Stepping into Mary Jackson’s Shoes

As part of our learning, we stepped into the shoes of Mary Jackson, an inspirational mathematician and engineer who worked at NASA. We explored the barriers she faced because of segregation and discussed how she had to argue for the opportunity to attend the classes she needed to progress in her career.

To help bring this moment to life, we watched a short, one-minute extract from the film Hidden Figures. Although the film is rated 12, the specific clip was carefully vetted beforehand to ensure that it was age-appropriate and directly relevant to our learning. 

After watching the clip, the children took on the role of Mary Jackson and wrote their own persuasive arguments. They thought carefully about how Mary might have felt, the challenges she faced, and how she could use powerful and persuasive language to argue her case.

This provided a meaningful opportunity to combine our writing skills with our wider learning about equality, perseverance and the importance of challenging unfair barriers.