How to Teach Hidden Figures: Everything Your Middle Schoolers Need to Know About the Real Women Behind NASA

The math that sent John Glenn into orbit was checked by hand.  By a Black woman named Katherine Johnson. That's not a footnote. That's the story.

I taught this book for years in my 6th grade classroom, and I want to give you everything you need to feel confident picking it up — the history behind it, who these women were, and why middle schoolers respond to it the way they do.

A Brief Summary

This book tells the history of NASA (from the days when it was NACA) and describes the mind-blowing math that needed to be done, checked, and cross-checked, to make ginormous metal objects lift off the ground and stay in the air.  

These math "computers", primarily women who did this math all day long, are the reason NASA was able to send astronauts into space.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly is the true story of four of these women, women who worked at a time when most women stayed home.  It is the story of civil rights, the Space Race, the Cold War, and gender rights. Powerfully told from their point of view, its honesty and action will capture the interest of many students.  

Here's who you'll meet and why these women will matter to your students.

Meet the 4 Women

• Dorothy Vaughan became a computer when it was still NACA (the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) in 1943. She became the first Black woman to be promoted to a supervisory role at Langley, managing a pool of talented Black women mathematicians. When electronic computers were introduced, she taught herself an early programming language and made sure every woman under her supervision learned it too. She's a powerful model of leadership, someone who refused to let change make her obsolete and made sure no one around her would be either.

• Mary Jackson joined the computers in 1951, working under Dorothy Vaughan's guidance. When a white engineer recognized her talent, she petitioned the city of Hampton, VA, to attend a segregated school so she could take the courses required to become an aerospace engineer. She became NASA's first Black female engineer, and later, rather than continue advancing her own career, she moved into a role where she could advocate for the hiring and promotion of other women and minorities. She's a remarkable example of using your hard-won position to open doors for others.

• Katherine Johnson took a position as a computer, but was quickly moved to the Flight Research Division, which tested real planes. She became one of the most precise trajectory calculators at NASA and worked on the flight paths for Alan Shepard and John Glenn. When John Glenn was preparing to orbit the Earth, he didn't trust the electronic computers; he asked specifically for Katherine to verify the calculations by hand. She's a quiet, powerful lesson in what true excellence looks like: doing the work so well that people won't proceed without you.

• Christine Darden was part of the next generation of Black women at NASA, joining in 1967. She earned her PhD and became a leading expert on supersonic flight and sonic booms. She didn't just break barriers; she documented and challenged the unwritten rules that kept equally qualified women, especially Black women, stuck in lower positions. She's a model for students who believe in using evidence and data to fight for what's right.

Why This Book Works in Your Classroom

Teachers sometimes hesitate about when to read Hidden Figures, unsure whether it "fits" outside Black History Month or Women's History Month. It does — completely.

This is a book about math, science, problem-solving, perseverance, workplace dynamics, American history, the Cold War, and what it means to do excellent work in a system that isn't designed for you. Those themes belong in every month of the school year. The fact that the central characters are Black women isn't a reason to confine it to a single month — it's a reason to teach it when your students are most ready to engage with it deeply.

If you're ready to teach Hidden Figures, I've done the planning work for you. Grab the free Teacher's Guide to get started, or explore the Novel Study and Summative Exam if you want a complete, ready-to-use unit. Everything you need is one click away, so the only thing left is choosing when to start.

FAQs

What grade level is this best for?
        A:  It depends on how you read it, but it would work for students in 5th, 6th, or 7th grades.

Can I teach it as a read aloud?
        A:  Absolutely!  You can read this to your whole class and use questions from the Teacher's Guide or the Novel Study to guide discussion.

Does this meet state standards?

        A:  Yes, it meets multiple state standards for reading, writing, and comprehension. You can see all the standards met in the description of the product on TeachersPayTeachers.