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Humanities Texas offers a range of instructional resources and materials on our website that curriculum coordinators, teachers, and families can use while students are away from their school classrooms. Over the next few weeks, we will feature a number of these resources and suggest ways of putting them to use. This month, we highlight A President's Vision, an engaging suite of U.S. history curriculum materials that examines the aspirations of seven notable U.S. presidents and the programs and initiatives that advanced each man's vision.

The centerpiece of A President's Vision is a series of seven posters examining the vision that shaped the presidencies of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Ronald Reagan. More than a simple summary of the president's time in office, each poster identifies the president's vision for his presidency—the "big idea" that guided his actions and decisions in office. The documents, photographs, works of art, and other primary sources featured on each poster illustrate the enactment of his vision. A high-res PDF of each poster is downloadable from our President's Vision website.

Downloadable Worksheets

A series of downloadable worksheets accompany each poster.

•  At First Glance Worksheets guide students through an initial examination of each poster, asking them to take an inventory of their knowledge about the president, read the narrative closely, and ultimately attempt an initial summary of the president's vision. These worksheets also ask students to consider each poster's visual design. Why are some visual elements emphasized over others? How do the individual components work together to make a broader argument? What effect do the designer's choices ultimately have on viewers?
•  Image Analysis Worksheets guide students through a close examination of the primary sources featured on each poster. These worksheets encourage students to develop a deeper analysis of each primary source and place it in historical context. 

•  Each of the Primary Source Worksheets includes a single primary source and a series of related questions and activities. The questions require students to study the source, understand it, and consider it within the context of the president's term. 
•  Spanish Translations of the poster narratives are available to support Spanish-speaking students. 

• Finally, the Classroom Activities, Assignments, and Further Resources documents provide ideas for further activities and projects.

We hope that these materials are enlightening, inspiring, and useful. Please contact our staff with questions, tips, recommendations, and stories of putting these materials to use with your teachers, students, and families. Email Humanities Texas education staff at pv@humanitiestexas.org.