CURRICULAR RESOURCES
Innovative lesson plans, activities, resources, and online exhibits feature archival materials to fit your classroom needs.
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Showing 1 - 18 of 34 Results
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This twenty page photo book tells the story of voting rights in the United States through primary sources housed in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum archives and in other collections. Includes questions and links to additional resources.
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 5, 6, 7, 8
Time: 0-1 hour, 1-2 hours
This program introduces students to the importance of voting and the struggle for voting rights, past and present. Students examine primary source material -- documents, photographs, and video -- to learn about racial discrimination in voting during the Kennedy years and strategies that public officials, activists, and everyday citizens used to address it. The program also explores voting rights today and actions students can take to protect this “most powerful and precious right” for everyone.
Guided Programs
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 6, 7, 8
Time: 0-1 hour
Bring the pivotal events of the civil rights movement in 1963 to life for your students through more than 230 primary sources ranging from film footage of the March on Washington and letters from youth advising the president to JFK’s landmark address to the American people and secret recordings of behind-the-scenes negotiations on civil rights legislation. To foster your students' understanding of this era, lesson plans on each of the seven topics are available in the "For Educators" section of…
Online Exhibits and Digital Interactives
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
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
Written for upper elementary to adult readers, this narrative summarizes the life and legacy of the 35th president of the United States.
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
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
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
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
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
Students consider the question, "How do people bring about change in the government and in their communities?" They investigate photographs, video, oral history, and documents to discover the story behind the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and President Kennedy's role in it. After visiting museum exhibits related to the civil rights movement, students reenact the demonstration, drawing on the hopes, dreams, and inspiring words from this historic event.
Guided Programs
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 4, 5
Time: 2-3 hours
Students learn about the speakers at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. They reenact the March and recite excerpts from the speeches delivered that day.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 4, 5, 6
Time: 2-3 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
This interactive, biography-based program introduces elementary students to the life and legacy of John F. Kennedy using archival material from the collections of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. In a follow-up activity, students consider the quote “Ask not what your country can do for you…” and create an illustration that shows how they are helping their family, neighborhood, school, or community.
Guided Programs
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 3, 4, 5
Time: 1-2 hours
These letters and telegrams from key figures help tell the story of the civil rights movement during the Kennedy years. Documents include communications from James Farmer, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young.
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
In this docent-led program designed for groups who are often visiting the Library for the first time, students explore the challenges John F. Kennedy faced as the nation’s leader and learn about the big ideas he put into action. A souvenir booklet of open-ended questions gives students historical context and encourages them to evaluate John F. Kennedy’s decisions and actions as president. The program includes an introductory group discussion about John F. Kennedy’s leadership qualities, the…
Guided Programs
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 6, 7, 8, 9
Time: 2-3 hours
What makes a president an effective leader? This interactive program invites students to explore the challenges John F. Kennedy faced as the nation's leader during a tumultuous time in United States history. Through an analysis of objects, photographs, and documents from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, students will consider how the thirty-fifth president tackled complex issues such as civil rights, space exploration, and Cold War tensions.
Guided Programs
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 6, 7, 8
Time: 1-2 hours
Students investigate historical letters to public officials, including several to President Kennedy, and then write their own letters of concern.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6
Time: 2-3 hours