Maggie’s
Activity Pack!
Name_________________________
Date _________________________
Women In Science: The First Hispanic –American
Woman Astronaut
Before You Read
You will read about Ellen Ochoa. This activity will help you to
better understand the article. The headings below appear in the
article. Read each heading and write 2 questions the heading
brings to mind. Thinking about the question words, who, what
where, when, why, and how will help you write your questions.
Read each section of the article.
After you read, come back to your questions. Answer them
using the information you read. You do not have to write complete
sentences.
Ellen Ochoa, A Woman Of Many Talents
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Answer_______________________________________________
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Ellen Ochoa’s Role Model
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Answer_______________________________________________
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Ellen’s Hispanic Roots
Question1.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
Question2.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
Ellen’s Commitment To Education
Question1.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
Question2.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
Ellen’s Responsibilities While In Space
Question1.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
Question2.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Ellen’s First Space Mission
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Answer_______________________________________________
Question2.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
Ellen Returns To Space In 1994 and 1999
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Answer_______________________________________________
Question2.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
Part of Being An Astronaut Is Playing A Flute In Space!
Question1.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
Question2.____________________________________________
Answer_______________________________________________
You just used an important reading strategy – turning
headings into questions and then reading to answer the
questions. Using this strategy will help you to set purposes
for reading. It will also help you to concentrate on what you
read and to remember more information!
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Women In Science: The First Hispanic–American
Woman Astronaut
Ellen Ochoa, A Woman Of Many Talents
Imagine gazing at the vivid blues and greens of Earth from
space. You would view your planet as one world. There would be
no lines showing the borders of countries. This is a picture Ellen
Ochoa has seen many times because she is a United States
astronaut. Dr. Ochoa has flown on three space shuttle flights. She
is also an inventor and holds three patents. In addition to her busy
professional life, Dr. Ochoa is a wife and a mother.
Ellen Ochoa’s Role Model
Family is important to Ellen Ochoa. Her mother was a
wonderful role model. She began to take college classes when
Ellen was one year old. She raised five children on her own, so she
could not go to school full time. She did take one class each
semester. She graduated when Ellen was 22 years old. That
shows hard work and determination. No wonder Ellen is such a
hard working person!
Ellen’s Hispanic Roots
Ellen’s Hispanic roots come from her father. His family is from
Mexico. As a child, Ellen’s dad spoke both Spanish and English.
Ellen regrets that her father did not speak his native language
while she was growing up. Many years ago, some people felt more
comfortable speaking only English if they lived in America. Ellen is
glad things have changed now. Today, there are a growing number
of proud Spanish speakers in the United States.
Ellen’s Commitment To Education
Like her mother, Ellen put off her education to help her family.
When she graduated from high school, she was offered a
scholarship to Stanford University. Ellen turned it down to stay
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
home and help her mother. She worked for two years. Then she
went to San Diego University. She studied physics. After
graduating, Ellen enrolled at Stanford University. She worked hard
and received perfect grades!
When Ellen left Stanford she had a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.
Today, Ellen enjoys visiting schools and talking with students.
She tells students about the importance of education. She explains
itis hard work that got her where she is today. Ellen wants young
people to realize they can achieve their goals by getting a good
education and working hard.
Ellen’s Responsibilities While In Space
During the 719 hours Ellen has been in space, she often
works on experiments. These studies look at our atmosphere. She
makes observations and takes measurements. Her findings help
scientists to better understand how the sun and various chemicals
combine to hurt our ozone layer.
Ellen’s First Space Mission
Ellen’s first mission took place in April 1993. On that flight,
the crew studied the Earth’s atmosphere. They measured the
amount of ozone in the atmosphere. We know that certain
substances used by people on Earth can harm the ozone layer.
Things such as chemicals used in air conditioners can damage this
protective layer around the Earth. It was the job of Ellen and the
crew to measure substances in the air at different levels of the
atmosphere. They needed to see where the ozone layer was being
hurt. They also measured the energy coming from the sun. This
data is being studied to determine if the sun’s energy levels,
together with chemicals, harm the Earth’s atmosphere.
Ellen Returns To Space In 1994 and 1999
Ellen’s next mission took place in November of 1994. The
crew carried out further experiments to learn more about our
atmosphere.Ellen was in charge of all the studies on this flight.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
In June of 1999, Ellen returned to space. This time the space
shuttle’s crew performed the first docking at the International
SpaceStation. They delivered supplies and equipment so
astronauts fromvarious countries could live at the space station
together.
Part of Being An Astronaut Is Playing A Flute In Space!
One of the interesting things Ellen has done on a space flight
is to play her flute! This shows one of the important qualities NASA
looks for in choosing astronauts. They want to find people who
have a variety of skills such as musical ability, are bilingual, or who
have played on sports teams. These skills, and others, show that a
person can learn quickly and do many things well. This is an
important trait for astronauts. Ellen Ochoa is certainly a person of
many abilities!
Think About The Facts
Complete the web by drawing lines and writing what you learned.
One line is drawn for you in the first web.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ellen’s
Education
Ellen learned the
importance of
education from
her mother.
Ellen’s Space
Flights
Going Further
1. Why do you think it is important to have a trained person repair
an air conditioner?
2. Reread the opening paragraph. What does a view from space
tell you about the Earth?
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
3. Many years ago, some people didn’t speak their native language
in the United States. Do you know someone who speaks more
thanone language? What can you learn from this person?
4. What can Ellen Ochoa’s life can teach you?
Find out more about harmful substances in our air. Log
onto www.missmaggie.org and watch “You Must Be
Choking.”
Dear Teachers,
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
This activity is part of our Women In Science series. For two
other articles in this growing series, check out the archived packets
on our Weekly Activity Packet page. If you have any suggestions for
women to be highlighted, please let me know.
This particular article was written as part of Hispanic Heritage
Month, September 15-October 15, 2001. If you are using the article
during this time frame, you might want to focus on the opening
paragraph with your students. Read these sentences together, “You
would view your planet as one world. There would be no lines
showing the borders of countries.” Discuss that concept in light of
recent world events. Elicit from the students their feelings on this
image.
To better meet individual needs, we have written this packet for
various uses. If you are interested in improving content area reading
skills, you will want to duplicate the first two pages with the packet.
Perhaps you are only interested in reading the article about Dr.
Ochoa. You can duplicate only the article. We have tried to format
this packet so that you can pick and choose those aspects that will be
beneficial for your classroom needs.
Enjoy and please let me know how I can assist you in your
classroom!
Kathy
[email protected]
Goals
Students will read and demonstrate knowledge about this famous Hispanic astronaut.
Students practice reading skills in the content area. In the intermediate activity they
practice turning headings into questions, taking notes using a graphic organizer, and
answering critical reading questions. Primary level students practice setting purposes
for reading and then read to answer these questions. They also answer critical reading
questions. The activity correlates with Content Standard G, History and Nature of
Science, Science as a Human Endeavor of the National Science Standards.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.