This age-appropriate lesson plan explores the life and legacy of Dr. Sally Ride – America’s first woman in space. Ride faced innumerable challenges mostly derived from her intense work to obtain a doctorate in physics and to endure the rigors of the space program – both couched in an environment where a woman’s attempts to achieve such things was viewed through a patriarchal/misogynist lens that revealed a dismissive and demoralizing lack of respect for both her knowledge and her achievements. Though closeted throughout her life, Ride made certain she “came out” in her obituary in order to illustrate the challenges she faced on the way to achieving her dreams. Like all Legacy Project lesson plans, this document highlights four different learning tracks according to James Banks's multicultural education model and Bloom's Taxonomy. Tracks 1 - 4 are roughly structured to align with the cognitive retention and synthesis capabilities of students from early-to-mid Elementary School (Track 1); late Elementary-to-early Middle School (Track 2); late Middle School-to-early High School (Track 3); and early-to-late High School.
Suggested Study Subject Integration: Science/Physics, LGBTQ History, Women’s History, American History
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