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Preparing to Visit Val-Kill

A Three-Unit Lesson Plan
(6th-8th grades)

First Lady of the World

ER, JFK, & the 1960 Election:
A Mini-Edition
The My Day Projects
Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt

Teacher should read web site essay on Eleanor Roosevelt to get an

understanding of who she was and to prepare for the following exercises.

Teaching Human Rights

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LESSON ONE: Beginning of a Unit on Eleanor

Roosevelt

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Objectives
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project is a
university-chartered research center
associated with the Department of History
of The George Washington University

1. To introduce ER to the class.

2. To explain key facts about the life and
philosophy of ER.
3. To motivate the student to question and seek
information about ER.
4. To see that ER had obstacles to overcome, not
unlike the students themselves.
Activities
1. List on the blackboard the following key facts:
Abused Child, Orphan, Anorexic, Jailbird, Risk
Taker, Japanese Advocate, TV Hostess,
Journalist, First Lady (of New York, of the US, of
the World), Contributor to charities, Human
Rights Activist, Goodwill Ambassador, Political
Leader. The items can be deleted or added to
depending on the knowledge of the teacher.
Methodology
1. Class discussion.
2. Students will ask questions to get an
understanding of who ER was.
3. Assign a student to write facts on the
blackboard or on newsprint, or students can

take notes.
Assessments
1. Gage the enthusiasm of the students by the
number of questions and answers per individual.
2. Evaluate the list of facts on the blackboard or in
the student's notebook.

LESSON TWO: Preparation for Visit to Val-Kill

Objectives
1. To introduce the students to Civil Rights activist
Eleanor Roosevelt.
2. To teach the Social Studies Overarching
Concepts of Justice, Democracy, and Human
Rights.
3. To reinforce the need for Diversity and
Tolerance in the American society and
throughout the world.
Activities
1. Students will read from Eleanor Roosevelt, A Life
of Discovery, by Russell Freedman, New York:
Scholastic Inc, 1993. Start at page 108 read to
the end of page 113. They will also read ER's
remarks "where do human rights begin?"
2. Either for homework or class work the students
will complete the questions based on the
reading.
Methodology
The teacher will then lead a discussion on Eleanor Roosevelt, the
Civil Rights Activist. The questions:
1. What did ER say was one responsibility of
government? Do you agree or disagree with her
statement? Explain.
2. Define the National Youth Administration (NYA)?
3. ER believed that both poverty and racial
prejudice enslaved Americans. Define this
statement in your own words, and state your
feelings about it.
4. Describe two examples of non-violent protest
used by ER to show her disapproval of
segregation.
5. Explain why many people disliked what ER was
doing for African Americans during the 1930s.

6. Explain why ER believed human rights began in

"small places close to home."
Assessments:
1. The teacher could grade the questions for
homework or a quiz could follow the completion
and discussion of the material.
2. The teacher could develop a free writing
experience for the students.
3. The teacher could ask the students to respond
to the following: Relate a personal experience
you know of when another's rights have been
violated. Using the concept of empathy describe
how you think ER would have handled the
situation.
Enrichment
Read the "My Day" column of February 27, 1939 [html]
[Acrobat file]. Could also show concert clip and interview with
Marian Anderson from PBS "American Experience" on Marian
Anderson.

LESSON THREE: Lesson for Visit to Val-Kill

Objectives:
1. To provide an activity that will give a focus and
structure while visiting the site.
2. To personalize the Val-Kill experience.
Activities
1. Either at the home school or at Val-Kill, students
should view the video, ELEANOR ROOSEVELT,
FIRST LADY OF THE WORLD.
2. Students should identify what happened on the
given date in the Eleanor Roosevelt Time Line.
3. Students will complete an activity packet
following the tour but before the students leave
the grounds. (Depending on the size of the
group, students could sit on the pool deck or
along the side of the pond or utilize the Visitors'
Center in the Playhouse.)
Methodology
I. The Timeline (to be altered by the teacher

depending on the grade level of the students).

All dates are found in the site video.
1884, 1892, 1894, 1899, 1902, 1905, 1910,
1913, 1921, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1933,
1936, December 7th, 1941, 1945, 1947, 1962.
II. The Val-Kill Activity Packet. (Note: These
questions should be adapted for grade and
ability levels. The following are sample
questions.)
A. Val-Kill Cottage
1. List two ways that Val-Kill Cottage is
like your home.
2. List two ways that Val-Kill Cottage is
different from your home.
3. Name three famous visitors to ValKill.
4. Why do you believe ER thought the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
was her greatest accomplishment?
B. Stone Cottage
1. List three Dutch Colonial
characteristics of Stone Cottage.
C. General Questions about the Val-Kill Site.
1. ER loved Val-Kill. You can still feel her
spirit here. If you had a chance to
meet ER, what questions would you
ask or what ideas would you discuss
with her.
2. Senator Hillary Clinton remarked after
visiting that she loved Val-Kill. Why
do you think Mrs. Clinton felt that
way?
3. What did you find memorable about
your visit to Val-Kill?
D. Sketch
Sketch something that you saw or learned
today at Val-Kill that interests you. It may
be a poster, a picture, an object, a scene, a
part of a building or any combination of
these. Please clearly identify what it is that
you have sketched.
Assessments
1. Activity Packet can be collected and graded.
2. A quiz can be developed from the facts and
ideas covered while at the site.
3. ER is still the most admired woman of the
twentieth century. Free write on ER as your role
model.

Prepared by Al Vinck, Linda Bouchey, Allida Black

Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt > Lesson Plans & Lecture Notes

This educational program was prepared by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers

with funding from the GE Fund through Save America's Treasures.