Katherine Johnson: A Pioneer in Space
A Grade 3 social studies worksheet introducing students to the life and contributions of Katherine Johnson, a groundbreaking NASA mathematician.
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Katherine Johnson: A Pioneer in Space
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Read about Katherine Johnson and answer the questions below. Remember to use complete sentences for short answer questions.
Katherine Johnson was a brilliant mathematician who worked for NASA. She was born in 1918 in West Virginia. Even as a young girl, she loved numbers and was very good at math. She started high school when she was only 10 years old! After college, Katherine went to work for NACA, which later became NASA.
At NASA, Katherine was a human computer. This meant she did complex math calculations by hand to help send rockets and astronauts into space. Her work was very important for the success of early space missions, like sending the first American, John Glenn, into orbit around Earth. Katherine Johnson was a true pioneer!
1. What did Katherine Johnson love and excel at even as a young girl?
Reading
Drawing
Math
Singing
2. What organization did Katherine Johnson work for?
FBI
NASA
CIA
Doctors Without Borders
3. Katherine Johnson was born in in 1918.
4. At NASA, Katherine was known as a human .
5. Why was Katherine Johnson's work important for early space missions?
6. Katherine Johnson was not good at math when she was a child.
True
False