Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming question to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • Is the White House a museum? Describe your thinking.

• INTRODUCTION

  Play this introductory video clip [Clip #1] (6:36) of Senior Historian at the White House Historical Association Matthew Costello discussing the history of White House preservation efforts. Direct your students to answer the following questions on their graphic organizer and share their responses with a partner, small group, or the class.

  • What roles does the White House “serve,” and why is the task of preserving the White House “challenging?”
  • Based on the clip, how much money was appropriated to the White House for furnishings? What effects did this have?
  • According to Matthew Costello, what law was passed in 1826? How did Presidents get “around this” law?
  • Summarize the anecdote Costello shares about Charles Dickens.
  • What shift occurred in the 19th century, and who propelled this shift?
  • According to Costello, how have First Ladies been engaged in White House preservation? What did Public Law 87-286 and Executive Order 11145 do?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage. We recommend having your students define and present the terms in a jigsaw activity to save time.

  Depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students define and present the terms in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student takes one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson. Note: This is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you previewing the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• ENGAGEMENT

  Direct your students to the engagement section of their graphic organizers. Have your students choose to study either the philosophy or process of preserving the White House. Direct your students to view their selected video clip, describe the listed topics from each of the four perspectives, and prepare to share their findings with a partner, small group, or whole class when finished. Note: President and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Leslie Greene Bowman represents the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.

• Clip #2: Philosophy of Preserving the White House (9:04). President and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Leslie Greene Bowman, Liaison to the White House for the National Park Service John Stanwich, Curator of the White House Lydia Tederick, and President of the White House Historical Association Stewart McLaurin discuss the overarching philosophy of White House preservation.

  Topics:

  • Overarching Philosophy
  • Goal(s)
  • Challenge(s)

• Clip #3: Process of Preserving the White House (11:16). Liaison to the White House for the National Park Service John Stanwich, Curator of the White House Lydia Tederick, President and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Leslie Greene Bowman, and President of the White House Historical Association Stewart McLaurin discuss the process of White House preservation.

  Topics:

  • Collaboration
  • Success(s)
  • Challenge(s)

• RESTORATION EFFORTS

  After sharing their findings from the last section and listening to their classmates’ responses, have your students consider the following questions from the following four clips about White House restoration efforts. Direct them to prepare to share their answers with a partner, a small group, or the class.

• Clip #4: Role of the White House Historical Association (7:55). President of the White House Historical Association Stewart McLaurin discusses the role that the organization has played in White House restoration efforts.

  • What role has the White House Historical Association played with “acquisitions?”
  • Based on the clip, what was “significant” about the artwork acquired for the family dining room?
  • What was the “most extreme” part of the Red Room restoration?
  • According to Stewart McLaurin, what change was made to the Diplomatic Reception Room? Why?
  • Based on the clip, describe James Monroe’s contribution to the present-day Blue Room. What steps have been taken in recent years?

• Clip #5: The Blue Room (5:57). President and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Leslie Greene Bowman discusses the restoration of the White House's blue room.

  • According to Leslie Greene Bowman, who advocated for a refurbishment of the Blue Room in 1993? When was the last prior renovation of the room?
  • In what ways is the Blue Room “the heart and soul” of the White House?
  • Based on the clip, what “sense” occurred during the 1993 renovations?
  • Describe the history of the “centerpiece” of the renovations.
  • According to Bowman, what other changes were made in 1993?

• Clip #6: The Storage Room (5:42). Curator of the White House Lydia Tederick discusses the process and impact of renovations to the White House's artifact storage room.

  • In what two locations are White House artifacts stored?
  • Based on the clip, what were the goals of the 2019 renovations?
  • According to Lydia Tederick, how many and what types of objects were removed from the room for the renovation?
  • What was one the “most dramatic changes” in the storage room? Who uses the room, according to Tederick?

• Clip #7: The Lincoln Bedroom (9:59). Curator of the White House Lydia Tederick and President and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Leslie Greene Bowman discuss restoration efforts in the White House's Lincoln bedroom.

  • What did Abraham Lincoln use the Lincoln Bedroom for, and what role did Harry Truman have in creating the room?
  • What “interest” about the room existed? Who decided to restore the room?
  • Why was the room outside of the “purview” of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House? How did they become involved?
  • According to Leslie Greene Bowman, how was the restoration an example of the “challenges of preservation?”
  • Describe the steps of the restoration.

• EXPLORATION

  After sharing their findings from the restoration efforts section of the lesson, have your students access the White House 360 Virtual Tour (White House Historical Association). Direct your students to select one room to study (i.e. blue room, state dining room, etc.) and two objects in the room that are most interesting to them.

  Then, have your students find the objects in the Digital Library (White House Historical Association) and record their findings, using the chart in their graphic organizer as a guide. Have your students share their answers with a partner, a small group, or the class.

• APPLICATION

  After students finishing presenting their chosen objects from the exploration activity, have them access the White House Rooms Digital Library (White House Historical Association). Have them select one room of interest and view the related images.

  Then, have your students use the chart in their graphic organizer to help them prepare a presentation to share the purpose and history of the room with their peers. Remind your students to make sure they include several images from the digital library in their presentations and conduct additional research as needed.

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished with the reflective clips, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers, and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having now studied the history and ongoing efforts of White House restoration and preservation, describe the legacy of the building. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips and your research to support your response.