English- Counting on Katherine

Lesson: English

Class: Year 4F Year: 2024 - 2025

This term, we have been reading and writing about the book, Counting on Katherine. It tells the inspiring true story of Katherine Johnson, a brilliant African American mathematician who played a crucial role at NASA during the early space program. Growing up in West Virginia, Katherine loved math and excelled in her studies, often being the only girl in her classes. Despite facing challenges due to her race and gender, she never gave up on her dreams.

When Katherine was hired at NASA, she used her exceptional skills to help calculate the trajectories for the first American in space and later for the moon landing. The story emphasizes themes of perseverance, the importance of education, and breaking barriers. It's a wonderful tale that encourages kids to pursue their passions and highlights the power of determination. We have had lots of discussions about equlaity and overcoming obstacles. 

For  this lesson, we did role plays where we acted out the key moment Katherine was success and started her dream job at NASA!