CURRICULAR RESOURCES
Innovative lesson plans, activities, resources, and online exhibits feature archival materials to fit your classroom needs.
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- Topic: Persuasive Writing and Speaking, Space
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Showing 1 - 18 of 48 Results
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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
Primary source material and classroom activities reveal why exploring space was a priority for the Kennedy administration.
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: Civics and US Government, Science, US History, World History
Grade: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Students consider the rhetorical devices in the inaugural address. They analyze suggestions made by advisors and compare them to the delivered version of the speech.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12
Time: 1-2 hours
Students can use outlines of astronauts to make one-of-a-kind portrait collages.
Hands-On History Activities
Subject: US History
Grade: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Time: 0-1 hour
Students can learn how to suit up for space, and then color a spacesuit and create an astronaut puppet.
Hands-On History Activities
Subject: US History
Grade: 1, 2, 3
Time: 0-1 hour
Students consider the impact of poll taxes as a barrier to voting by examining four primary sources.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Time: 1-2 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
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
In this lesson, students debate our nation's priorities by establishing their own "simulated" budgets.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: Civics and US Government, Economics
Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12
Time: 3-4 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
On December 25, 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s most powerful space observatory, was launched. This massive telescope was named after the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968. The Kennedy Library’s website has extensive materials by and about Webb that can be useful for curricular materials and students’ online research.
Resource Guides / Packets
Subject: Science, US History
Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12
The free JFK Challenge! app for iPad brings American history to life for kids by turning them into astronauts and Peace Corps volunteers. Students may fly to the Moon or help people around the world through these unique and engaging activities from the JFK Library.
Online Exhibits and Digital Interactives
Subject: Civics and US Government, US History
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
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
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
On October 26, 1963, President Kennedy delivered a timeless speech at Amherst College about the importance of public service and the role of the poet in a democratic society. In this activity, students analyze the meaning of a significant portion of this speech, and then write a brief poem about the role of the poet in civic life.
Lesson Plans & Activities
Subject: English Language Arts, US History
Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12
Time: 0-1 hour
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