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What Happens in the White House?
—Curriculum Unit Overview—
Introduction
The “President's House,” built under George Washington's personal supervision, was the finest residence in the land and possibly the largest. In a nation of wooden houses, it was built of stone and ornamented with understated stone flourishes. It did not fit everyone's concept for the home of the leader of the young democracy. Abigail Adams found it cold; Thomas Jefferson thought it too big and impractical. He added gardens, a cooking stove, and storage.
Whatever one's opinion of the original design, our nation is now inseparably associated with the White House. There, the essential business of the land is conducted every day. There, our history has been made and reflected.
In this unit, students take a close look at the White House in recent times
and throughout our history.
Note: This lesson may be taught either as a stand-alone lesson or as a complement
to the EDSITEment curriculum unit From
the White House of Yesterday to the White House of Today.
Guiding Questions:
What functions does our presidential residence serve?
How has the White House been touched by the great events of our nation's history?
Learning Objectives
After completing the lessons in this unit, students will be able to:
- List activities that take place at the White House.
- Create a chronology of important events that have occurred at or directly affected the White House.
Preparing to Teach This Curriculum Unit
- Review the lesson plans. Locate and bookmark suggested materials and other
useful websites. Download and print out documents you will use and duplicate
copies as necessary for student viewing.
- Download the blackline master for this unit, available here as a PDF file. Print out and make an appropriate number of copies of any handouts you plan to use in class.
- Download and make one copy each of the archival images for the activity in Part 2, below. Many images have been selected to facilitate flexibility. Use as many or as few as appropriate. Assign them to groups as best suits your class. Keep some aside, for example, for groups that finish more quickly, or use all of them to make groups as small as possible.
- Prepare a place in the classroom for a History of the White House Timeline,
on which you will post the images from Part 3, below.
You or your students with technical expertise may wish to create an html document
with links to relevant images.
- Extensive background information on every aspect of the White House is available from the White House Historical Association, a link from the EDSITEment resource Explore DC.
Unit Lesson Plans
Selected EDSITEment Websites
- Africans in America
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html]
- American Memory [http://memory.loc.gov/]
- American
President
[http://www.americanpresident.org/history/h_home.shtml]
- Digital Classroom
[http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/index.html]
- 1935
Fireside Chat
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/9/18/09-1785a.gif]
- Check
Presented to President Roosevelt (1942)
[http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/images/photodb/23-0014a.gif]
- Anwar
Sadat, Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin at the Camp
David Accords Signing Ceremony. , 09/17/1978
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/10/24-0910a.gif]
- Congress
and the Civil Rights Act of 1964
[http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/treasures_of_congress/page_24.html]
- General
view of the city from the south toward the Treasury Building and
the White House. Cows are grazing Circa 1864-
[http://www.archives.gov/research_room/research_topics/
civil_war/images/civil_war_127.jpg]
- Jimmy
Carter and Rosalynn Carter host State Dinner honoring Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau of Canada
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0467a.gif]
- Jimmy
Carter in the White House library during a televised
Fireside Chat on Energy
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/1/24-0068a.gif]
- Oval
Office (Carter Administration)
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0456a.gif]
- Photograph
of Harry S. Truman taking the oath of office as President
of the United States in the Cabinet Room of the White House,
following the death of President Roosevelt
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/3/12-0284a.gif]
- Photograph
of reporters rushing excitedly through the White House
with news of the Japanese surrender. , 08/14/1945
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/4/12-0393a.gif]
- President
Carter Hosts a Working Dinner
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0479a.gif]
- President
Carter Press Conference
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0457a.gif]
- President
Carter Signing the Energy Bill at His Desk
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0452a.gif]
- President
Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev signing the INF
Treaty in the East Room of the White House , 12/08/1987
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0114a.gif]
- President
Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher talking on
the patio outside of the Oval Office , 07/17/1987
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0141a.gif]
- President
Reagan and Vice-President Bush eating lunch in the
Oval Office Study , 03/31/1988
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/1/12-0100a.gif]
- President
Reagan holding a National Security Council Meeting on
the TWA hijacking, Situation Room , 06/16/1985
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/1/12-0096a.gif]
- President
Reagan leading a Cabinet Meeting , 09/11/1986
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0127a.gif]
- Signing
Cuba Quarantine Proclamation. President Kennedy.
White House, Oval Office. , 10/23/1962
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/4/2/04-0132a.gif]
- Suffragists
picket White House. Banner posted in front of the
White House, Washington . . ., 07/1917-
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/25/30/25-2982t.gif]
- Swearing-In
of Secretary of Labor
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0453a.gif]
- The Reagan's
being greeted by their dog "Rex" after arriving at the
White House in the helicopter (Maine-1) , 04/20/1986
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0154a.gif]
- The Reagans
eating on TV trays in the White House residence ,
11/06/1981
[http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0152a.gif]
- The
War of 1812
[http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/treasures_of_congress/
page_8.html]
- White House History
[http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/glimpse/top.html]
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
and Museum
[http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/]
- Lyndon
Johnson Signing 1964 Civil Rights Act in East Room
of White House
[http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/av.hom/images/
276-10-64.JPG]
- Explore DC
[http://www.exploredc.org/index.php]
- National Park Service: Links to the Past
[http://www.cr.nps.gov/]
Standards Alignment
View your state’s standards
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