Lesson 15: Hidden Figures, Research Writing, Part 4

Turn and Talk

• Say these Directions: Turn and talk with a partner to discuss your response to the following question.

• Ask: How does Katherine’s curiosity, persistence, and collaboration help to make her whole team stronger?

  • When someone keeps learning, asking questions, and encouraging others, it helps a team work together and solve challenging problems. In Chapter 17, Katherine’s persistence and drive carry over to her team, making them even more effective.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: We have discussed some big ideas in Chapter 17 and next we will learn how to turn our ideas into a clearly written academic explanation.

Students will learn how analytical writers move from listing events to explaining ideas by using nominalization, clear pronoun reference, and cause-and-effect language.

Language Study

Display and read aloud this revised mentor sentence based on the Chapter 17 section, where Katherine keeps attending the lecture series and the editorial meetings:

“Katherine’s persistence in the lecture series led to deeper participation in editorial meetings, and her questions helped the team strengthen its understanding of spaceflight.”

Teach: Moving from Events to Analysis

Say these Directions: In this lesson, we study how writers explain and make connections between ideas using precise language. Instead of listing events, analytical writing names concepts like persistence and participation and shows how one idea leads to another.

Read the sentence with a partner. Discuss how the sentence is constructed and how it helps to explain the connection between Katherine’s “persistence” and her team’s understanding of spaceflight.

Model and Deconstruct

• Ask: What action has been turned into an abstract idea in this sentence?

  • persistence

• Ask: Why might a writer use persistence instead of saying Katherine kept going?

  • It sounds more formal and explains the idea behind the action.

• Ask: Which words show a cause-and-effect relationship?

  • “led to”

• Ask: What does “led to” connect in the sentence?

  • her persistence and her participation in meetings

• Ask: What does the word “her” refer to?

  • Katherine

• Ask: What does the word “its” refer to?

  • the team

• Ask: How does the sentence show collaboration?

  • It explains that her questions helped the team.

• Say: To write analytically, we:

  • turn actions into abstract nouns (persist → persistence)

  • use clear pronouns so the reader knows who or what is being discussed

  • connect ideas using cause-and-effect language like “led to”

This helps writing explain ideas, not just list events.

• Say: Read the basic version of the sentence and revise it so it sounds more analytical:

Katherine participated in meetings. She helped the team understand spaceflight better.

Use one abstract noun and one clear pronoun.

• Katherine’s participation in the meetings helped the team deepen its understanding of spaceflight.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Now that we have practiced using some sentence tools that help to connect details to ideas, we can apply them to our explanatory writing.

Part A: Connecting Ideas (W.6.9.b) (12 minutes)

Students reread Chapter 17 with a clear purpose: to gather evidence that connects Katherine’s persistence to curiosity, determination, and collaboration.

Evidence Collection

Say these Directions: Reread three key moments in Chapter 17: the section where Katherine keeps attending the lecture series, the section where she participates in editorial meetings, and the section where her learning helps the team understand spaceflight more deeply. Use the 3-Column Chart to paraphrase details, not copy full sentences. In the final column, explain how each detail connects to one or more of these ideas: curiosity, determination, and collaboration.

Label each column as indicated:

• Column 1: Key moment

• Column 2: Paraphrased Detail

• Column 3: How the Detail Connects to the Big Ideas

Teach:

• Say: I do not want to collect random details that all say the same thing. Instead, I want evidence that connects, like a chain.

  • First, I look for a detail that shows Katherine wanting to know more than what was required, because that shows curiosity.

  • Next, I look for a detail that shows her fighting for her right to learn, because that demonstrates her determination.

  • Then, I look for a detail that shows her sharing her knowledge with others, because that shows collaboration.

When I organize the evidence this way, I can explain how the ideas work together. This is stronger than writing three separate sentences that never connect. My paragraph will sound clear and authoritative because each piece of evidence has a job.

Display a completed sample row if students need support:

Part B: Drafting the Explanation (W.6.2) (18 minutes)

Modeled Writing

This part of the lesson guides students in turning evidence from Chapter 17 into a focused explanatory paragraph. Students learn to begin with a clear, overarching idea, select two purposeful details, and connect those details in a logical chain that shows how Katherine’s curiosity, determination, and collaboration contribute to Langley’s understanding of spaceflight.

Teach:

• Say: I need my first sentence to answer the whole question, not just name one event. If I start with “Katherine went to meetings,” the reader still does not know why that matters. Instead, I begin with an idea that connects everything: Katherine’s determination helped Langley deepen its understanding of spaceflight. Then I choose one lecture detail to show how curiosity becomes knowledge, and one meeting detail to show how that knowledge is shared through collaboration. Before finishing, I reread to make sure my sentences form one clear chain of ideas rather than three separate facts.

Display the following writing model if needed for support and guidance:

Katherine Goble’s persistence helped Langley deepen its understanding of spaceflight because she refused to stop learning at the edge of her assigned role. In the section where she keeps attending the lecture series, her curiosity pushes her to understand the science behind the calculations more fully. That deeper learning is shared when she participates in editorial meetings with other experts. Through her participation, she does not just gather information for herself; she contributes to collaboration by bringing questions and knowledge into a shared scientific discussion. As a result, the Langley team’s broader understanding grows stronger because of how Katherine connects curiosity, learning, and teamwork. Her persistence matters because it turns her private effort into public scientific progress.

• Say these Directions: Use your 3-Column Chart and draft a five-to-six-sentence explanatory paragraph in your Journal that responds to the prompt:

Write a paragraph explaining how Katherine’s curiosity, determination, and collaboration contribute to Langley’s understanding of spaceflight. Use details from the text to support your response.

Lesson 15 Writing Rubric: Explanatory Paragraph — Katherine's Curiosity & Determination

Writing prompt: Write a paragraph explaining how Katherine Johnson's curiosity, determination, and collaboration contributed to her success at NASA. Use evidence from Hidden Figures and precise academic language.

Quick Write

• Say these Directions: In three to four sentences, explain how connecting ideas can make explanatory writing more effective.

  • Connecting ideas makes explanatory writing more effective because it helps the reader see how the information fits together. When ideas are linked, the paragraph feels like one clear explanation instead of a list of separate facts. It also shows the writer’s thinking by explaining why the details matter. As a result, the reader can understand the bigger point the writer is trying to make.

Have students read Chapter 18 of Hidden Figures. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

As you read, annotate the text for the following:

• Places where Katherine Goble’s work becomes more visible or where new obstacles still shape who gets recognized