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Classroom · Grades 5–12

Mae Jemison

Jemison’s career links engineering, medicine, public health, and spaceflight, and she has used it to argue that access to science should not be limited by race, sex, or geography.

Lesson at a Glance

Grades
Grades 5–12
Time
One class period (20–40 minutes)
Standards
NCSS Themes 8 (Science, Technology, and Society) and 4 (Individual Development and Identity); C3 D2.His.1.6-8, D2.Civ.2.6-8
Reading
Mae Jemison (profile)

Big Idea

Jemison’s career links engineering, medicine, public health, and spaceflight, and she has used it to argue that access to science should not be limited by race, sex, or geography.

Before Class

Students read the profile of Mae Jemison, including the Key Dates and Sources.

Discussion Questions

  1. Jemison studied chemical engineering, African and Afro-American Studies, medicine, and dance. How might such a wide range of interests make someone a better scientist or astronaut?
  2. Before joining NASA, Jemison served as a Peace Corps medical officer in Sierra Leone and Liberia. How did that experience connect to her later work with The Jemison Group and The Earth We Share?
  3. NASA describes Jemison as the first woman of color in the world to go into space. Why do “firsts” matter to the public, and what do they leave out?
  4. The 100 Year Starship initiative aims at interstellar travel within a century. Why might a goal so far in the future still drive useful advances on Earth?

Activity

Students read NASA’s official biographical data sheet for Jemison and sort its information into categories on a chart: education, medical work, NASA assignments, the STS-47 mission, and post-NASA work. In small groups they discuss what an official government biography chooses to emphasize and compare it with the profile, which adds context such as her childhood in Chicago and her later foundations. Each student writes a two-sentence answer to the question: what does Jemison’s career suggest about the paths into science? (20–30 minutes)

Primary Sources

Cite this page
MLA
“Classroom lesson: Mae Jemison.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/classroom/mae-jemison/.
APA
Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Classroom lesson: Mae Jemison. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/classroom/mae-jemison/
Chicago
Black-History.com Editors. “Classroom lesson: Mae Jemison.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/classroom/mae-jemison/.
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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