
What do we call the National Aeronautics and Space Administration?
Hint: Katherine Johnson worked here.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is called NASA!
400
True or False
Katherine enrolled in college at age 15.
True!
400
On John Glenn’s first orbit of the Earth,
They used an electronic computer to make it work,
But ______ ______ said no. Don’t launch me yet.
I want Katherine Johnson to double check.
But John Glenn said no. Don’t launch me yet.
400
Which of the following best describes the organization of black and white human computers at NASA in the 1950s?
- A
Black and white computers all worked and ate meals together.
- B
Black computers were forced to use separate workspaces, bathrooms and cafeterias than white computers.
- C
White computers were the black computers’ bosses, and black computers did projects for them.
- D
Black computers were the white computers’ bosses, and white computers did projects for them.
Black computers were forced to use separate workspaces, bathrooms and cafeterias than white computers.
400
In 1935, NACA began hiring white women to measure, calculate and plot the results of flight tests run by the male engineers. These women often had degrees in math or science. Their job title was “computer.” (The modern electronic computers we’re familiar with didn’t yet exist.) An engineer is someone with scientific training who designs and builds complex products, machines, systems or structures.
The human computers’ work was very tedious and precise. It was done mostly by hand, using slide rules, curves, magnifying glasses and basic calculating machines. The computers freed the engineers from having to do this time-consuming work. The engineers used the computers’ completed calculations to design additional tests. A computer job paid more than teaching or nursing. However, men with qualifications similar to the computers were often hired as junior engineers. "Junior engineer" was a higher-level job with a higher salary.
Which of the following best describes a computer at NACA in 1935?
A) a man using information to design a flight test
B) a woman doing precise calculations by hand
C) an electronic machine that performed precise calculations
D) a very high-level job that paid more than an engineering job
In 1935, a computer was a woman doing precise calculations by hand.
500
What did Katherine Johnson do at NASA?
Katherine Johnson did math calculations of flight trajectories at NASA as a human computer.
500
True or False
John Glenn wanted Katherine Johnson to check the electronic computer's calculations before he went to space.
True!
500
A Black girl born at a time,
When girls weren’t prized for their minds.
And Black folk had to fight to survive
Under segregation laws that white folk had devised.
And though there were many obstacles in her path,
__________ __________ didn’t let them hold her back.
And though there were many obstacles in her path,
Katherine Johnson didn’t let them hold her back.
500
How did Katherine Johnson respond when it seemed that certain meetings at NASA were only for men?
- A
She accepted that the meetings were only for men and didn’t ask to attend.
- B
She created special meetings that were only for women.
- C
She brought NASA to court and won the right for women to attend all meetings.
- D
She asked if there was a law against women attending and then attended the meetings.
She asked if there was a law against women attending and then attended the meetings.
500
In December 1941, the US entered World War II. Millions of men went to serve in the war, creating a big shortage of workers at home. As a result, women had the opportunity to join the workforce in greater numbers. In June 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had also issued Executive Order 8802. This order banned discrimination based on “race, creed, color or national origin” in the employment of government and defense workers. This meant that someone could not be turned down for this type of job because of the color of their skin, their beliefs or where they came from. NACA began recruiting black women to work as computers, and Johnson joined in 1953.
Based on the passage, before 1941, the American workforce was made up mostly of
A) presidents.
B) white women.
C) black women.
D) men.
Before 1941, the American workforce was made up mostly of men.