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Classroom · Grades 5–12

Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson’s precise mathematics helped send Americans into space, and her career shows both the exclusion Black women faced in science and the excellence they achieved despite it.

Lesson at a Glance

Grades
Grades 5–12
Time
One class period (20–40 minutes)
Standards
NCSS Themes 8 (Science, Technology, and Society) and 5 (Individuals, Groups, and Institutions); C3 D2.His.3.6-8, D2.His.14.9-12
Reading
Katherine Johnson (profile)

Big Idea

Katherine Johnson’s precise mathematics helped send Americans into space, and her career shows both the exclusion Black women faced in science and the excellence they achieved despite it.

Before Class

Students read the profile of Katherine Johnson, including the Key Dates and Sources.

Discussion Questions

  1. Johnson began in a segregated unit of Black women computers. How did segregation at Langley shape the opportunities available to her and her colleagues?
  2. Why did John Glenn want Johnson to check the electronic computer’s numbers by hand before his 1962 flight? What does that say about trust in new technology?
  3. Johnson was the first woman in her division credited as an author of a research report. Why does credit on a report matter for a scientist’s career?
  4. Johnson’s work was widely recognized only in her nineties. Why do you think the contributions of the West Area Computers went unrecognized for so long?

Activity

Students view the NASA Technical Reports Server record for the 1960 report Johnson coauthored with Ted Skopinski and read its summary. In small groups (20–30 minutes), they restate in plain language the problem the report set out to solve and explain why it mattered for placing a spacecraft over a chosen point on Earth. Groups then use the profile to build a short timeline of Johnson’s career from West Virginia State to Apollo, marking each point where segregation or sex discrimination limited her, and each point where her work broke through.

Primary Sources

Cite this page
MLA
“Classroom lesson: Katherine Johnson.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/classroom/katherine-johnson/.
APA
Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Classroom lesson: Katherine Johnson. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/classroom/katherine-johnson/
Chicago
Black-History.com Editors. “Classroom lesson: Katherine Johnson.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/classroom/katherine-johnson/.
Editorial Note

By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.

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