A Lesson Plan from Space

So what was Christa’s lesson plan for her Challenger Mission? According to former Concord school teacher Phil Browne, her proposal was the simplest of all the finalist’s entries, and it was her basic approach to teaching that most appealed to the selection committee at NASA.

McAuliffe planned to teach two live lessons during the flight. The first, called “The Ultimate Field Trip,” would detail daily life aboard the shuttle, showing students how astronauts lived and worked in space. The second lesson, “Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going, Why” was designed to be the basis of continuing education about NASA when she returned from space, and would be a presentation that would inspire kids to pursue careers in science by laying out the goals of space exploration. Browne would later build upon this second lesson in his photographic slide show about the history of the manned space program, which he presented to Concord High School each year until his retirement.

Click here to see Christa’s lesson plans. The documents are available in PDF format by clicking “Teacher Supplement for Christa’s Plans” in the “Mission Links” box located in the upper right hand area of the page.

See the main story, “The Triumph of Challenger,” for more information on how Phil Browne continued Christa McAuliffe’s mission with the Forest Watch program, which involves New Hampshire students from more than 160 schools in hands-on research with UNH.