Using a variety of photographs taken by four award-winning photojournalists -- Dirck Halstead, David Hume Kennerly, Wally McNamee and Diana Walker -- this curriculum unit allows students to meet the women who served as First Ladies of the United States from 1960 until 2001. Students will learn about various challenges and accomplishments that each of the First Ladies experienced during their time of service to our nation. The unit provides students an opportunity to explore the various roles and responsibilities that are part of the job of the First Lady of the United States of America. Finally, using photographs, the students will apply the skills that historians use to understand primary source documents.

Three important questions guide the activities of this unit:

• Who was each of these women before her life in politics? What training or skills did she have that facilitated her ability to perform this public role?
• What contributions did these women make while they were First Lady?
• What kind of life did these women make for themselves after their life in the White House?

All of the lesson plans are coordinated with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.