What Happens in the White House?

Lesson One of Curriculum Unit:
What Happens in the White House?

Ask students where the President lives. Ask where the President does most of his work. Working at home is quite common now, but Presidents have worked and lived in the White House since November 1, 1800 (see the EDSITEment resource American Memory), when John and Abigail Adams moved in. Ask students to think for a moment about what happens at the White House.

Guiding Question:

What functions does our presidential residence serve?

Learning Objective

• List activities that take place at the White House.

Student Activity:

Show the class some or all of the following images from the modern presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. Compile a list of what happens at the White House and, if desired, where it happens. (NOTE: All images are available through the online Archival Research Center [ARC] of the EDSITEment-reviewed website Digital Classroom.)

• Oval Office (Carter Administration)
• Swearing-In of Secretary of Labor (01/27/1977)
• President Carter Signing the Energy Bill at His Desk (01/27/1977)
• President Carter Press Conference (02/08/1977)
• Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter host State Dinner honoring Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau of Canada (02/21/1977)
• President Carter Hosts a Working Dinner (03/22/1977)
• Jimmy Carter in the White House library during a televised Fireside Chat on Energy (02/01/1978)
• The Reagans eating on TV trays in the White House residence, November 6, 1981
• President Reagan holding a National Security Council Meeting on the TWA hijacking, Situation Room, June 16, 1985
• President Reagan leading a Cabinet Meeting, September 11, 1986
• The Reagans being greeted by their dog Rex after arriving at the White House in the helicopter (Maine-1), April 20, 1986
• President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher talking on the patio outside of the Oval Office, July 17, 1987
• President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev signing the INF Treaty in the East Room of the White House, December 8, 1987 (NOTE: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, with signatories the United States and the Soviet Union, eliminated all nuclear-armed, ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.)
• President Reagan and Vice-President Bush eating lunch in the Oval Office Study, March 31, 1988

Assessment

Engage the class in a discussion about the images. The President (and family) lives and works in the White House. Which images show "living"?

Working?

A combination of the two?

Help students understand the nature of a ceremonial event.

Which images show ceremonial events? Which show work in session?

What kind of "house" is required to facilitate everything a President must do?

The President's office is the Oval Office. In the activity above, students may have viewed a photo of the Oval Office during the Carter Administration. If desired, students can explore the interactive activity Design the Oval Office for Yourself on National Geographic's Inside the White House, a link from the EDSITEment resource Explore DC.

Next lesson

Return to Curriculum Unit: What Happens in the White House?

• American Memory [http://memory.loc.gov/]
• November 1, 1800
  [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct13.html]
Digital Classroom.)
[http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/index.html]
• Oval Office (Carter Administration)
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0456a.gif]
• Swearing-In of Secretary of Labor (01/27/1977)
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0453a.gif]
• President Carter Signing the Energy Bill at His Desk (01/27/1977)
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0452a.gif]
• President Carter Press Conference (02/08/1977)
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0457a.gif]
• Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter host State Dinner honoring Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau of Canada (02/21/1977)
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0467a.gif]
• President Carter Hosts a Working Dinner (03/22/1977)
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0479a.gif]
• Jimmy Carter in the White House library during a televised Fireside
  Chat on Energy (02/01/1978)
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/1/24-0068a.gif]
• The Reagans eating on TV trays in the White House residence,
  November 6, 1981
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0152a.gif]
• President Reagan holding a National Security Council Meeting on the TWA
  hijacking, Situation Room, June 16, 1985
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/1/12-0096a.gif]
• President Reagan leading a Cabinet Meeting, September 11, 1986
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0127a.gif]
• The Reagans being greeted by their dog Rex after arriving at the White House
  in the helicopter (Maine-1), April 20, 1986
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0154a.gif]
• President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher talking on the patio outside
  of the Oval Office, July 17, 1987
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0141a.gif]
• President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev signing the
  INF Treaty in the East Room of the White House, December 8, 1987
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/2/12-0114a.gif]
• President Reagan and Vice-President Bush eating lunch in the
  Oval Office Study, March 31, 1988
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/12/1/12-0100a.gif]
• Oval Office during the Carter Administration
  [http://media.nara.gov/media/images/24/5/24-0456a.gif].
• Explore DC
  [http://www.exploredc.org/index.php]
• National Geographic's Inside the White House
  [http://www.pbs.org/weta/whitehouse/whhome.htm]
• Design the Oval Office for Yourself
  [http://www.pbs.org/weta/whitehouse/ovalfrm.htm]