CURRICULAR RESOURCES
Innovative lesson plans, activities, resources, and online exhibits feature archival materials to fit your classroom needs.
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- Grade: 6, 7
- Subject Area: English Language Arts, The Arts
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John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address inspired children and adults to see the importance of civic action and public service. The letter included in this activity, written by a third-grade student, is one of thousands housed at the Kennedy Presidential Library.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6
Time: 1-2 hours, 2-3 hours
This interactive picture book about cellist Pablo Casals's historic performance portrays the importance of the arts in the Kennedy White House, and the power of music to strengthen commitments to peace and freedom.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: The Arts, Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Time: 0-1 hour
Students examine primary source material to learn how the tools of democracy have been used to challenge racial discrimination in voting. Includes "The Most Powerful and Precious Right": A Voting Rights Photo Book and a research activity on current voting rights.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 5, 6, 7, 8
Time: 2-3 hours
Kennedy challenged every American to contribute in some way to the public good. After analyzing the "ask what you can do" quote, students draw and write about their own contributions to their families and communities.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts
Grade: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Time: 1-2 hours
Students learn about gender discrimination in space exploration by analyzing a letter to President Kennedy from a female aviator training to be an astronaut.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 5, 6, 7, 8
Time: 0-1 hour, 1-2 hours
Explore photographs that relate to the construction of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Media Galleries
Subject: The Arts, Civics and US Government
Grade: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
By examining photographs of less well-known civil rights activists and learning how they used the tools of democracy to fight for justice and equality, students discover what led President Kennedy to deliver his Televised Address to the Nation on Civil Rights. In a final activity, students reflect on a local, national, or international issue of concern and identify a civic action they can take to help address it.
Guided Programs
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6
Time: 1-2 hours
These resources, from Kennedy’s January 2, 1960 announcement of his candidacy to his inaugural address, can help bring the excitement and energy of the 1960 campaign and election into your classroom.
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Explore photographs that relate to entertainers and the Kennedy administration.
Media Galleries
Subject: The Arts
Grade: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Students conduct historical research on individual and collective efforts to achieve gender equality in the United States by reading and discussing a nonfiction picture book, analyzing an historical photograph, and researching and taking action on the current gender pay gap.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Time: 0-1 hour, 1-2 hours
Explore photographs of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Media Galleries
Subject: The Arts, Civics and US Government, US History, World History
Grade: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Created for our November 2, 2022 conference Framing History: The Power of Pictures, this annotated bibliography is a go-to resource for finding high quality, recently published biographies that have exceptional images.
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: The Arts, English Language Arts, US History, World History
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Annotated bibliographies of both recommended biographies and literature about American history. Includes guidelines for critically analyzing biographies and history-based literature.
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: English Language Arts, Science, US History, World History
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Students read, listen to, and summarize excerpts of President Kennedy's June 11, 1963 speech on civil rights. They reflect on its resonance today and create images of a better future.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Time: 0-1 hour, 1-2 hours
In this lesson, students analyze "Sea Joy," a poem Jacqueline Kennedy wrote when she was a young girl, and then write their own poems using sensory imagery.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: English Language Arts
Grade: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Time: 0-1 hour
Students learn about ancient symbols and ornamental and architectural elements to identify some symbols of American democracy in the White House as an introduction to the origins of common symbolic representations of the United States and its values.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: English Language Arts, US History, World History
Grade: 5, 6, 7, 8
Time: 0-1 hour, 1-2 hours
This section of the website contains topic guides on the significant events that occurred during President Kennedy's years in office. These essays are intended to give an overview of challenges and issues that defined Kennedy's administration, and include relevant primary source material.
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: The Arts, Civics and US Government, Economics, Science, US History, World History
Grade: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Adapted from the longer lesson plan, "What if Laws are Unjust?", this activity asks students to consider young people’s rationales for participating in civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, and the risks and rewards of their inclusion.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 7, 8, 9, 10
Time: 1-2 hours