CURRICULAR RESOURCES
Innovative lesson plans, activities, resources, and online exhibits feature archival materials to fit your classroom needs.
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- Curricular Standards: C3 Framework for Social Studies
- Topic: Space
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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
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
Students do a close reading of four primary sources related to the US Space Program in 1961, analyzing how and why public statements made by the White House regarding space may have differed from private statements made within the Kennedy administration.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: US History
Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12
Time: 1-2 hours
Acting as members of President Kennedy’s Press Office, students are given an assignment to prepare a briefing for the president on topics that may come up in a specific press conference. To fulfill this assignment, they explore the museum and use primary source documents.
Guided Programs
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History, World History
Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12
Time: 2-3 hours
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 use a letter of advice from a young student to President Kennedy to learn about the "Space Race.”
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 2, 3, 4, 5
Time: 0-1 hour, 1-2 hours
Students consider what "ingredients" might go into the speech that will launch a President's term in office as they examine some of the most memorable inaugural addresses of the past.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History, World History
Grade: 6, 7, 8
Time: 1-2 hours
Students analyze the Cold War’s impact on the politics and people of the early 1960s, and are introduced to conflicts between the US and the USSR over Berlin, Cuba, and space exploration.
Guided Programs
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History, World History
Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12
Time: 2-3 hours
Sit at President Kennedy's Oval Office desk and explore the world from his point of view.
Online Exhibits and Digital Interactives
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History, World History
Grade: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Explore "The President's Desk: A Resource Guide for Educators" and discover more than fifty-five curricular-relevant lesson plans and activities for grades 4-12 based on the online interactive exhibit, "The President's Desk."
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History, World History
Grade: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Students act as members of President Kennedy's Press Office with an assignment to brief him for a news conference. They research issues and events of the early 1960s by exploring the Kennedy Library's website. The lesson culminates with a simulated press conference.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: US History, World History
Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12
Time: 1-2 hours
Students become biographers for the day as they explore John F. Kennedy's early years, his presidency, and the contributions he made to our nation and the world. They analyze historic photographs and documents, view films and television footage, and examine objects in the museum as they gather and record information in our "Biographer's Workbook."
Guided Programs
Subject: Civics and US Government, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 3, 4, 5
Time: 2-3 hours
Using primary source materials, students investigate the motivation for President Kennedy's ambitious space program.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, Economics, English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 6, 7, 8, 9
Time: 1-2 hours