Lesson Plan

Boyhood in Brookline: The Challenges and Character of Young Jack Kennedy

Lesson Plan Image
Grade Level:
Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
Subject:
Social Studies
Lesson Duration:
60 Minutes
State Standards:
His., Soc. Sci.

NE & MA

3.7 After reading a biography of a person from MA...students will summarize their life and achievements.(e)

Cities/Towns

3.9 Identify local historic buildings, monuments, or sites and explain their purpose and significance.
Additional Standards:
3.12 Explain how artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed. Draw on services of local historical societies and museums as needed.

Essential Question

How can we overcome challenges?

Why is the preservation of historic spaces important?

Objective

LEARNING OUTCOMES-SKILLS
Students will identify:
1. Three challenges JFK faced as a child.
2. Ways in which JFK dealt with these challenges.
LEARNING OUTCOMES-UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand:
1. What life was like for the Kennedy family in Brookline.
2. The importance of preserving the home for future generations.
Students will recognize:
3. Similarities and differences between JFK’s childhood and their own.
4. That everyone faces challenges that can be overcome through determination.

Preparation

All materials included here in this digital lesson plan.

Procedure

Kennedy Home & Neighborhood Photographs

Introduction

Welcome to the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site! Before we begin, take a moment to discuss these questions as a class:
  1. What's so special about this place?
  2. What do you know about JFK? What did he accomplish?
Today you are going to digitally explore the neighborhood that JFK knew as a young boy. The program includes an investigation inside the house and a “walk” through the neighborhood. During the program, you will discover information and ideas for your “What JFK Means To Me” essay. Please look at these photographs of the home and neighborhood as you explore each section.

Keep these guiding questions in mind:
  1. What was life like for JFK when he was a young boy?
  2. What kinds of challenges did JFK face as a young boy?
  3. How did he overcome some of those challenges?

House

Not Just Any House

Before you “enter” the birthplace home, consider the idea of preservation:
  1. What does it mean to preserve something?
  2. Why is it important to preserve this house and its contents?

Preserve

1. To keep alive or in existence; make lasting.
2. To make safe from harm or injury; save.
3. To keep up; maintain.

Rose Kennedy wanted her children to “know and feel the past.” She made sure to fill the home with things that would remind her children of history. Later, she carefully chose all the objects in this house in keeping with her memories of her family’s time here. It is important to preserve places that tell us about stories from the past. Caring for these sites today provides future generations with an opportunity to learn from them. This house is special, not just as the former home of a president, but as a museum.
 
  1. What sorts of things do museums have? Why do they have them?
  2. What makes visiting a museum different from visiting other kinds of places?

Kitchen

Close your eyes. Imagine a kitchen. What objects do you see? How is the room organized? What do you smell? Who is in the room? What are they doing? Now look around this room.
  1. What is the same as the kitchen you imagined? What’s different?
  2. What might have happened in this room?
  3. Who might have used this kitchen?
  4. Can you identify any of the items you see here?
The kitchen was a busy place. Mrs. Kennedy had help with many of the household activities. The cook and the nanny helped with many of the activities in the kitchen.

You might recognize the toaster sitting on the counter by the clock. This Hotpoint “Tick Tock” toaster featured a built-in timer, useful for remembering to flip the bread, since only one side could be toasted at a time.

On the right side of the kitchen table is the food chopper. The cook would have used this to grind meat or to process vegetables. She may have used it to make piccalilli, a type of relish made of pickled vegetables which the Kennedys ate often.

Where do you think the Kennedy family ate their meals? That is where we are going next.

Dining Room

Look around this room. Where do you think Joe Jr. sat? Where do you think Jack sat? How can you tell?

Eating meals together was very important to the Kennedy family. Rose and Joseph Kennedy held high expectations. During mealtime, the children were expected to follow specific rules. From a very early age, the children were expected to arrive on time to meals and participate in conversation. They were encouraged to share their experiences from the day and communicate their ideas with the group, as well as listen, ask questions, and answer thoughtfully. Mrs. Kennedy “encouraged an exchange of information and ideas in which even the younger children learned to speak up for themselves."
 
  1. What things do you talk about with your family?
  2. What do you think the Kennedy family talked about?
The Kennedy family talked about Sunday mass, religion, history, current events, and their daily activities. As the two oldest siblings, Joe Jr. and Jack were expected to be role models for the younger children, but they had very different personalities and were often competitive with one another.
 
  1. Do any of you have siblings? Think about your relationships with your brothers and sisters.
  2. For those with younger siblings, do they ever annoy you? (Jack's silliness would annoy Joe Jr.)
  3. For those with older siblings, do you ever challenge them, trying to prove that older doesn’t mean better?
Joe Jr. was the first born, filled with vitality, health, and energy. He was serious and ambitious, neat and orderly. He emanated power and promise, and was expected to be a role model for the younger children. He took on that responsibility and “acted like a little adult.” Jack was warm and playful, but often tardy, forgetful, and sloppy. He was quite intelligent, had an active imagination, and surpassed Joe Jr. in mental ability, but was lazy in school.

As the smaller and weaker brother, Jack often challenged Joe, attempting to prove that just because Joe Jr. was older, that didn’t mean he was better. As the older and bigger brother, Joe Jr. would usually win, but Jack wouldn’t let that stop him. He never gave up. Joe Jr. was less patient with Jack than with his other siblings, and although they cared for one another dearly, the two were very competitive with each other.

Now we'll see what kinds of activities the Kennedy family did after dinner.

Living Room

Take thirty seconds to look for clues that tell you how the Kennedy family spent their time in this room. Keep count of how many objects you find.

Family activities were a vital component of the Kennedys’ life. Rose and Joseph Kennedy stressed the importance of reading, homework, music, art, and religion. They felt that involvement in these activities would give their children the necessary skills to become successful adults.
  1. What items can you see?
  2. What activities took place in this room?
  3. What’s missing?
The presence of books and magazines show the importance the Kennedys placed on reading, while the paintings and the piano show their appreciation for art and music.

Mrs. and Mr. Kennedy stressed participation in family activities and putting the family first. This room shows us a space where the family gathered to read and play, say their nightly prayers, and listen to or play the piano. These activities were important to the Kennedy family and done on a regular basis.

Do any of you have activities that you and your family do regularly/nightly/daily?

What do you think the family did after reading and saying nightly prayers? We're heading upstairs next.

Parents' Bedroom

  1. Do you know where you were born?
  2. Does anyone know where children were usually born in 1917?
The bed closest to the window is the one JFK was born in.

Take a look at the 6-month baby photographs. Three of the nine Kennedy children were born in this house. These are the four children who lived here.
 
  1. Does anyone know who these babies are? The oldest of the Kennedy children is at the top.
  2. What do you think Jack's relationship was like with his younger sisters?

These are Joe Jr., Jack, Rosemary, and Kathleen. As an older brother, Jack was expected to be a good role model, to set a good example for his younger sisters. Kathleen and Jack were very close, having similarly carefree, mischievous personalities.

Rosemary was born with intellectual disabilities that made learning difficult. She often felt frustrated seeing her siblings easily complete tasks that took longer for her, especially in such a competitive family. These difficulties, however, didn’t dampen her cheerful, affectionate personality, or her determination. Much like Jack never gave up on challenging Joe Jr., even though he was bigger and older, Rosemary never gave up on trying her best to meet her family’s standards, even though things were harder for her than for her siblings.

Her struggles made the family think about life in a new way. Whatever activities her siblings did, Rosemary always did too, often with extra support, and at her own speed. For the children of such a privileged family, adjusting situations to Rosemary’s needs and watching her efforts in the face of challenges taught her siblings compassion.

Now we'll pass through a small room.

Boudoir

This is Mrs. Kennedy’s “special room.” Look carefully at the objects on her desk.
  1. What types of objects do you notice in the boudoir?
  2. What do you think the boudoir was used for?
  3. Did you notice the small wooden box on the desk? What do you think Rose Kennedy might have kept in it?
Look closely at the box. Here’s a clue: Count the number of tabs in it. How many children were there in the Kennedy family? Here’s another clue: listen to this card about Jack.

"John Fitzgerald Kennedy
born Brookline Mass. (83 Beals Street) May 29. 1917
Has had whooping cough. measles – chicken pox
Had scarlet fever. February 20. 1920
At City Hospital Boston . with Dr. Hill . Dr. Reardon
took care of ear.
Has had mumphs [sic].
German measles 1928
Schick test 1928
Bronchitis occasionally"

 
  1. Have any of you had any of these illnesses? ALL of them?
  2. Does it seem like Jack had a healthy childhood?
  3. What do you think it must have felt like to be so sick all the time?
Sometimes, Jack was so sick that he had to stay in hospital – away from home - which forced him to make many new friends and enhanced his ability to get along with others. Where do you think Jack spent his time at home when he was sick? Let's go see.

Nursery

Think about a time when you were sick. Where did you rest and recover from the illness? How did you spend your time? Look for clues in this room that tell you how JFK passed the time while he was sick in bed.
 
  1. What do you see in the room that tells you how he might have spent his time?
  2. Who do you think read to him before he was able to read on his own?
  3. Why do you think he enjoyed reading so much?
  4. What types of books did he enjoy reading? Look at some of the titles, like Peter Pan, Black Beauty, Billy Whiskers, King Arthur, Treasure Island, and The Jungle Book – do you recognize any of these stories? What do they have in common?
  5. What skills did he develop from reading so much?
Jack dealt with the challenge of always being sick by reading. When he couldn’t go outside, he used reading to go on adventures to other places. Various illnesses troubled him throughout his life, but he was never defeated by them. He escaped his boredom with characters in stories, in the process developing a strong imagination that helped him succeed throughout his life. As president, he imagined sending a man to the moon, imagined a country where all people are treated equally, imagined a program – Peace Corps – that helped people around the world.) His two favorite books were Billy Whiskers (a naughty, playful, and mischievous goat) and King Arthur and the Round Table (a heroic king who helped his people).

Now we'll go down the stairs and exit the house through the back door.

House Discussion


Before you explore the neighborhood, take a moment as a group to discuss these questions:
  1. What was family life like for Jack?
  2. What were some difficulties and challenges that Jack faced as a child?
  3. How did he deal with those challenges?

Neighborhood

Charting the Path

Using the historic map, identify locations in the neighborhood that the Kennedy family visited daily (St. Aidan’s, Devotion School, Dexter School, shops in Coolidge Corner, train into Boston). Show students the path from Devotion to 83 Beals Street.
 
  1. Sidewalk in front of 83 Beals Street
  2.  Beals, Gibbs, Stedman Street Circle
  3.  Abbottsford and Naples Road
  4.  Babcock Street and Manchester Road
  5. Edward Devotion School

Walking along the streets of this neighborhood, from home to church to school to shops, was an important part of daily life for the Kennedy family. Some locations within the neighborhood have remained the same, while some areas have changed. The family felt it was important to be near a church, shops (Coolidge Corner) and subway (to get into the city). Mrs. Kennedy in particular thought it significant for her children to have daily walks:

“Young children need fresh air, exercise, and activities that stimulate their interest, some of which I could supply by taking them for a daily walk. Most mornings, while the domestic chores were getting under way, I would put the current toddler in a kiddy car and, with one or two older ones on either side, set off to the shopping center (Coolidge’s Corner).” – Rose Kennedy (Times to Remember, 72)

Today we will visit the same streets that the Kennedys knew when they lived in this neighborhood. 

Compare these two photographs. The first is of Joe Jr. and Jack on Easter, the second is the same spot as it appears today. 
  1. Do you recognize these two children? Who are they?
  2. What did the neighborhood look like when they lived here? How is it different today?

Beals, Gibbs, Stedman Circle


Look at this photo.
  1. Who is in this photo?
  2. Why do you think they took this photo?
  3.  Notice how the landscape has changed over time. What can you see now that isn’t in this photo? What can you no longer see?
Here are Mr. Kennedy, Joe Jr., and Jack.  When they stood here, the streets were unpaved, there were no sidewalks, and there was a lot of undeveloped open space.

This is a Rolls-Royce, the family’s second car. Automobiles were a very new item at the time, and it was a great privilege for the family to own a car. The Model T Ford, which is generally considered to be the first affordable automobile, was introduced in 1908. The Kennedys acquired their first car, a Model T Ford, while living on Beals Street.

Here's some context on automobile ownership, from the book The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys:

“In the early 1900s, automobile ownership in the U.S. grew at a rapid rate. In 1916, there were 4 million registered cars on the road. By 1920 more than 8 million Americans owned a car and by 1928, there were over 24 million” (Goodwin, 381).

Here’s how Mrs. Kennedy described her and her husband’s excitement about buying an automobile:

“I think our worldly ambitions as a young married couple were about the same as those of other young couples then and now. With a home of our own and furniture of our own, the next goal was to have a car of our own. Only a few of our friends had cars, so it wasn’t as if we felt deprived. Most of us took the trolley cars or, if we were in Boston, either the trolleys or the subways. One of the great thrills of my life was the day my husband drove home in our very own brand new, gleaming black Model T Ford.” (Times to Remember, 62)

The Kennedy children spent lots of time playing outdoors in this neighborhood. Listen to this story about a bike race between the two brothers:

“On a sunny afternoon one spring, Joe suggested a bicycle race, with each going around the block in the opposite direction. Approaching each other head on at the final corner, neither boy swerved. The collision left Joe unhurt, but Jack was thrown from his bike into the air, coming down on the ground in a bloody heap that it would take twenty-eight stitches to put together again.” (Goodwin, 412)
 
  1. What does this story tell us about the two brothers?
Jack was determined and always attempted to compete with his brother. Sometimes these competitions had negative, painful results, teaching Jack that there are consequences associated with each action. He remembered this lesson when he chose to compete in the 1960 presidential race.Jack was 3 ½ years old when the Kennedy family moved from 83 Beals Street another house in the neighborhood. Why did the family move? We’ll discuss the answer at the next stop.

Abbottsford Road and Naples Road

Take a minute to discuss these questions as a group.
  1. Why did the family move from 83 Beals Street to Naples Road?
  2. What were the expectations for the oldest boys in the large family?
  3. Why do you think they chose the house on Naples Road?
When Jack lived at 83 Beals Street, he had 1 brother and 2 sisters. The house on Beals Street was getting cramped. The family needed more space.

Rose Kennedy established criteria for a second home – must be near good schools, transportation, and shopping; must be quiet and uncongested; must have fresh air and play space for the children –

“Imagine Naples Road, with its big front porch, in 1925. Joe Jr. and Jack by then were nine and a half and soon to eight, respectively, and playing (in their buttoned leggings) someplace in our yard or nearby where I tried to keep track of them while keeping an eye on activities on the front porch. There, probably – or outside with the boys – would be Rosemary, by then about six and a half, Kathleen, five, Eunice, Three and a half, Pat a, a year and a half, and in the baby carriage would be three- or four-month-old Bobby.” (Times to Remember, 72)

Look at this Halloween photo.
  1. Who is this?
  2. What is he dressed as?
....
  1. How would you describe a good police officer?
  2. What qualities would we like a police officer to have?
  3. Would you describe Jack Kennedy that way? As president? As one of the oldest children in the family?
The Kennedy family lived in Brookline until Jack was 10 ½ years old. Seven of the nine Kennedy children were born at that time.

Listen to this quote from the president’s mother:

“In a family, all the children are different. The oldest boys usually take more responsibility than the others. Bring up the oldest ones the way you want them all to go. If the oldest ones come in and say good night to their parents or say their prayers in the morning, the younger ones think that’s probably a good thing to do, and they will do it.” (Rose Kennedy, from JFK… As We Remember Him, 3)

What was their role, as the two oldest children in a family of nine? Jack and Joe Jr. were expected to role models or to set a good example for the younger children.

 

Babcock Street and Manchester Road

Here is a photo of St. Aidan’s Church.

Here is a photo of Jack during his confirmation. In Catholicism, confirmation is the sacrament, or religious ceremony, of one's admission to the church being confirmed. Confirmation is often received around age 13, but is sometimes received as young as age 7.
 
  1. What types of activities did the Kennedy family participate in on a regular basis?
  2. Do you and your family have any rituals?
  3. Do you think family rituals are important? Why or why not?
 
Rose practiced Catholicism devoutly, and eagerly encouraged her children to do the same. As a young boy, Jack had a flippant (or jokey or dismissive) attitude toward his religion.

“Apparently while Rose was at church with her children on Good Friday, she urged them all to [wish for a happy death/MAKE A SERIOUS WISH]; the others complied, but Jack rebelled, saying that he would like instead to wish for two dogs.” (Goodwin, 410) As an adult, Catholicism was important to him.

Edward Devotion School

Here is a photo of the Florida Ruffin Ridley School, known as the Edward Devotion School when Jack attended.
 
  1. What do you enjoy about attending school? What do you not enjoy?
  2. What expectations do your parents have for you at school?

It was important to Rose Kennedy that her children be well educated. The Edward Devotion School had a reputation for academic excellence. By sending her children to this public school, Mrs. Kennedy allowed them to make friends with all the children of their neighborhood.

Jack read avidly, and excelled academically in the subjects he liked, such as History and English, but was known to zone out during subjects which did not interest him.

Jack attended the Edward Devotion School from kindergarten until the third grade. At the beginning of the third grade, Jack and his older brother Joe Jr. switched from the Devotion School to the Dexter School, a private school in Brookline.

Look at this photo of Jack in uniform with his football team at the Dexter School.

How would you describe Jack in this photo?

Even though he was small and sometimes weak from various illnesses, he continued to participate in many types of activities – determined and hard working. One of his football coaches once said, “Jack made up for what he lacked in athletic ability with his fight.”

Jack’s parents held high expectations for all their children. Rose Kennedy said:

“My husband was quite a strict father; he liked the boys to win at sports and everything they tried. If they didn’t win, he would discuss their failure with them, but he did not have much patience with the loser.” (Rose Kennedy, from JFK… As We Remember Him, 6)

In all aspects of life, from sports to school, Jack’s father “pushed hard to win” and said “coming in second was just no good.”

How do you think that must have felt?

Conclusion


As a group, answer these guiding questions:
  1. What was life like for JFK when he was a young boy?
  2. What kinds of challenges did JFK face as a young boy?
  3. How did he overcome some of those challenges?
Do you have any questions of your own?

Although Jack grew up in a different time, the childhood challenges he encountered were similar to those of today. He and his older brother challenged each other; he constantly battled sicknesses; his parents enforced strict family rules. These challenges were difficult, but through determination, imagination, and a good sense of humor, he overcame many of them. Everyone faces challenges. Through determination, imagination, humor, and support from family and friends, like JFK, you can overcome those challenges to be successful.

Now that you know so much about JFK, please write your own essay on "What JFK Means to Me."

Thank you for participating in our program!
 

 

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Last updated: April 20, 2023