View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does NASA stand for?

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

3. What did Shetterly say was one of Katherine Goble Johnson's "great talents?"

4. What did the students in Christine Mann Darden's high school worry about when they heard the Brown v. Board of Education decision?

5. What was special about Mary Jackson's son winning the soap box derby?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Mary Jackson's reaction the first time she walked into Hampton High School to take engineering classes?

2. Why did the talk that Mary Jackson and Emma Jean gave to a group of girls have such a great impact on the girls?

3. What was one major change that occurred when NACA became NASA?

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

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

6. What did Americans fear when Russia launched Sputnik?

7. Why was Katherine Goble Johnson warned not to ask for a transfer to an engineering group when she started working at Langley?

8. Why was the U.S. Army called to a school in Little Rock, Arkansas?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Shetterly periodically introduces a new individual in the book, which helps to move the story forward into the future. Write an essay describing the way in which Shetterly introduces individuals and how that keeps the timeline of the book moving forward. Why does Shetterly introduce individuals in the way she does? How does her introduction of new individuals show the way in which the work one woman did helped the next woman to succeed?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining why Shetterly includes a discussion of the original Star Trek television series. What was important about the series? How did it relate to the civil rights movement? How did the series relate to the work being done at Langley?

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,002 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample