Katherine Johnson: Scientist:The Computer that Wore Skirts(Play)

Learn about Katherine Johnson, a physicist, space scientist and mathematician, who played a very important role with NASA’s early space missions. The movie Hidden Figures highlights the role of NASA's "computers" such as Katherine Johnson and their contributions. Part of my Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Series of Reader's Theater Scripts, there are comprehension questions, a Did You Know? section,a Teacher page with extensions/links and key. A great STEM biography!

Additional Resources on this Topic You May Find of Interest:

1. Learn about the history of space with this informative web quest.

There are 12 web questions, comprehension questions and extension activities:

Space: A Webquest/Extension Activities

2. Learn about Astronaut John Glenn's historic flight to become the first American to Orbit the Earth. Years later, he would also become the oldest American to go on the Space Shuttle! This biographical web quest also contains several questions about the early days of space exploration. There are several

extension activities and the key: John Glenn, A Webquest

3. A Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Reader's Theater Script.

Use this informational and fun script for students to learn about Marie Curie, the Polish scientists who was a pioneer in the area of radioactivity. *Students will find some of the uses of radioactive materials in the 1920s most interesting(as did I). Radium was placed in toothpaste to make teeth whiter, it was placed in shampoo, face creams, even chocolate! Even Marie and Pierre kept a glass jar with radium salt on their night stand because they were fascinated by its glow. People didn't realize the harmfulness of radioactivity.

A "studio" audience asks questions of Ms. Bie Ografee's guest, Marie Curie. There are comprehension questions, a Did You Know? section, a Teacher Page with extension activities, key and additional links.Marie Curie: A Reader's Theater Script

4. A Biologist and marine zoologist, Carson’s books shared her love of nature, especially the ocean and its inhabitants. Her book, Silent Spring, sparked concern in how chemical pesticides were harming our environment. Carson helped to start the environmental movement in our country, which led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This Reader's Theater Script could be used as a STEM biography any time of year or especially during the time of Earth Day: Rachel Carson: A Reader's Theater Script

4. Trailblazers in Science: A Bundle of Six Reader's Theater Scripts: STEM Biographies(George W. Carver, Jacques Cousteau, Elizabeth Blackwell, Thomas Edison, Marie Curie and this play(Katherine Johnson): Trailblazers in Science(Six STEM Biographies) Reader's Theater Scripts

5. An English primatologist, Jane Goodall, has helped to change the attitudes people had toward animals, specifically the chimpanzee. Her method of studying chimpanzees involved living amongst them, for over 55 years. She is also known as an anthropologist, humanitarian and writer. She has worked for better treatment of animals in zoos and protection of the habitat of animals in the wild. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Jane-Goodall-A-Readers-Theater-Script-4836410

Mrs. Bie Ografee Talk Show Reading Theater Scripts:

Vikings

Ferdinand Magellan

Marco Polo

Christopher Columbus

Leonardo da Vinci

Michelangelo

Visit with a Crusader

Visit with a Victim of the Black Death

Martin Luther King Jr.

Rosa Parks

Harriet Tubman

George Washington Carver

Katherine Johnson

Tuskegee Airmen

Marian Anderson

Marie Curie

Galileo Galilei

Sir Isaac Newton

Albert Einstein

Jane Goodall

Moon Landing: Interview with first astronauts to walk on the moon

Rachel Carson

Jacques Cousteau

Thomas Edison

Visit with a Pilgrim

Revolutionary War Female Spies

Revolutionary War Tory

Thomas Jefferson

James Madison, Father of the Constitution

Pioneer Woman, Narcissa Whitman

Civil War Women Soldiers

Sacagaewa

Sequoyah

Lewis and Clark

Abraham Lincoln

California Gold Rush: Visit with a ‘49er

Wright Brothers

A Road trip Across the USA for Women’s Suffrage

WW 2: Women Pilots

Elizabeth Blackwell

Susan B. Anthony

Sonia Sotomayor

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Louisa May Alcott

Edgar Allen Poe

William Shakespeare

Charles Dickens

Johnny Appleseed

Visit with a Leprechaun

Visit with a Groundhog

To Tell the Truth Plays:

Hans Christian Andersen

Elizabeth Blackwell

Amelia Earhart

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt

Elizabeth Blackwell

First Lady Edith Wilson

First Lady Florence Harding

King Tut

First Lady Hillary Clinton

First Lady Michelle Obama

First Lady Abigail Adams

First Lady Martha Washington

First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln

First Lady Dolly Madison

First Lady Lady Bird Johnson

My website for teachers/kids has lots of geography activities, short reads, factoids on different topics, news, career surveys, bell ringers and more.

Photograph with permission from NASA(Gwen Pitman). Illustrations from wpclipart.com

Key words: Science, STEM, women in Science,biographies