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IDEAS FOR INTEGRATING WOMEN OF NASA
INTO YOUR CURRICULUM
The following ideas are suggestions for creative ways to integrate the
Women of NASA interactive project into your teaching and learning. These
ideas can be used in a variety of settings and span multiple disciplines
and grade levels. They are meant to be a springboard to launch your own
imaginative lessons based on your personal teaching style, methods of
facilitation, and unique students.
Technology Center, Lab, or Classroom
The Occupations Chat Lesson is a complete curriculum unit to use with
the live chats, forums, and webcasts. It contains: objectives, methods
of evaluation, preparation plans, chat lesson plans and worksheets.
Astro-Venture is an educational, interactive, multimedia Web environment
highlighting NASA careers and astrobiology research in the areas of Astronomy,
Geology, Biology and Atmospheric Sciences. Students in grades 5-8 are
transported to the future where they role play NASA occupations and use
scientific inquiry, as they search for and build a planet with the necessary
characteristics for human habitation. Supporting activities include chats
and Webcasts with NASA experts, online collaborations, classroom lessons,
student publishing area and occupation
fact sheets.
Female Frontiers
Honoring Commander Eileen Collins as NASA's first female space shuttle
commander, Female Frontiers was produced as a three month series featuring
live interactive events with historic female firsts. These archived events
are a rich source of information on women who have broken gender barriers.
Also available are two curriculur areas: Women's Work, which includes sections on "Continuity and
Change in Her Work," "Redefining Women's Work," and "Female Aviation Firsts
Timeline;" and the Commander Collins area which includes a "Bio-line activity,"
Online Chat/Interview," "Personal Preference Kit," "Goal Setting," and
"Shuttle Commander Duties."
Chatter...
Have each student or group of students research the background of a profiled
woman before a scheduled chat. Report out, share, and prepare appropriate
questions to ask from the following categories: scientific or technical
questions, personal struggles or gender equity issues, daily work and job
responsibilities. Or have a reader or spokesperson read aloud each question
and decide whether this is an appropriate question based on the mentor's
background, scientific or technical knowledge, or if it could be answered
by another source.
More chatter...
Have each student or groups of students research a particular woman profiled
for an upcoming chat. Students divide themselves into three categories based
on the type of information they hope to gather from the chat: scientific
or technical questions, personal struggles or gender equity issues, daily
work and job responsibilities. Each group prepares a list of appropriate
questions. Groups share questions and decide if the questions could be answered
by another source or if they are appropriate questions to ask. After participating
in the chat, groups reconvene and summarize the answers they posed to the
profiled women. Were they satisfied with the answers? How could they have
reworded their questions to get a more direct answer? Was the chat forum
the best means of having their questions answered? Share these summaries
with the program manager by emailing: tkrieg@mail.arc.nasa.gov
Become a Woman of NASA for a day!
Have interested students choose one featured Woman of NASA to role-play.
Research the woman's background, education, work experience, and factual
information about their field of work -- become an expert on this woman
and her field of work. Invite other students to join in a WebChat with your
featured expert. This could be your own class, students in your school,
or ask another school to join you on-line. Reserve the Women of NASA Chat
room through the project manager for an hour. Host your own Chat with your
own expert! Of course the expert would also have to create his/her own bio
prior to the Chat - see " Girls of Woodside High - Boys of Brentwood Academy"
listing in The Individual Student Use section below for more ideas.
Battle of the sexes!!!
Have students work in partners. Assign each partner team a Women of NASA
bio to read. Each team member takes a turn debating why a male would be
better suited for the job, or why a female would be better suited for the
job. Regroup and discuss as a class the stereotypes that came out of the
debate.
Who am I???
Use the Women of NASA bios for a game of 20 questions. This should be done
after ample time has been given to study the women's bios - either as a
culminating activity, after reading the bios as an assignment, or after
a series of Chats. One student begins with the statement, Who am I? Students
may ask a yes/no question. (e.g., Does your job entail an engineering background?)
For each yes answer, the student may ask another question. Play continues
around the room until the correct woman is guessed.
Facts for sale!
Assign each student a woman to research (multiple women can be researched).
After reading the bios and any other information sources students can find,
list three statements each from the following categories about the woman
they researched: education, personal life, on-the-job duties, factual information
about their field of work. Divide the class in half. Armed with their facts,
students take turns presenting themselves to the opposite team. Each fact
the team receives from the other team costs them five points. Teams take
turns giving each member a chance to present their woman to the opposite
team, the opposite team accumulating points each time they need another
fact until they guess the woman. The team with the least points at the end
is the winner.
Lifeskills, Lifeskills, Who Uses
Lifeskills???
Have students work in pairs. Each pair selects a bio or a bio is assigned.
Students read through the bios and profiles and list examples of how the
women applied various Lifeskills. Compile a list of the Lifeskills and how
they are or were used. Present to the class to see which Woman of NASA they
have found to have the most examples.
Take a different twist on Who Uses Lifeskills.
Each student pair reads through select profiles and comes up with its own
choice for Who Uses Lifeskills. Debate with another team.
Follow the same guidelines for Lifeskills using the five Lifelong Guidelines.
How do you go to the bathroom in space???
Have your class brainstorm the 20 most-asked questions of our Women of NASA
and discuss why or why not these are appropriate questions to ask a mentor
during a Chat.
How, Why, Where, When, Why not???
Research the technical and/or scientific work performed by an upcoming chat
mentor and how this relates to the things you are studying in class. (Space
Flight, Mir Space Station, Lunar Prospector, Solar System, Mars, aerodynamics,
gravity, etc.) Compose a list of questions for her. Post the questions for
the class to research and answer from print material, online resources,
and/or expert sources. Bring whatever questions you have left unanswered
to the chat!
Monet on Mars, Picasso on Pluto!
If possible, visit the NASA Ames Gift shop or other NASA center shops to
purchase sample mission patches. Or gather pictures of mission specialists
wearing patches and discuss the significance of mission patches. Brainstorm
NASA missions -- past, current, and future -- by reading through the Women
of NASA profiles and other NASA online resources to generate ideas. Have
small groups of students choose a mission that they would like to design
a patch for. Students can design patches in various degrees of artistic
creativity from pencil drawings to actual sewn patches. Get your home economics
class involved and have them take student creations to a finished product.
Mission Possible
Brainstorm with the class various NASA missions -- past , current, or future.
Divide students into groups. Begin with the Women of NASA bios to get a
sense of the various jobs at NASA that contribute to a successful mission.
Use other NASA resources to expand this mission information: Live From Mars,
Live from Hubble, Spacelink, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory Home Page are
just a few. Have student groups choose a mission. First write out the objectives
of their mission. Next, use the profiles to put together a successful mission
team. Use other NASA project profiles as well. Write up short bios of each
team member and their responsibilities. Don't forget the "behind the scenes"
integral team members.
Individual Student Use
Read through the biography of Catherine Collins.
List five Lifeskills she has practiced to get to where she is and briefly
explain.
List five Lifeskills she uses in her career and/or personal life daily
and briefly explain.
List three Lifeskills you both share in common and how you both use
them similarly.
I need a career change!!!
Each student selects a woman they want to fictitiously portray. They then
decide why they want/need a career change from the following choices:
want more money
want less stress
want to spend more time with their family
want to fulfill a lifelong dream/desire
want to work part-time
talents aren't being used
position terminated
Students then come up with an alternate career. Briefly describe the
new career and list examples of how this career change has or will affect
the following areas: personal/family life, financial situation, level
of stress, hours spent working, personal satisfaction/fulfillment.
So you want to be Rocket Scientist!
Prepare to participate in an upcoming Chat with one of our aerospace engineers.
Read through the biographies of all the profiled women who are aerospace
engineers. Create a flowchart of your education and work and how you plan
to arrive in this career. Compose thoughtful questions to the mentor that
will help guide you along the right paths in your education, employment,
and a successful career.
So you DON'T want to be Rocket Scientist!
Read through the biographies and find a career that reflects your personal
talents and interests. Select an upcoming Chat with one of our Women of
NASA working in this field. It could be Public Relations, Equal Opportunity
Office, Administrative Manager, or any one of the exciting and diverse
careers in which the NASA women work. Create a flowchart of your education
and work and how you plan to arrive in this career. Compose thoughtful
questions to the mentor that will help guide you along the right paths
in your education, employment, and a successful career.
Women of NASA - Girls of Woodside High - Boys of Brentwood Academy!
Have students read through a selection of bios to generate ideas for their
own future. Have them put themselves five, 10, 15, or 20 years into the
future and create their own biographical profiles based on the following
questions:
What is your job title? What is it that you actually do?
What is an average day like in your field?
What is the most exciting and/or most enjoyable thing about your job?
Were you always good in school?
Did you ever feel pressured to pursue another career?
What are some of the obstacles you have had to overcome to get where
you are right now?
What are some things that you do outside of your work?
Add a multimedia dimension to the bios for a graduating class of 8th
or 12th graders. Have each student scan their yearbook photo into their
bio. Put all bios on a CD and give them to the students as a graduation
gift that they can look at in the future. Keep a copy for yourself -
you never know which students will end up at NASA!
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner???
Have students give Martha Stewart a run for her money! Host a (fictitious)
NASA theme dinner party. Students plan a dinner party for eight, inviting
their own chosen guests from the featured women of NASA. This could include
spouses, children, or individual women. A successful dinner party should
include all of the following:
Guest List - Select a guest list to ensure an interesting mix of people
and why you think this group will enjoy each other's company.
Menu - Plan your menu in line with your theme: How about Lunar Lasagna,
Martian Mushrooms, Planetary Pasta, or Uranus Ribs!
Invitations - Be creative with the design and wording - a poem, or riddle.
Seating arrangements - A good host/hostess puts much thought into the
seating arrangement. Draw out your table design and seats and briefly
explain your reasons.
Music - Star Wars theme, 2001 Space Odyssey, Moon River
Miscellaneous - table decor, suggested dress, entertainment
Obstacle Course
Have each student read through the profiles making a list of obstacles
and barriers that the profiled women had to deal with. For each obstacle
have the students list three means of dealing with and overcoming the
situation. Students then list obstacles that they are currently dealing
with and barriers they feel may interfere with their success, dreams,
and future. For each obstacle or barrier, list three ways they can address
the situation to move beyond it.
Which Intelligence are You?
Study Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple
Intelligences. Have students choose five profiled women and list the
"intelligences" that most closely characterize these women. Have students
analyze their own capabilities and interests and list in order the "intelligences"
that most closely characterize themselves. Site specific examples of their
use of these capabilities.
Crossword puzzle #1
Explore the Women of NASA profiles.
Crossword puzzle #2
Explore the online resources.
Crossword puzzle #3
Think about your own education, career plans, and future.
Submit your own quizzes and puzzles.
Encourage students to take notes during the Chat. Have students design
a quiz, puzzle, or activity for their classmates based on the questions
and answers during the chat. This could also be done based on archived
chats.
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