★Cite Evidence From the Text
Grade 4 Reading Worksheet
Read the text. Circle the detail that supports each claim.
Read this first
Katherine Johnson Checks the Numbers
In 1962, astronaut John Glenn was about to become the first American to orbit Earth. NASA had new electronic computers to plan the flight. These machines could do thousands of calculations quickly. Still, Glenn asked for one more check. He wanted a mathematician named Katherine Johnson to work the numbers by hand. "If she says they're good," he reportedly said, "then I'm ready to go."
Johnson had loved numbers since she was a small child in West Virginia. She counted everything she saw, from steps on the road to dishes she washed. She was so far ahead in school that she was ready for high school at age ten. Her town had no high school for Black students, so her family moved to a town that did. She graduated from college at eighteen with degrees in math and French.
In 1953, Johnson joined a research center in Virginia that later became part of NASA. She worked with a group of women called "computers" because they computed numbers by hand. At first, Johnson and the other Black women in her group worked in a separate office. Women were also left out of important meetings. Johnson asked questions anyway. She wanted to know why the numbers mattered, not just what they were. Over time, engineers began to ask for her by name.
Johnson spent days checking the path of Glenn's capsule. She worked through long rows of figures with a pencil and a desk calculator. If one number was wrong, the capsule could come down far from the ships waiting to pick it up. Her answers matched the computer's. Glenn's flight circled Earth three times and returned safely.
Johnson went on to help plan the Apollo 11 trip to the Moon in 1969. She also worked on the space shuttle program. In 2015, at age ninety-seven, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A NASA building now carries her name.
Johnson often said she simply liked to work. Her careful checks helped give astronauts the confidence to fly.
A student claims that Johnson's work went on long after Glenn's flight. Which detail is the best evidence?
- She liked numbers as a small child.
- She started at the center in 1953.
- She later worked on Apollo 11 and the space shuttle.
- Glenn's flight returned safely.
A reader claims that John Glenn trusted Katherine Johnson's math. Which detail best supports this?
- A NASA building now carries her name.
- He asked her to check the computer's numbers by hand.
- She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.
- NASA had new electronic computers to plan the flight.
A reader claims that Johnson was treated unfairly at work. Which detail best supports this?
- She checked the path of Glenn's capsule for days.
- Black women in her group worked in a separate office.
- She helped plan the Apollo 11 trip to the Moon.
- She worked through long rows of figures with a pencil.
A reader claims that a small mistake could have been dangerous. Which detail best supports this?
- Her answers matched the computer's answers.
- One wrong number could land the capsule far from the ships.
- Glenn's flight circled Earth three times and returned safely.
- She checked the figures with a pencil and a desk calculator.
