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Documents Behind Our Holidays is a free printable Kindergarten to Grade 2 social studies worksheet on reading a holiday's document for why the day is kept, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.His.10.K-2. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 17 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Documents Behind Our Holidays

D2.His.10.K-2

NameDate

Read each document or text, then answer the questions.

1.Look at the source, then answer the questions.

General Order No. 3

From General Order No. 3, read by Major General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. June 19 is remembered as Juneteenth, a federal holiday since 2021. The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages.

  1. 1. Did the order say that freed people and former masters had equal rights?
  2. 2. What were the freedmen told to work for?
  3. 3. Why do Americans remember June 19 as Juneteenth?
2.Look at the source, then answer the questions.

The Order That Began Decoration Day

From General Order No. 11, by General John A. Logan, May 5, 1868. It set aside Decoration Day, which later became Memorial Day. (A note for this worksheet: "the late rebellion" means the Civil War.) The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land.

  1. 1. Why was the order written?
  2. 2. What were people asked to put on the graves?
  3. 3. Where did the bodies of these soldiers lie?

LessonPrint · D2.His.10.K-2 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Documents Behind Our Holidays

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Yes. It says there is an absolute equality of personal rights. 2. Wages. 3. On June 19, 1865, the people of Texas were told that all slaves are free.
  2. 2.1. To set aside a day for decorating the graves of soldiers who died in the Civil War. 2. Flowers. 3. In almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.His.10.K-2 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.