Subscribe
← Lesson map
Bright Lives English · Teacher sheet

Katherine Johnson: She Counted Everything… Then an Astronaut Asked for Her

Level B1 (Intermediate) · Video 4:25 · 45-minute lesson

brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/katherine-johnson-check-the-numbers/

45-minute lesson plan

TimeStageWhat to do
0–3′Warm-upAsk the class: “Do you like math? Do you count things in your everyday life — steps, money, minutes? When do you check your work twice?” Let a few students answer.
3–11′WordsPre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: mathematician, calculate, path, check, orbit. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example.
11–18′VideoPlay the video (4:25). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed.
18–26′ComprehensionWorksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?”
26–34′Grammarperson + who + verb: to give more information about a person and join two sentences into one. Show “She was the woman who checked the numbers.”, then do worksheet E together.
34–42′WorksheetStudents do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key.
42–45′SpeakingIn pairs: “John Glenn trusted a person more than a new machine. Today, do you trust computers more than people, or people more than computers? Why?”

Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.

Words and grammar

  • mathematician (noun): a person who is an expert in math. “Her professor said she would be a great mathematician.”
  • calculate (verb): to use math to find an answer (past: calculated). “She calculated the path of the spaceship.”
  • path (noun): the line that something follows when it moves. “Every spaceship needs an exact path.”
  • check (verb): to look at something carefully to see if it is right (past: checked). “She checked every number by hand.”
  • orbit (noun): the round path of something that goes around a planet. “Glenn's ship made three orbits around the Earth.”

Grammar: person + who + verb — to give more information about a person and join two sentences into one. “She was the woman who checked the numbers.”

Discussion questions

  1. John Glenn trusted a person more than a new machine. Today, do you trust computers more than people, or people more than computers? Why?
  2. What was the hardest moment in Katherine Johnson's story? What did Katherine Johnson do?
  3. Make two sentences about your own life with “person + who + verb”. (From the story: “She was the woman who checked the numbers.”)

Student worksheet

Name: Date:

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. mathematician (noun)
  2. calculate (verb)
  3. path (noun)
  4. check (verb)
  5. orbit (noun)
  6. human computer (noun)
  7. launch (verb / noun)
  8. trajectory (noun)
  1. to send a rocket or spaceship up into the sky; the moment it goes up
  2. a person whose job was to do long math calculations by hand, before electronic computers
  3. to look at something carefully to see if it is right (past: checked)
  4. the line that something follows when it moves
  5. a person who is an expert in math
  6. the curved path of something that flies through the air or space
  7. the round path of something that goes around a planet
  8. to use math to find an answer (past: calculated)

B Complete the sentences from the story

checked · launched · mathematician · human computer · orbits · calculated · path · trajectory

  1. The rocket was early in the morning.
  2. She was a at a research center.
  3. Glenn's ship made three around the Earth.
  4. Her professor said she would be a great .
  5. She calculated the of the first American spaceflight.
  6. She the path of the spaceship.
  7. Every spaceship needs an exact .
  8. She every number by hand.

C Did you understand?

  1. As a girl, Katherine counted the steps to the road and the plates she washed.True / False
  2. How old was she when she started high school?
    1. Fourteen
    2. Eighteen
    3. Ten
    4. Seven
  3. Why did her family move to another town?
    1. Her father found a job at NASA
    2. There was no high school for Black children near her home
    3. She wanted to see the ocean
    4. Her school was too big
  4. As a human computer, she worked with an electronic computer.True / False
  5. What did she ask about the engineers' meetings?
    1. If she could stay at home
    2. If the meetings were in the evening
    3. If she could be the boss
    4. If there was a law against women going
  6. John Glenn did not trust the new electronic computers.True / False

D Put the words in order

  1. the / checked / numbers / was / She / the / woman / who

E Grammar: person + who + verb

We use it for to give more information about a person and join two sentences into one. the woman who checked the numbers · a professor who saw her talent · Glenn was the astronaut who orbited the Earth.

Example from the story: She was the woman who checked the numbers.

  1. She was a human computer, a woman did hard math by hand. (who / which / where)
  2. A professor saw her talent made new classes for her. (who / what / when)
  3. Glenn was the astronaut made three orbits around the Earth. (who / which / whose)

F Your turn

Retell Katherine Johnson's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Answer key

A. 1e 2h 3d 4c 5g 6b 7a 8f

B. 1 launched · 2 human computer · 3 orbits · 4 mathematician · 5 trajectory · 6 calculated · 7 path · 8 checked

C. 1 True · 2 c · 3 b · 4 False · 5 d · 6 True

D. 1 She was the woman who checked the numbers.

E. 1 who · 2 who · 3 who

Transcript

An astronaut was ready to fly around the Earth.

But he did not trust the new computer.

He wanted one woman to check the numbers.

Would they be right?

This is the story of Katherine Johnson.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Mathematician. A mathematician is a person who is an expert in math.

Her professor said she would be a great mathematician.

Calculate. When you calculate, you use math to find an answer.

The past is calculated.

She calculated the path of the spaceship.

Path. A path is the line that something follows when it moves.

Every spaceship needs an exact path.

Check. When you check something, you look at it carefully to see if it is right.

The past is checked.

She checked every number by hand.

Orbit. An orbit is the round path of something that goes around a planet.

Glenn's ship made three orbits around the Earth.

Now, one pattern: who.

We use who to give more information about a person.

She was a woman. She checked the numbers.

She was the woman who checked the numbers.

Ready? Let's begin.

Katherine Johnson was born in West Virginia in 1918.

As a little girl, she counted everything.

She counted the steps to the road, the steps to the church, and the plates she washed.

She learned very fast at school.

At only ten, she started high school!

But near her home, there was no high school for Black children.

So her family moved to another town.

At college, a professor who saw her talent made new math classes just for her.

Her professor said she would be a great mathematician.

At eighteen, she finished college with top marks.

In 1953, she started work at a government research center for airplanes.

She was a human computer, a woman who did hard math by hand.

Black women worked in a separate room.

The engineers had important meetings, but women did not go.

Katherine asked if there was a law against it.

There was not.

So she went.

In 1961, she calculated the path of the spaceship for the first American in space.

In 1962, John Glenn was ready to fly around the Earth.

Every spaceship needs an exact path.

New electronic computers calculated it.

But Glenn did not trust the machines.

Who could he trust?

He said: "Get the girl to check the numbers.

If she says they are good, I am ready to go."

Katherine was the woman who checked the numbers.

For a day and a half, she checked every number by hand.

The numbers were right.

On 20 February 1962, Glenn's ship made three orbits around the Earth.

Then it came home safely.

Later, she also calculated paths for the first trip to the Moon.

For many years, few people knew her name.

Then, in 2015, at 97, she received one of America's highest honors.

She died in 2020, at 101.

She was the girl who counted everything.

Let's review. Her professor said she would be a great mathematician.

She calculated the path of the spaceship.

Every spaceship needs an exact path.

She checked every number by hand.

Glenn's ship made three orbits around the Earth.

And remember: she was the woman who checked the numbers.

Katherine Johnson's story teaches us: careful work and brave questions can take people to the stars.

Want more interesting lessons?

Go to brightlivesenglish.com.

Please subscribe and learn with us.