Photographs can be powerful connections to the past.
Final Farewells: Signing a Yearbook on the Eve of the Civil War
Grade Range: 6-12
Resource Type(s): Primary Sources, Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
2/3/2011
In lesson from the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies, students examine a primary source that might seem both familiar and strange: a yearbook from Rutgers in 1860, complete with farewell messages from classmates. On close study, the messages from reveal much about the complexities of the “brothers’ war.” This resource includes a timeline of national events during the students' time at Rutgers.
National Standards
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
3B: Consider multiple perspectives.
3C: Analyze cause-and-effect relationships.
3D: Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues.
3E: Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.
3F: Compare competing historical narratives.
3G: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3H: Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
3I: Evaluate major debates among historians.
3J: Hypothesize the influence of the past.