This unit bundle is composed of four highly engaging, primary based, interactive Slide Presentations, and activities-- designed to have students critically explore the period of Reconstruction/Jim Crow.
LESSON ONE: Reconstruction Era [Intro]
Includes:
- 45 Slide Presentation & Guided Notes Handout
- POV Freedmen Scenario Activity
LESSON ONE will have students examine;
- the different ways in which newly freed slaves expressed their emancipation
- the POV of a Freedmen (POV Activity). Students will respond and debate four questions central to this time period from a Freedman's perspective;
- Now that the Civil War is over, who should own and control the plantations?
- What do you propose should happen to the ex-Confederate leaders?
- Who should be allowed to vote in the new South? Everyone? Only formerly enslaved people? Only those who were loyal to the United States during the war? Women?
- How will African Americans be protected from the revenge of the defeated soldiers and from the plantation owners?
- What conditions should be put on the Southern states before they are allowed to return to the Union?
LESSON TWO: The Pursuit to Vote
Includes:
- 48 Slide Presentation & Guided Notes Handout
- Black Codes Scenarios Matching Game
- Louisiana State Literacy Test
LESSON TWO will have students examine;
- the Black Codes (Matching Game included)
- Three Reconstruction Plans
- the POV of a Freedmen in regards to the different obstacles they faced in their pursuit to vote (Inequality of land, the Grandfather Clause, Literacy Test, Poll Tax, Intimidation & Violence)
LESSON THREE: The Ku Klux Klan (Comparing the Past to Today)
Includes:
- 34 Slide Presentation & Guided Notes Handout
- Venn Diagram- 'Comparing White Supremacy of the Past with Today'
- Primary Source Reading- 'C.P. Ellis Why I Quit the Klan'
LESSON THREE will have students examine;
- the underlying roots from which the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) came to exist in America
- the organization's primary tactics of using intimidation & fear in fighting against social equality, and why many poor whites were recruited to join the KKK organization.
- & compare/contrast the circumstances & social conditions of two former white supremacist leaders (one who lived during the era of Jim Crow, and the other of present day).
LESSON FOUR: Jim Crow Laws
Includes:
- 38 Slide Slide Presentation & Guided Notes Handout
- A Tale of Two Schools' Supplementary Reading Comprehension Activity
- 'Freedom Song' Movie Handout
LESSON FOUR will have students examine;
- the period of the Jim Crow era, with a focus on the segregation of schools.
- the implications of monumental Supreme Court decisions of 'Plessy v. Ferguson', and 'Brown V. Board of Education'.
Choice of three supplementary activities;
The 1st Optional Activity will have students analyze four political cartoons. Students will identify whether the author was FOR or AGAINST the Jim Crow Laws, & describe supportive details from the cartoon on their POLITICAL CARTOON HANDOUT.
The 2nd Optional Activity will have students critically read a primary source article titled ‘A TALE OF TWO SCHOOLS’, and respond to text dependent questions in their ‘TALE OF TWO SCHOOLS QUESTIONS HANDOUT. The teacher can do a read-aloud, OR students can read independently. Class discussion is encouraged.
The 3rd Optional Activity will have students analyze a film titled ‘FREEDOM SONG’. Students will apply their knowledge from their guided notes, and respond to open-ended questions in their FREEDOM SONG HANDOUT.