The links below lead to teaching resources for your classroom. They feature primary sources and curricular materials including online exhibits, chronologies, and classroom activities.
Biographical Resources on John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Biography of John F. Kennedy
Includes images and documents.
Biography activities for elementary students on the life of John F. Kennedy (doc)
Biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Includes photographs.
Biography activities for elementary students on the life of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (doc).
Trace John F. Kennedy's life from childhood to presidency through photographs from the Kennedy Library archives.
Online Exhibits and Curricular Resources
Americans in Space
Primary source material and classroom activities reveal why exploring space was a priority for the Kennedy administration.
Historical Literature and Resources for Elementary and Middle Grades
Annotated bibliographies of both recommended biographies and literature about American history. Includes guidelines for critically analyzing biographies and history-based literature.
Integrating Ole Miss
Students witness civil rights history firsthand through primary source material. Includes guiding questions for classroom activities and assignments.
Leaders in the Struggle for Civil Rights
These letters and telegrams from key figures help tell the story of the civil rights movement during the Kennedy years. Documents include communications from James Farmer, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young.
Poetry and Power: The Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy
Learn more about Kennedy's inaugural speech and enrich your classes with lesson plans geared to elementary, middle, and high school audiences.
Red States, Blue States: Mapping the Presidential Election (pdf)
Record the results of the 2008 presidential election on an electoral map and analyze the results. With background information about Kennedy's run for the presidency and a 1960 electoral map, students can compare the two elections. Includes a resource list of relevant websites.
In this lesson plan, high school students act as members of President Kennedy's Press Office with an assignment to brief him for a news conference. Students research issues and events of the early 1960s by exploring the Kennedy Library's website. The lesson culminates with a simulated press conference.
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy: Her Life and Legacy
These resources guide elementary students to become biography detectives as they investigate Rose Kennedy’s life. Three classroom activities feature documents, photographs, and a giant timeline. Includes information on how to best visit the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.
World on the Brink
Your students can investigate the rich historical evidence in this online exhibit to analyze the events, decisions, and outcomes of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Useful Resources for Teachers
A Timeline and White House Diary provide chronologies of the Kennedy years. JFK in History contains topic guides with relevant primary source material.
This useful page includes links to selected speeches and more.
The Presidency in the Nuclear Age Conference
On October 12, 2009, the Kennedy Library hosted a one-day conference sponsored by the nation's 13 Presidential Libraries. This event examined how the Presidency and United States foreign policy have been reshaped by the advent, use, and spread of nuclear weapons. Visit the conference web page to learn more about the event and access educational resources.
Vietnam and the Presidency
Read transcripts from an historic two-day conference held at the Kennedy Library on March 10-11, 2006, examining the history of the Vietnam War and the Presidency. Participants included General Alexander Haig, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Special Counsel to President Kennedy Theodore Sorensen, and Special Assistant to President Johnson Jack Valenti.
ForumsTranscripts of our public affairs forums cover a diverse range of political, cultural and artistic topics reflecting the legacy of President and Mrs. Kennedy’s White House years.
Invite your high school students to write a compelling essay on a U.S. elected official who has displayed political courage. Includes contest information and curriculum materials.