NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson

From the Series STEM Trailblazer Bios

  • Interest Level: Grade 2 - Grade 5
  • Reading Level: Grade 4

What do you want to be when you grow up? When Katherine Johnson was young, women weren’t expected to go into the math and science fields. Johnson loved math, but she never thought she could be a mathematician. After studying math in school and teaching for a few years, she learned that the organization that would later become NASA was hiring women to complete mathematical equations. As an African American woman, Johnson had to work hard to earn the respect of her coworkers, but they soon came to rely on her brilliant calculations. Her contributions to the US space program helped send astronauts to the moon. Learn how Johnson broke barriers as a female African American mathematician.

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Interest Level Grade 2 - Grade 5
Reading Level Grade 4
Genre Science
Category 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, 5KN: Narrative Nonfiction, STEM, STEM: Interdisciplinary
Copyright 2018
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Lerner Publications ™, LernerClassroom
Language English
Number of Pages 32
Publication Date 2017-08-01
Reading Counts! Level 5.5
Text Type Narrative Nonfiction
BISACS JNF007090, JNF007120, JNF018010
Dewey 510.92 [B]
Graphics Full-color illustrations
Dimensions 7 x 9
Lexile 850
Guided Reading Level U
ATOS Reading Level 5.5
Accelerated Reader® Quiz 190860
Accelerated Reader® Points 0.5
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Bibliography/further reading, Glossary, Glossary words bolded within text, Index, Reviewed, Sidebars, Source notes, Table of contents, Teaching Guides, Timeline, Websites, and eSource

Author: Heather E. Schwartz

When Heather E. Schwartz was thirteen years old, she tracked down several lead orphans from the 1983 movie “Annie” and interviewed them by phone. As an adult, she realized she could apply those same early instincts to a career as a journalist and writer. She is the author of more than 35 nonfiction children’s titles, published by Lerner Publishing Group, Capstone Press, Teacher Created Materials, Lucent Books, and Tangerine Press, a Scholastic imprint. She has written articles for National Geographic Kids and Discovery Girls. In addition, she developed the content for KidsGetArthritisToo.org, the juvenile section of the Arthritis Foundation’s website. Other credits in the children’s market include articles for Teen, Girls’ Life, and All About You magazines. Additionally, Ms. Schwartz is a former editor at Bridal Guide magazine, co-author of Bridal Guide Magazine’s How to Choose the Perfect Wedding Gown (Warner, 2004), and contributor to The Takeout Cookbook (Knock Knock 2007).

Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!

STEM Trailblazer Bios

Read about the life stories and significant contributions of some of today’s most accomplished figures in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields. Narrative nonfiction text explores key details from each person’s life, often… View available downloads →

Reviews

School Library Journal

“[N]atural companion texts for maker spaces. . . . Upbeat profiles of admirable STEM figures and fine additions to biography collections.”—School Library Journal