Spring 2020 Education Series
JFK Library Teaching and Learning Tuesdays
From the Library's Department of Education and Public Programs Team
June 16, 2020 (Week 12)
Historic Speeches and the Power of Words


Featuring primary sources, lesson plans, and activities focusing on
historic speeches and more!
Ready-to-Go Resources
Elementary & Middle School
Lesson Plan
Making Your Voice Heard
Grades 3 - 8
In this lesson, students learn about a letter exchange between African American astronomer Benjamin Banneker and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, investigate letters written to President Kennedy and other public officials, and then write their own letters of concern. 
High School
Lesson Plan
Analyzing the Rhetoric of JFK’s Inaugural Address
Grades 9 - 12
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address is widely viewed as one of the most enduring inaugural messages in United States history. In this lesson, students analyze the rhetorical devices that enhance the speech and provide their own improvements.
Forum Spotlight
Watch and Discuss a Past Forum
JFK: A Vision for America
Stephen Kennedy Smith and Douglas Brinkley, co-editors of JFK: A Vision for America, discussed President Kennedy's legacy with Harvard University professor Frederik Logevall.
Kennedy Library Forums are webcast live and recorded whenever possible. Written transcripts of most recorded events are also available. View our past Forums or visit our YouTube channel to view past Forums .
Activity of the Week
Massachusetts' Suffrage Bluebird
On July 19, 1915, “Suffrage Blue Bird Day,” approximately 100,000 bluebirds were pinned up around Massachusetts in support of a state referendum for women's suffrage. While the state referendum failed, women continued to organize across the US and gained the right to vote when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1920. Your students can learn about suffrage in Massachusetts and color a bluebird sign.
Additional Resource
Historic Speeches
President Kennedy believed in the power of words -- both written and spoken -- to win votes, to set goals, to change minds, to move nations. He consistently took care to choose the right words and phrases that he believed would best convey his message. This web page presents some of John F. Kennedy's most historic speeches.
In Case You Missed It...
JFK Library's Teaching and Learning Tuesdays 6/9
Last week's email featured the " Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights" from June 11, 1963, the " Investigating Kennedy's Address on Civil Rights " and " Persuader-in-Chief " lesson plans, A Conversation with John Lewis - The 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Forum , John Lewis' oral history, the "Suffrage Sunflower" activity, and the " 1963: The Struggle for Civil Rights" interactive.

In addition, all past emails from this series are available on the Library's website.
Suggestions or Feedback?
Interested in a particular topic or type of resource? Reply to this email and let us know what you are looking for and we will do our best to incorporate it into this weekly guide!

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John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
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