Discover a Hidden Figure: Katherine Johnson | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G6:M4:U2:L11

Discover a Hidden Figure: Katherine Johnson

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RI.6.1, RI.6.3, RI.6.9, W.6.1, W.6.9b, L.6.2a

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RI.6.10, W.6.10, SL.6.1a
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can analyze the way in which an author introduces and elaborates on Katherine Johnson's character in the text. (RI.6.3)
  • I can gather evidence and develop reasoning for an argument essay about Katherine Johnson's remarkable accomplishments. (W.6.1)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 11 (RI.6.1, RI.6.3, RI.6.9)
  • Work Time A: Gist on sticky notes
  • Work Time B: Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 note-catcher (RI.6.1, RI.6.3, L.6.2a, SL.6.1a)
  • Closing and Assessment A: Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher (RI.6.1, RI.6.3, W.6.1, W.6.9b, W.6.10)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - RI.6.9 (10 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Read Hidden Figures, Chapter 12 - RI.6.3 (15 minutes)

B. Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 - RI.6.3, L.6.2a (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Gather Evidence - W.6.1 (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Preread Anchor Text: Students preread chapters 13 and 16 in Hidden Figures in preparation for studying these chapters in the next lesson.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • RI.6.9 - Opening A: Students complete an entrance ticket in which they compare and contrast the authors' presentations of events in the two texts from the previous lesson.
  • RI.6.3 - Work Time A: After students read a chapter about hidden figure Katherine Johnson, they answer questions about how Margot Lee Shetterly develops Katherine's character in the chapter.
  • RI.6.1 - Work Time B: Students participate in a Language Dive, using textual evidence to answer questions about and support their analysis of the sentence.
  • RI.6.3 - Work Time B: During the Language Dive, students examine how the author develops Katherine's character with the information in the sentence.
  • L.6.2a - Work Time B: During the Language Dive, students note how to use commas to set off a nonrestrictive element in the sentence. They complete a practice frame to practice using commas in this way themselves.
  • RI.6.1 - Closing and Assessment A: Students add to their Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher with evidence from the text.
  • W.6.1 - Closing and Assessment A: Students gather relevant evidence and use clear reasons to support claims that they will elaborate on in an argument essay in Unit 3.
  • W.6.9b - Closing and Assessment A: Students gather relevant evidence from the anchor text to support their claims.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Students have been practicing RI.6.9 by comparing and contrasting texts that convey the same events, but with slightly different content, author methods, and points of view. Facilitate additional opportunities for students to address RI.6.9 by providing texts that show a wider disparity in the way events are presented. These text sets could include two sports articles that both describe the same game, but are written by fans of opposing teams, or two testimonials of witnesses to a crime.
  • During the Language Dive, students are given a sentence frame to complete to internalize the practiced sentence structure. For proficient writers, remove the sentence frame and allow students to craft their own sentences with a nonrestrictive clause.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the previous lesson, students continued developing their knowledge of hidden figure Mary Jackson. Students read, then compared and contrasted, two texts about an event in Mary's life. In this lesson, students "discover" a new hidden figure: Katherine Johnson. Students read a new chapter of Hidden Figures, which introduces them to Katherine and her accomplishments. A Language Dive helps deepen students' understanding of the way in which Katherine's character is introduced and elaborated on in the text.

Support All Students

  • In this lesson, a third hidden figure is introduced. Students may struggle to distinguish between each woman and unique details of each individual's life story. The children's picture book version of Hidden Figures provides a portrait and a short biography of each of the women highlighted in this text. Keep these pages on display for easy reference to mitigate this issue.

Assessment Guidance

  • Review students' entries on their Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher to ensure that recorded textual evidence is appropriate, relevant, and comprehensive. Remind students that this note-catcher serves as preparation for the essays they will write in Unit 3; the more effort they put into the note-catcher now, the easier the writing task will be later.
  • Review students' entries on their Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 note-catcher to ensure they understand the ways in which the author introduces and elaborates on Katherine's character, as well as the way commas can be used to set off nonrestrictive elements.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will participate in another jigsaw, this time with chapters from Hidden Figures that describe the life and accomplishments of Katherine Johnson. In preparation for the End of Unit 2 Assessment, students will continue to analyze the way in which Katherine's character is illustrated and elaborated upon in the text.

In Advance

  • Read chapter 12 in Hidden Figures in advance to identify plot points and vocabulary that may require clarification or sensitivity.
  • Prepare the Language Dive materials and review the Language Dive Guide to familiarize yourself with what students will need to know and be able to do.
  • Prepare copies of handouts for students (see Materials list).
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: Explore and implement resources created for students interested in STEM, just as Katherine Johnson was, through websites such as http://eled.org/0252.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 6.I.A.1, 6.I.B.6, 6.I.B.8, 6.II.A.1, 6.II.B.3, 6.II.B.4, and 6.II.C.6.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson features an entrance ticket that invites students to revisit the two texts from the previous lesson. Students use their completed note-catchers to answer simple questions about the texts' content, authors' methods, and authors' points of view. The structure of the questions is identical to what students will encounter on the end of unit assessment; engaging with these questions through a low-stakes entrance ticket supports ELLs' confidence and sets them up for success on the assessment. This lesson also features a Language Dive during which students analyze how a new hidden figure, Katherine Johnson, is developed in the text. This Language Dive also addresses L.6.2a, a critical Language standard that students will revisit in Unit 3.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to understand why the focus structure chunk (, as one of the school's first black students,) needs to be where it is in the Language Dive sentence. To support student understanding, the Dive presents the idea of dangling modifiers. Students learn that, if this chunk were elsewhere in the sentence, it would no longer be clear what the chunk is modifying (i.e., that the chunk refers to Katherine). If ELLs seem confused by this, remind them that dangling modifiers are part of an important Grade 7 Language standard (L.7.1c). As such, students do not need to fully understand dangling modifiers now, although their first attempt at making sense of them deserves celebration!

Vocabulary

  • desegregate (A)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Compare and Contrast Authors' Presentations of Events: Mary Jackson note-catchers (example for teacher reference) (from Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 10, Work Time A)
  • Gists: Hidden Figures anchor chart (example for teacher reference) (from Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Gists: Hidden Figures anchor chart (one for display; from Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Text Guide: Hidden Figures (Young Readers' Edition) (for teacher reference) (from Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Questions We Can Ask during a Language Dive anchor chart (one for display; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 9, Work Time B)
  • Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher (example for teacher reference) (from Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 9, Opening A)
  • Compare and Contrast Authors' Presentations of Events: Mary Jackson note-catcher (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 10, Work Time A)
  • Hidden Figures (Young Readers' Edition) (text; one per student; from Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 9, Opening A)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 11 (example for teacher reference)
  • Language Dive Guide: Hidden Figures, Page 96 (for teacher reference)
  • Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 Sentence Chunk Chart (for teacher reference)
  • Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 note-catcher (example for teacher reference)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 11 (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (one per student)
  • Synopsis: Hidden Figures, Chapter 12 (one per student)
  • Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 note-catcher (one per student)
  • Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 sentence chunk strips (one per pair or group)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

Opening

A. Engage the Learner - RI.6.9 (10 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as in previous lessons to distribute and review the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 11. Refer to the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 11 (example for teacher reference) for possible responses. Students will need their Compare and Contrast Authors' Presentations of Events: Mary Jackson note-catchers from the previous lesson and a copy of their anchor text, Hidden Figures. Refer to Compare and Contrast Authors' Presentations of Events: Mary Jackson note-catchers (example for teacher reference).
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as in previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as previous lessons. Invite students to choose a habit of character focus for themselves for this lesson.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Read Hidden Figures, Chapter 12 - RI.6.3 (15 minutes)

  • Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can analyze the way in which an author introduces and elaborates on Katherine Johnson's character in the text."

  • Tell students that they are going to learn about a new hidden figure today: Katherine Johnson. Point out that the text initially refers to Katherine by her first husband's last name, Goble. After her first husband died, she remarried and took her new husband's last name, Johnson.
  • Read aloud chapter 12 (pages 93-101) from Hidden Figures Students can follow along silently in their texts as the excerpt is read aloud.
  • Repeated routine: Students continue to record the gist on sticky notes, unpack and record unfamiliar vocabulary, update the Gists: Hidden Figures anchor chart, and reflect on their reading as they choose. Students continue to identify how key individuals in the text demonstrate habits of character. Refer to the Gists: Hidden Figures anchor chart (example for teacher reference), Text Guide: Hidden Figures, and chapter synopsis as needed, as well as any other appropriate resources.
  • Gist of chapter 12: Katherine Goble graduated high school at fourteen years old, completed all possible math classes at West Virginia State Institute by her junior year, and became a teacher. Katherine Goble and her husband moved to Newport News after being told of the opportunities at Langley. Goble was a member of the West Computing Pool for two weeks before she was assigned to the Flight Research Division.
  • Think-Pair-Share:

"What methods does Margot Lee Shetterly use in this excerpt to help develop the reader's understanding of Katherine?" (The author uses direct quotes from people in Katherine's life, anecdotes about experiences in Katherine's life, and some historical context to help develop the reader's understanding of Katherine.)

"What is something that the reader can infer about Katherine's character from this passage?" (Responses will vary, but may include: Katherine has always been skilled at math; Katherine is brave.)

  • Repeated routine: invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.
  • N/A

B. Language Dive: Hidden Figures, page 96 - RI.6.3, L.6.2a (15 minutes)

  • Tell students they will now participate in a Language Dive to analyze a sentence from chapter 12 of Hidden Figures. Students will analyze the way that the author illustrates Katherine Johnson's character in the text. They will also examine the author's use of commas to set off a nonrestrictive element in the sentence.
  • Refer to the Questions We Can Ask during a Language Dive anchor chart, reminding students that the questions underlined on the anchor chart are questions that students should always ask when they dive into a sentence.
  • Tell students they will now begin the Language Dive. Reread a passage from chapter 12, starting on page 96 ("Katherine accepted a place in graduate school studying mathematics") and continuing halfway through the end of the paragraph.
  • Focus students on the sentence on page 96:
    • "He wanted her to succeed and he feared that, as one of the school's first black students, she might have trouble accessing the books she needed at the white school's library."
  • Use the Language Dive Guide: Hidden Figures, Page 96 (for teacher reference) and the Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 Sentence Chunk Chart (for teacher reference) to guide students through a Language Dive conversation about the sentence. Distribute and display the Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 note-catcher and the Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Page 96 sentence chunk strips. Refer to the Language Dive: Hidden Figuress, Page 96 note-catcher (example for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Repeated routine: invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

For Lighter Support

  • As an extension to the Language Dive of Work Time B and to help prepare students for the collaborative argument essays of Unit 3, invite students who need lighter support to begin drafting the sentences for their essays using the focus structure of the Language Dive. Remind students of the prompt for the essay (What makes Mary Jackson or Katherine Johnson's accomplishments remarkable?). Provide frames as needed to support student understanding of the focus structure in the context of their essays:
    • Mary Jackson's accomplishments are remarkable because, as _______, she _______.
    • It is remarkable that Katherine Johnson _______ because, as ______, she faced terrible discrimination.

For Heavier Support

  • As an extension to the Language Dive of Work Time B and to support students' understanding of the focus structure, invite students who need heavier support to revisit the prologue and chapter 1 of Hidden Figures. They can locate variations of the focus structure and examine how the author has used this structure to add information about the characters of the text. They can also practice moving the as phrases around in the sentence, adding commas as needed. Some examples of sentences students may wish to analyze are given below:
    • My father, who as a high school student had wanted to study electrical engineering, lived a different story (1).
    • As children, they showed special skill in arithmetic, and they went on to study mathematics in college (5).

Source: Shetterly, Margot Lee. Hidden Figures (Young Readers' Edition). HarperCollins, 2016.

    Closing & Assessments

    Closing

    A. Gather Evidence - W.6.1 (5 minutes)

    • Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

    "I can gather evidence and develop reasoning for an argument essay about Katherine Johnson's remarkable accomplishments."

    • Invite students to retrieve their Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher. Guide students to locate the directions for Part II of the note-catcher and the following focusing question: why are Katherine Johnson's accomplishments remarkable?
    • Direct students to work with an elbow partner to fill in at least one example (accomplishment and evidence) about Katherine from chapter 12 of Hidden Figures. Refer to Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher (example for teacher reference).
    • Monitor students' work, and field questions as needed.
    • Repeated routine: invite students to reflect on their habit of character focus for this lesson.

    Homework

    Homework

    A. Preread Anchor Text

    • Students preread chapters 13 and 16 in Hidden Figures in preparation for studying these chapters in the next lesson.

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