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. What barrier did Sally Ride break? The barrier that Ride broke was that before her, all American astronauts had been men. Women had not been allowed to train as astronauts or go into space.

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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 helping to launch a satellite using a robotic arm.

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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.

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FEATURED SKILL: Research

Use the skill builder “What’s Her Story?” to have students research another pioneering female astronaut.

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