John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Analyzing the Inaugural Address
Get high school historians to step outside their own shoes by responding to JFK's inaugural address from the perspective of a civil rights activist, a soviet diplomat, or a Cuban exile. After a class discussion about the address,...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Analyzing the Rhetoric of JFK’s Inaugural Address
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your. country.” Did you know that John Kenneth Galbraith, Adlai Stevenson, and Theodore Sorensen helped John F. Kennedy craft his 1961...
Curated OER
George Washington's Foreign Policy
Students compare George Washington's foreign policy to the policies of presidents who followed him. In this primary source analysis lesson, students compare Washington's Farewell Address to the Roosevelt Corollary, the Monroe Doctrine,...
Curated OER
Write Obama's Inaugural Address
Students practice their public speaking skills. In this interdisciplinary instructional activity, students study speeches delivered by Lincoln, Wilson, F. Roosevelt, and Kennedy. Students write the text Obama's inaugural...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You
Ask not what the activity here can do for you, but what you can do with the activity. The answer is quite a lot! Young scholars revisit JFK's famous inaugural address with a focus on his plea for civic engagement. There's...
Curated OER
In The Words of Abraham Lincoln...
Students explore the words of Abraham Lincoln. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson plan, students analyze segments of "The Gettysburg Address," his annual address to Congress in 1862, and his letter to Mrs. Bixby. Students conduct further...
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Perspectives on Civil Rights
Learners examine speeches of the Civil Rights Era. In this American history lesson, students listen to speeches delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy. Learners respond to guiding questions as they listen to the...
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Digital Dreams
Learners write a speech. In this dreams lesson, students define the word dreams and list their own dreams. Learners read and discuss Langston Hughes work, read and discuss excerpts from speeches by JFK and Martin Luther King,...
Curated OER
Recasting Language through Found Poetry
Discover the concept of found poetry in this engaging lesson. Secondary students will explore the poem "Natural Selection" and compare it to the writings of Charles Darwin in Origin of the Species. Students chose a text and create...
Curated OER
You're Hired!
Students participate in a simulation of being a speech writer for the President. They listen to and analyze speeches and present one of their own.
University of Maryland
Voices of Democracy: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, "Inaugural Address" January 1961
John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech is one of the most famous speeches in American history. Teachers can use this lesson plan to teach Language Arts standards, as well as Social Studies standards. This lesson plan includes pre-reading...