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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many students were killed in the bus crash at Moton High School?

2. What was the name of the white woman who went with Mary Jackson to speak to a group of black female students about science and engineering careers?

3. How old was Christine Mann Darden when she started the second grade?

4. Where did NASA move the space program to in anticipation of the large number of people needed to accomplish the manned orbital flight?

5. What did school boards in the community around Langley do to keep black students from attending white schools after schools were integrated?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Katherine Goble Johnson prohibited from attending the editorial meetings?

2. Why did Dorothy Lee regret agreeing with a reporter when she said that women had to act like ladies in the workplace?

3. What made the theoretical group an especially good place for women to work?

4. How did black families handle the closing of schools in Prince Edward due to defunding by segregationists?

5. Why did Katherine Goble Johnson eat at her desk when she worked in the Flight Research Division?

6. Why did Melvin Butler fail to inform the engineering staff that James Williams was black?

7. What happened at Moton High School that drew them into the Brown v. Board of Education case?

8. Why was there confusion about which room to place Katherine Goble Johnson's mother in when she was in the hospital?

9. Why did Katherine and Jimmy Goble have to stay with relatives when they attended Jimmy's sister's wedding?

10. Why did Mary Jackson think it was important for her son to participate in the soap box derby?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Women working at Langley were subjected to gender stereotypes that influenced the way that the men they worked with treated them. Write an essay discussing the gender stereotypes that were in play at the time and how those stereotypes affected the women who worked at Langley. How did their male coworkers feel about the work the women did? How did the stereotypes affect women’s possibilities for advancing in their careers?

Essay Topic 2

Shetterly dedicates an entire chapter to Mary Jackson’s son entering a soap box derby. Write an essay explaining the purpose of this chapter. How does the chapter relate to the themes of the book? What information about the individuals focused on does Shetterly communicate through this chapter? What information does the chapter communicate about racial relations during the time period?

Essay Topic 3

Katherine Goble Johnson is an important figure in the book. How does Katherine’s story help the author to explore the themes of gender stereotypes, segregation, and discrimination? How did Katherine’s outlook help her to overcome discrimination? What personality traits did Katherine possess that helped her to succeed in a male-dominated workplace?

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