Lesson Plan - History Makers: Sally Ride

Watch a Video
Watch the video “Sally Ride: First American Woman in Space.” Discuss: How did Ride feel about being chosen by NASA to go into space?  

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• barrier
• trailblazer

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them think about the qualities that helped Ride succeed.

1. In your own words, what is a barrier? What barrier did Sally Ride break?
Sample response: A barrier is something that is in your way. The barrier that Ride faced—and broke—was that all American astronauts had been men. Women had not been allowed to train as astronauts.
^{R.4 Determine Meaning}

2. NASA historian Jennifer Ross-Nazzal says that Ride “demonstrated on her mission just how capable a woman could be.” How did Ride do this?
Ride demonstrated that a woman could be capable by conducting experiments and launching and retrieving a satellite using a robotic arm.
^{R.3 Explaining Ideas}

3. What are the main ideas of the section “A STEM Superstar”?
The main ideas of this section are that Ride continued to inspire people after her years as an astronaut and that she was proud to have been a trailblazer.
^{R.2 Main Idea and Key Details}

Featured Skill: Text Evidence
Use the skill builder “All About Sally Ride” to have students complete a biographical profile using the article.
^{RI.1 Text Evidence}