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Hidden Figures Class Museum Project, Amanda Benigni, Anna Smith

Museum Assignments

In the secondary English/Language Arts classroom, inquiry-based learning is most often adopted as a method for teaching literary analysis. But teachers too often overlook the fact that literary analysis is not the only means of facilitating inquiry-based learning. Research, particularly archival research, can provide students with yet another opportunity for inquiry and reflective thinking.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (both the mass-market paperback and the Young Reader's Edition), is a text that is especially well-suited to teaching archival research skills to young learners, as it is itself the product of a rigorous, thoughtful, and purposeful research project conducted by …

Cold War Activities, Maureen Miller, Hope Bragg, Christy Keefer

Integrated Math & Social Studies Lessons

These activities provide students with the background regarding the importance of the work being done by the women of West Computing. Students will develop a knowledge base of the events that occurred after World War II that led to the escalation of the Cold War. The lessons include short video clips that provide students with information in a media format that appeals to them. Through synthesizing the research completed by each student, the class will compile a timeline of Cold War Events. It was these events that lead to the urgency of the United States to win the war which …

Math And Physics Activities, Maureen Miller, Hope Bragg, Christy Keefer

Integrated Math & Social Studies Lessons

Mathematics is at the core of the Hidden Figures story. These women were united by their passion for the field of mathematics. Society often portrays that there are “bad” math students, those that struggle with calculations and applications. The structure of these activities, pairing of students, permits students to support each other in working through the problems. The video clip allows students to establish connections between mathematical calculations and scientific concepts. The physics problems that students complete are motion problems that beginning rocket engineers would have solved to determine how high their rocket flew.

Separate Gender Activity, Maureen Miller, Hope Bragg, Christy Keefer

Integrated Math & Social Studies Lessons

The activities in this lesson support the students to investigate the development of STEM fields. The lessons incorporate single and mixed gender activities to encourage free discussion. Students will explore their own biases regarding those who have contributed to STEM knowledge. Through research and discourse, students will examine how society reinforces our preconceived notions and how that effects career choices. The video clips permit the students to examine how media can influence our opinions and ideas. The final activity, creation of a Woman in STEM poster, emphasizes the importance of leaving a legacy for future generations.

Civil Rights Activities, Maureen Miller, Hope Bragg, Christy Keefer

Integrated Math & Social Studies Lessons

The activities in this lesson support the students to investigate the development of Civil Rights initiatives leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lesson includes readings on Jim Crow laws, Brown vs Board of Education, Montgomery bus boycott, and the sit-in movements, .