The photographs can help students visualize the period in which Civil War stories are set. Students can study what soldiers looked like and what their living conditions were. They can examine towns, cities, battlefields, and camps during the War. After reading about the Civil War, students can review portraits of soldiers of different ages, ranks, and loyalties. Students can be encouraged to write captions, journal entries, short stories, letters, diaries, or autobiographical sketches of subjects in the photographs.
Students can then proof read and revise their draft writings.