Curriculum Materials

During his boyhood years in Brookline, John Fitzgerald Kennedy faced several challenges. Through determination, imagination, humor, and family support, he was able to transform challenges into opportunities, establishing a foundation in character that led him to become the 35th president of the United States. This lesson teaches upper elementary students about those early years through a virtual tour of 83 Beals Street and significant sites in the surrounding neighborhood.

This lesson plan allows high school students to identify who Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was and his role in United States history. Students will examine Kennedy family photographs, letters from Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. to his family, and quotes from Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., to form their understanding of his influence. Students will evaluate the ways in which historians form complex understandings of controversial historical figures.

This lesson allows high school students to examine historical written, photographic, and video evidence from the Kennedys' time in Brookline and the Kennedy presidency in order to understand the way family background and values shape one's character. Students will identify the values the Kennedys tried to instill in their children, how these values impacted President Kennedy's character, and why we remember President Kennedy today, as well as how their own backgrounds have influenced them.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy possessed an acumen for people and the world which she utilized throughout her life. She fostered this passion devotedly in her children, including future president John F. Kennedy. In this lesson, students read her recollections of parenthood, hear her tour of the family home, and compare and contrast her to her husband, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Students will learn how she shaped her son’s image and examine how historians form multidimensional views of historical figures.

This lesson plan gives students the opportunity to engage with the context of the national civil rights conversation as it progressed in the spring of 1963. Students will examine three speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and Vice President Lyndon Johnson. Students will engage in a conversation about the similarities and differences between these speeches and discuss their themes, then connect those themes to current conversations regarding civil rights.

This lesson will allow students to explore the theme of commemoration, memorialization, and legacy through reading of primary and secondary sources. They will engage in a consideration of how historical memory is shaped and how we commemorate people and places. The lesson will also allow students to make connections about their own thoughts and feelings regarding history and how it is commemorated.

Visit JFK's birthplace and consider the effects of culture and community in shaping character and personality.

This lesson will allow students to explore the theme of commemoration, memorialization, and legacy through reading of primary and secondary sources. They will engage in a consideration of how historical memory is shaped and how we commemorate people and places. The lesson will also allow students to make connections about their own thoughts and feelings regarding history and how it is commemorated.