DepartmentofEducationandPublicPrograms
OnlineResourcesforEducators
www.jfklibrary.org
BiographicalandReferenceMaterials
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JFKinHistory:jfklibrary.org/JFKinHistory
Togainanunderstandingoftheearly1960s,thissectionofthewebsiteprovidesbriefdiscussionsofthe
significanteventsthatoccurredduringPresidentKennedy'syearsinoffice.Theseessaysareintendedto
giveyouanoverviewofchallengesandissuesthatdefinedKennedy'sadministration.
JFKMediaGallery:jfklibrary.org/MediaGallery
AcollectionofsomeofthebestandmosticonicphotographsfromthearchivesoftheJohnF.Kennedy
PresidentialLibraryandMuseumispresentedhere.Organizedthematically,thesegalleriesofferavisual
presentationofkeyaspectsofPresidentKennedy'spublicandfamilylife.
DigitalArchives:jfklibrary.org/SearchCollections
TheDigitalArchivesprovidesaccesstoagrowingcollectionofsearchabledigitizedhistoricaldocuments,
includingtextual,audio,filmandphotographcollections,aswellasmuseumartifacts.
PictureBookBiographiesofthepresidentandfirstlady:jfklibrary.org/PictureBookBios
Simplifiedtext,largeimageswithcaptionsandquestions,aglossary,andactivitiesmakethesebooklets
accessibletoelementaryreaders.
InteractiveExhibits
(Allfoundatwww.jfklibrary.org/interactives)
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ThePresident’sDesk
InviteyourstudentstotakeaseatatThePresident'sDeskanddiscoverwhatitmeanstoholdthehighest
officeintheland.ThisonlineinteractiveexhibitfeaturesJFK'streasuredmementosandimportant
presidentialrecords.PrimarysourcesrangingfromrecordingsofmeetingsintheOvalOfficetofamily
photographspopulatethesiteandprovideafascinatinglookintoJohnF.Kennedy'slifeandpresidency.
TheWhiteHouseDiary
Travelbackintimetotheearly1960sandexperiencefirst-handeachofJFK’sthousanddaysinoffice
throughtheinteractiveWhiteHouseDiary—thepresident’sdailyschedulesincludingdigitalscansofhis
actualappointmentdiaryforanygivendayaswellasvideo,audio,andphotosofvariousevents.You’ll
alsofindalinkoneachdatetoaNewYorkTimeschronologywithkeyeventsinthenewsforeachmonth.
JFK50.org
ExploreeventsinJFK'spresidencythroughthegraphicnovel-styleHistoryNow,learnhowhislegacyis
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beingcontinuedintheLegacyGallery,anddownloadcustomizableexhibitsandprimarysourcematerial
forclassroomuse.
1963:TheStruggleforCivilRights
Bringthepivotaleventsofthecivilrightsmovementin1963tolifethroughmorethan230primary
sourcesrangingfromfilmfootageoftheMarchonWashingtonandlettersfromyouthadvisingthe
presidenttoJFK’slandmarkaddresstotheAmericanpeopleandsecretrecordingsofbehind-the-scenes
negotiationsoncivilrightslegislation.Lessonplansareaccessiblefromthe“ForEducators”linkatthetop
ofthepage.
IntegratingOleMiss
Studentswitnesscivilrightshistoryfirsthandthroughprimarysourcematerial.Includesguidingquestions
forclassroomactivitiesandassignments.
TheWorldontheBrink:TheCubanMissileCrisis
Studentscaninvestigatetherichhistoricalevidenceinthisonlineexhibittoanalyzetheevents,decisions,
andoutcomesoftheCubanMissileCrisis.
CurricularResources
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(Allfoundatwww.jfklibrary.org/curricular)
ThePresident’sDesk:AResourceGuideforTeachers:Grades4-12
GuideprovidesanoverviewoftheDeskandsuggestedcurriculum-relevantlessonplansandactivities.
CurricularResourcesforEducators
LessonplansrelatingtoJohnF.Kennedyandhispresidency,usingprimaryresources.Selectedtopics
include:
o JFK’sInauguralAddress
o CubanMissileCrisis
o CivilRights
o LimitedNuclearTestBanTreaty
o Vietnam
o FederalBudgetSimulation
AdditionalResources
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NewFrontiers:ANewsletterforEducators:jfklibrary.org/EducationNewsletter
Findoutwhat'shappeningattheLibraryforstudentsandteachers,anddownloadclassroom-ready
lessonplansandactivities.
ProfileinCourageEssayContest:jfklibrary.org/EssayContest
TheProfileinCourageEssayContestinvitesUnitedStateshighschoolstudentstoconsiderthe
conceptofpoliticalcouragebywritinganessayonaUSelectedofficialwhohaschosentodowhat
isright,ratherthanwhatisexpedient.Curriculumideasfortheclassroom,elementsforastrong
essay,pastwinningessaysareincludedinthissectionofourwebsite.
OnlineReadyReference:jfklibrary.org/ReadyReference
AccessJFK’spressconferences(audioincluded),majorspeeches,biographicalprofilesofJKF’sstaff,
acompilationofarticlesfromTheNewYorkTimesdocumentingeachdayofJFK’spresidency,and
NationalSecurityMemoranda.
CORRESPONDING WRITING PROMPTS
FROM MASS POETRY
Epistolary Poems 1
Corresponds with all JFKLibrary.org resources
Length: 15-20 minutes of writing and revising time in two parts
After reviewing one or several of the resources or exhibits available on JFKLibrary.org,
have students write an epistolary poem to JFK. Encourage them to include questions,
description, appreciation, criticism, facts. They might focus on one aspect of his life or
work, or address him more broadly.
>> Honing in:
Students might like to write to JFK when he was their age, addressing what he
will accomplish in his lifetime, and what they hope to accomplish in theirs. Ask
them to include details about his life, interests, and accomplishments, as well as
details about theirs.
Students might like to ask JFK questions, and imagine what his answers could be.
Encourage them to start with the title "If I Asked You..." and go from there.
After ten minutes of free writing, encourage them to revisit what they have written to
highlight strong key words or phrases, as well as weaker ones. Ask them to use a
thesaurus to replace weak words, and employ metaphors or similes to bring their
writing to life. Give them ten minutes.
Learn more about the epistolary form
Epistolary Poems 2
Corresponds with Interactive Exhibits
Length: 15-20 minutes of writing and revising time in two parts
After visiting the interactive exhibits, ask your students to:
a) write a poem to JFK from the perspective of someone they "met" in the exhibits.
They might write from the perspective of someone they agree or disagree with.
OR
b) write a response to someone they "met" in the exhibits. They might write to someone
they agree or disagree with.
After ten minutes of free writing, encourage them to revisit what they have written to
highlight strong key words or phrases, as well as weaker ones. Ask them to use a
thesaurus to replace weak words, and employ metaphors or similes to bring their
writing to life. Give them 5-10 minutes.
Ekphrastic Poems
Corresponds with the JFK Media Gallery
Length: 20-25 minutes of writing time in 4 parts
Requirements: Projector (or image printed on a handout)
To begin, select a photograph to project (or hand out) to the class. Project it without
providing specific details or context. Then:
1) Ask students to describe what they see, using words, phrases, or complete sentences.
Guide them to focus on colors, textures, clothing, expressions, the environment,
placement and position of people or objects. Have them do this for five minutes.
2a) Ask them to imagine they are one of the people or objects in the photo and spend
five minutes writing from that person or object's point of view. Have them do this for
five minutes.
OR
2b) Ask them to respond to the image. How does it make them feel? What does it make
them think about? Can they relate to it, and if so, why and how? Does it feel foreign to
them, and if so, in what ways? Have them do this for five minutes.
3) Provide historical context for the photograph by teaching them about JFK's life and
work, using the website as a resource. Ask them to write about what they have just
learned, including any facts and details that stuck out to them, as well as their thoughts
and feelings. Have them do this for five minutes.
4) Guide them to reread what they have written, highlighting their favorite elements,
phrases, and sentences from each of the three exercises. Instruct them to unify them on
a clean page to create a poem. Encourage them to play with the order, combining
description (1), point of view (2a) or personal response (2b) with historical facts,
context, and reflection (3). Give them 5-10 minutes.
Learn more about ekphrastic poems
Revision Exercises
1) Have students write ten possible titles for their poem.
2) Have students re-write their poem, this time approaching it from a different
viewpoint/speaker, more as a narrative if it isn’t one already, more imagistically if it
isn’t already, etc.
3) Have them cut their poem apart into small units, whether phrases, lines, or words.
Then have them move them around—rearrange them like refrigerator magnets. They
may find that a new order is just what the poem needed to illuminate itself.
For more resources, visit masspoetry.org/jfk-poetry-contest