On May 5th, 25 third graders from the David Ellis Elementary School in Roxbury, MA enthusiastically searched for an answer to this question, “Who was Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy?” Following an introductory session on how to be an historical detective, the students worked in small groups to examine diverse photographs, letters, newspaper clippings, and other primary source evidence from the Kennedy Library collections. The young biographers then took turns reporting on Mrs. Kennedy’s childhood as a daughter of the Mayor of Boston; her marriage and raising of nine children; and her campaigning in support of the political careers of her sons, John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy. They then chose items to represent these and other events, and posted them on a 40-foot-long timeline spanning the 104 years of Mrs. Kennedy’s life.
Library staff gave students a close-up view of several museum artifacts. One was a hat decorated with a stork and nine tiny child figures that was made for Mrs. Kennedy to wear to a costume party. Another was the file box that held the index cards she’d used to record the health of each child. Students also met with National Park Service Ranger, Christine Arato, who responded to their questions about the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site, the house where President Kennedy was born. The results from this demonstration program will be used to create a supplementary teaching packet for third grade classes. The materials will also include information on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy programs for young visitors. The packet will be made available online this Fall at www.jfklibrary.org by John Hancock Financial Services.