NASA and the Space Program Change Florida

Teacher’s Guide

Background Information

The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite, into space in 1957. Americans watched the Soviet satellite beeping and blinking across the American night sky. Sputnik I weighed only 184 pounds and could do little more than beep, but many people worried that this meant the United States was losing the race to develop space technology.

Pressure exploded from United States politicians and the American public demanding that the country catch up and increase investment in rocket technology and aeronautics.

The National Defense Education Act of 1958 provided federal funding for education, especially in mathematics, science, engineering and modern foreign languages. New science and math programs were created, and existing programs were strengthened, as money poured in to educate Floridians to work in the space industry.

Mathematics and Science in Florida Schools (1957)

Early Admissions to Stetson University (1958)

Brevard County Students' Mercury Tracking Station (1963)

High School Seniors at the Big Bend Science Fair (1960)

Superintendent of Public Instruction Looking Over Obsolete Textbooks (1961)

Funds for Engineering College Approved by Committee (1963)

Miami-Dade Junior College Students in Physics Class

Florida Technological University Biological Sciences Lab

Some Useful Questions to Ask:

• Why did Florida's educators and other leaders choose this particular moment to emphasize science and math education?
• Evaluate Floridians' attitudes toward math and science education as they are illustrated in these documents.
• What was the attitude towards subjects other than math and science? Why?

Use to Illustrate:

• How NASA and the space program influenced Florida's schools and universities.

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

• SS.4.A.1.1: Analyze primary and secondary resources to identify significant individuals and events throughout Florida history.
• SS.4.A.8.3: Describe the effect of the United States space program on Florida's economy and growth.
• SC.4.E.5.5: Investigate and report the effects of space research and exploration on the economy and culture of Florida.
  
• SC.8.E.5.12: Describe the effect of the United States space program on Florida's economy and growth.
• SS.8.A.1.7: View historic events through the eyes of those who were there as shown in their art, writings, music, and artifacts.
• SS.912.A.6.15: Examine key events and peoples in Florida history as they relate to United States history.
  Examples are Mosquito Fleet, "Double V Campaign," construction of military bases and WWII training centers, 1959 Cuban coup and its impact on Florida, development of the space program and NASA.
• SS.912.A.7.17: Examine key events and key people in Florida history as they relate to United States history.
  Examples are selection of Central Florida as a location for Disney, growth of the citrus and cigar industries, construction of Interstates, Harry T. Moore, Pork Chop Gang, Claude Pepper, changes in the space program, use of DEET, Hurricane Andrew, the Election of 2000, migration and immigration, Sunbelt state.
  
• SC.912.E.5.9 Analyze the broad effects of space exploration on the economy and culture of Florida. Recognize the economic, technical and social benefits of spinoff technology developed through the space program.

Florida Standards

• LAFS.4.RI.1.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• LAFS.4.RI.1.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
• LAFS.4.RI.1.3: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
• LAFS.4.RI.1.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• LAFS.68.RH.1.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
• LAFS.68.RH.1.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
• LAFS.68.RH.2.6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
• LAFS.68.RH.3.7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
• LAFS.910.RH.1.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
• LAFS.910.RH.1.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
• LAFS.1112.RH.1.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
• LAFS.1112.RH.1.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.