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Lesson Plans
| Topic |
| Cemetery Study for New Hampshire History: Meredith Bridge |
| Focus Question |
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Boundaries |
X
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Technology and Science |
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Natural Environment and People |
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Nongovernmental Groups |
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Cultures, Races and Ethnic Groups |
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Material Wants and Needs |
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Politics |
X
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Self-Expression |
| Era |
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Beginnings to 1623 |
Different Worlds Meet |
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1623-1763 |
Colonization and Settlement |
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X
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1763-1820s |
Revolution and the New Nation |
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X
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1801-1861 |
Expansion and Reform |
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X
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1850-1877 |
Civil War and Reconstruction |
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X
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1870-1900 |
Development of the Industrial United States |
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X
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1890-1930 |
Emergence of Modern America |
| |
1929-1945 |
Great Depression and World War II |
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1945-early 1970s |
Postwar United States |
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1968-present |
Contemporary United States |
| Social Studies Standards |
| Geography 10, 13, 14; History 17 |
| Grade Level |
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Elementary |
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High School |
X
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Middle/High School |
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Middle |
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Elementary/Middle |
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All |
| What Students Learn |
| While this particular lesson centers upon a field trip to Laconia's
Meredith Bridge Cemetery, it is applicable to cemeteries in any locality and easily expanded to include more activities.
Students come to recognize the brevity and precariousness of life in the 19th century and come to understand the
belief systems of the community as represented by gravestones and monuments, inscriptions, and stone carvings. |
| Procedures |
In preparation for a field trip to the Meredith Bridge Cemetery,
secure permission from the Laconia Parks and Recreation Department. Other towns and cities may have different departments
in charge of local cemeteries.
Before the Field Trip
Have students brainstorm: What is a cemetery? Why do we have cemeteries? What is the purpose of a gravestone? An
epitaph? A carving?
During the Field Trip
Provide students a survey form to use with a partner during their visit to the cemetery (see the Cemetery Survey).
Assign each team a certain section of the cemetery to survey or a certain number of graves. |
Bibliography
Most entries listed below, as well as other teacher resources, are available through the New Hampshire Historical
Society's Tuck Library
and its museum store. |
Van Cloud, John. "Meeting Your (Film) Maker." Time
(July 10, 2000): 65-66.
Greene, Janet. Epitaphs to Remember. Chambersburg: N.p., 1962.
Hannaford, Mary Elizabeth Neal. Cemetery Inscriptions, Meredith, New Hampshire. N.p., 1931.
Hibbard, Mary Gale for the Daughters of the American Revolution. Old Meredith and Vicinity. Concord: Rumford
Press, 1926.
Jacobs, G. Walker. Stranger Stop and Cast an Eye: A Guide to Gravestones and Gravestone Rubbings. Brattleboro:
Stephen Greene Press, 1973.
Koerner, Brendan I. "A Matter of Grave Import." US News and World Report (June 12, 2000): 52-53.
Strangstad, Lynette. A Graveyard Preservation Primer. Nashville: American Association for State & Local
History and the Association for Gravestone Studies, 1988.
Vaughan, Charles W. The Illustrated Laconian: History and Industries of Laconia, N.H. Laconia: Louis Martin,
1899. |
| Assessment Tools and Techniques |
After the Field Trip
Students could tally their survey findings. Discussion could center on these findings: Was life expectancy
of the people more or less than the average of the time? Was life expectancy greater for those who lived near the
end of the century? What was the incidence of infant or early childhood mortality? (Discuss common childhood diseases
that are no longer a threat today.) What were the most common carvings or inscriptions found?
Additional activities could include having students design a gravestone and epitaph from the drawing of a blank
headstone that you supply them. Research could be conducted using local directories and histories of the nineteenth
century to find biographical information. Newspapers of the period could supply possible causes of deaths. Telephone
books and local maps could yield the names of the deceased on street signs or in the names of businesses. |
| Credit |
| This is an adaptation of a lesson created by Linda Hansen, a participant
in the New Hampshire Historical Society's 2000 Summer Institute for Teachers. |
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