The White House
Keywords:
White House, President United States Residence, First Family United States
Site Overview:
A trip to the White House can be a wonderful experience. This site allows you the luxury of seeing, first hand, some of the wonderful treasures displayed. The history of this site cannot be denied. You can view information about the President and Vice President, Interactive Citizen’s Handbook, The Virtual Library, an archive of White House documents, Federal Services, What’s New, Site News, The Briefing Room, and the focus of this tour: A White House History and History in Art in the White House. On the welcome page, you will be greeted with a scene of the White House that changes from morning, afternoon and evening. You will receive glimpses of the U.S. Presidents who served in the past and other antidotal information. This virtual tour of the White House shows a cutaway picture where you can view the rooms, furnishings and a bit of historical perspective of the most famous address in America.
Goals and Objectives:
The goals and objectives of this field trip are to: (1) experience the White House as more than a residence of the First Family, (2) understand the historical significance of the White House, (3) become familiar with Presidents and First Ladies of the past who had a part in decorating and furnishing the house, and (4) gain a visual perspective of the layout of the White House.
Research:
(Source: White House web site.)
James Hoban, an architect who designed the White House, was selected in a competition sponsored by the Federal Government. Construction began in 1792 but the first president, to live there, John Adams did not move in until 1800. Thomas Jefferson hired an architect, Benjamin Latrobe, to complete construction based on many of the original house plans. Unfortunately the building was burned by British troops during the War of 1812, forcing President James Madison and his wife to leave, in 1814. President Monroe moved back into the White House after it was rebuilt in 1817. The building was in need of repair in 1902 when Theodore Roosevelt was president. At that time, President Roosevelt had the east and west wing enlarged and added an indoor swimming pool. The White House contains a bowling alley and movie theatre for recreational purposes. The White House went through renovations during the Kennedy and Nixon Administrations.
The 132-room mansion is where the President of the United States lives and works. He and his staff conduct business in the west, or executive wing. This contains the offices of the President, presidential staff, and the Cabinet room. The east wing includes the offices of the President’s military aides. The White House is surrounded by 18 acres of beautifully landscaped lawns; some trees were actually planted by past Presidents.
It is one of the most popular attractions in the United States. Certain rooms of the White House are open to the public, currently from Tuesday through Saturday between 10 a.m. and noon. If visiting Washington, D.C., you may obtain passes for a special tour by writing a Congress member of your state. This must be done several months in advance. Visitors enter through the east wing. Usually only five rooms on the first floor are shown, including the State Dining Room, The Red Room, The Blue Room, The Green Room, and the East Room.
Lesson Plans and Site Navigation:
1. Go to the White House website http://docs.whitehouse.gov/WH/Welcome.html.
From time to time, the links on a web site do not work. Either skip the question below or the page you have been directed to and go on. When navigating this site, please use your forward and back arrows to return to the original room. If you click on the buttons at the bottom of the President’s page, for example, you will go to the next president who served instead of back to the White House. If you see the words, glimpse of the past, this will take you back to the White House History Home Page from the cutaway of the White House, or back to the cutaway of the White House from rooms you are visiting. Each room contains many links of colored words, which will take you to a photo or page of information. After viewing each link, the back arrow is the best way to get from the paintings, furniture or presidents back to the previous page you were on. Remember glimpse of the past will take you to the main cutaway picture of the White House from each of the rooms. If you would like to view an enlargement of each picture in the rooms, just click on the picture. (For young children you may wish to take the shorter White House tour at http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/kids/html/kidshome.html)
2. Go to The White House Welcome Page. Click on the words White House History Tours. This will take you to the tours page. Click on the words A White House History. Your tour begins here.
A cutaway view of the White House will be shown. Listed is the suggested navigational path you may take. Feel free to view as many links as you wish on each page. At the bottom of each page, you will see a box with the words: A Glimpse of the Past. Clicking on this button will take you back to the White House History
1. Home Page. The following rooms, while shown on the cutaway map, do not take you anywhere. They are the Visitors Entrance, NE Gate, and South Portico.
2. To begin the tour, click on the following rooms. View as many of the links as you wish. Following the word of each room will be one or two suggested links to view. After you view each link, return to the cutaway picture of the White House.
3. State Dining Room: Recommended, portrait of President Lincoln.
4. Red Room: Recommended, all paintings.
5. Center and Cross Halls: Recommended, portraits.
6. East Room: Recommended, portrait of George Washington.
7. Library: Recommended, Lansdowne portrait, Native Americans.
8. Map Room: Recommended, map by Thomas Jefferson’s father. Click on the map to view an enlargement.
9. Diplomatic Reception Room: Recommended, “What’s happening now”.
10. China Room: Recommended, an array of presidential china.
11. Vermeil Room: Recommended, portraits.
12. Green Room: Recommended, several features including paintings, work table, and What’s happening now.
13. Blue Room: Recommended, several features including working drawings, bronze-dore clock, armchair, and Blue Room of the 1870’s and 1897.
14. You may visit other links from the home page as you wish.
15. Find answers to the scavenger hunt questions, and do the additional activities if you wish.
Scavenger Hunt Questions:
Grades K-3
1. Why are some of the rooms named after colors?
2. How many people can be seated in the State Dining room?
3. Name one item that can be found in the Red Room?
4. If you were on a White House tour, when would you see the Entrance and Cross Halls?
5. Why is there so little furniture in the East Room?
6. What unusual clock is displayed in the Library?
7. How did the Map Room get its name?
8. What is the China Room used for?
9. What types of paintings are in the Green Room?
10. Who uses the Diplomatic Reception Room?
Grades 4-8
1. Do you think the layout of the White House is efficient?
2. What rooms are listed but cannot be viewed on this web site? Why do you think that is?
3. Which rooms are used for guests to dine?
4. Which rooms are used as sitting rooms for formal occasions?
5. Which room is used for receptions?
6. Who designed the White House?
7. In the State Dining Room, there is an inscription carved into the mantel taken from a letter written by President John Adams on his second night in the White House. What does it say?
8. What items have been stored in the Library over the years until its renovation?
9. There was once a devastating fire in the White House. When did this happen and who caused the fire?
10. Which six First Ladies have portraits hanging in the Vermeil Room? What does Vermeil stand for?
Grades 9-12
1. What important rooms are labeled in the cutaway but are not shown in detail on this web site?
2. The Map Room was used as a situation room when Franklin Roosevelt was President. What does this mean?
3. What is the Diplomatic Reception Room used for?
4. How was fine Chinaware replaced by a First Family who may not have cared for the design in the past?
5. There is only one piece of artwork thought to have remained in the White House since 1800. What is it?
6. Name some of the uses of the library in the past and in the present time.
7. Which room was refurbished in 1991?
8. What President purchased the White House and in what year?
9. What characteristic carries through in the decorating and furnishings of the rooms of the White House?
10. Why was the Entrance Hall and Cross Hall, designed by James Hoban, modified?
Additional Activities:
· If you could redesign the White House, what would you change and why?
· Redesign the White House. Draw the layout as it presently stands and make your changes. You may need to do additional research, or you could redesign the ground floor.
· You have just had dinner in the White House in the Diplomatic Dining Room with many other people. Tell of your experiences. Write several paragraphs or give a 3-minute speech.
· If you were the President or the First Lady, whom would you invite to a diplomatic reception? Make a guest list.
· What changes would you make in the furnishings if any? Explain.
· One President liked to throw big parties outdoors and invited everyone to come. Could this be done today? Why or why not?
· You may email the President from this web site. Write an email, check for spelling and punctuation, and then send it to the President. Did you receive a response?
· In order to obtain special passes for the White House tour, you must contact your local Congressman. Do you know your Congressman and how to contact him (or her)?
· If you were a realtor selling the White House, what would your sales brochure look like? Explain your advertising strategy. How much would you sell the White House for? Write up a sales brochure and an ad. This may be a group project.
· The President is often interviewed at the White House. If you were a reporter, what questions would you ask? Make a list of 10 questions.
· Using a map of Washington, D.C., locate the White House. How many different routes are there to Pennsylvania Ave. (Contact the Chamber of Commerce or a local AAA office for maps or go online to find a map.)
· Look through past issues of the newspaper, or save several weeks of newspapers. (Find the “National News” section in your local newspaper unless you live in Washington D.C.) Look for any mention of the President or White House. Save interesting clippings and make a scrapbook. How many times is the President mentioned and why do you think it is so often?
· You are on a tour of the White House. Everyone is admiring a picture of President Lincoln hanging on the wall. You turn to one of your friends to make a comment, when all of a sudden you see that you are alone! Everyone else must have moved on without you realizing! You run to the entrance of the room and look down the hallway. No one is in sight! What happens next?
· Have younger children study the primary and secondary colors. Have them draw with markers, crayons or paint a room using all one color modeled after the White House, such as a red, blue, yellow, or green room.
· Write a fictional account. You are living at the time of World War II and are one of President Franklin Roosevelt’s military advisors. You are in the Map Room. What is happening?
· If you were living in the White House and entertaining an important diplomat, what would you serve? Do you have a special recipe you would make? What is it?
· Research all the times when major renovations were made to the White House. List the years, the person in charge and what changes were made.
· What features for recreation does the White House contain? Research this by looking in an encyclopedia or books on the White House.
· Check out the kids site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/kids/html/kidshome.html This includes a tour and a newsletter for young people.
