Lesson Planet: Curated OER
The Reconstruction Era and The Fragility of Democracy
Seven lessons examine the Reconstruction Era that followed the United States Civil War. The series of detailed lessons provide background information on the era, teaching strategies, videos, and primary source materials.
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Teaching With Laurel Grove School
The Laurel Grove school was established by freedmen and freedwomen after the United States Civil War. The school is now a museum and offers this collection of six lessons that use primary and secondary source materials to tell the story...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Core Knowledge: A History of the United States
Three ebooks make up the Core Knowledge: A History of the United States curriculum designed for grades seven and eight. The year-long set includes a comprehensive teacher guide and two student volumes that cover the history and geography...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
National Constitution Center: Hall Pass Videos
The National Constitution Center offers this collection of informative and entertaining videos intended to start conversations and develop critical thinking skills. Viewers learn about the rights granted by the constitution, about the...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Hispanic Americans in Congress
Based on contextual essays from the book "Hispanic Americans in Congress," four lesson plans examine the Hispanic pioneers who served on Capitol Hill from 1822 to 2012. The first lesson features materials from the Louisiana Purchase to...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
National Constitution Center: Hall Pass Videos
The National Constitution Center offers this collection of informative and entertaining videos intended to start conversations and develop critical thinking skills. Viewers learn about the rights granted by the constitution, about the...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Black Americans in Congress
Seven lessons make up a unit about African Americans who served in the United States Congress from 1870 to 2007. Young historians read contextual essays, engage in activities, examine primary source images, and artifacts to gain an...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities: Grades 9-12
What responsibilities do individuals have to uphold human rights? That is the essential question for the five lessons and activities in the Rights and Responsibilities module designed for high school civics and U.S. history classes....
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African Americans in the United States Congress During Reconstruction
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...
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To What Extent was Reconstruction a Revolution? (Part 2)
While Reconstruction laid the groundwork, many believe its revolutionary ideals weren't realized until the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Using the 1965 Voting Rights Act, budding historians consider why it took more than 100 years to...
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The Legacies of Reconstruction
The final lesson in the seven-resource Reconstruction Era collection examines the legacies of Reconstruction. Class members investigate why the period has been called an "unfinished revolution," "a splendid failure," and "the second...
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US History Overview 2 - Reconstruction to the Great Depression
Ambitiously spanning American history from 1865 to 1941, this video discusses and clarifies topics such as women's suffrage, the sinking of the Maine, and the development of America as a world empire. Maps and photographs will engage...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Create a Magic Lantern Show; Freed People in the Reconstruction South
Engage your scholars by having them create "magic lantern shows" inspired by the film Dr. Toer's Amazing Magic Lantern Show: A Different View of Emancipation. As they study the South's Reconstruction through primary sources, learners...
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
Despite the passing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the struggle to ensure fair voter registration and election procedures continues. Young historians...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Reconstruction: A Time of Turbulence
Students utilize knowledge and understandings of the Civil War to look at the reconstructive era that followed. In this reconstructive era lesson, Students gain understanding of the definition of reconstruction by building, taking apart...
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Deconstructing Reconstruction: The Reconstruction Era
New ReviewHigh schoolers examine the Reconstruction programs instituted following the American Civil War, the potential for change these efforts offered, and the realities that occurred. Guided by a PowerPoint presentation, class members read a...
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A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction
Fourth graders examine slavery and Reconstruction in Virginia. In this Virginians during Reconstruction lesson, 4th graders research primary sources for the story of William Jasper and other slaves. Students hypothesize how rights became...
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From Dred Scott to the Civil Rights Act of 1875: Eighteen Years of Change
What do a photo of Abraham Lincoln, a map for the Battle of Antietam, and the Dred Scott decision all have in common? Learners consider the broader question as they examine documents related to civil rights during the Civil War and...
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Causes of the Civil War: Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850 and Kansas Nebraska Act
How did the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act contribute to the growing tensions that led to the Civil war? To better understand the events that led to the Civil War, young historians engage in a...
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The Homestead Act
To understand how the Homestead Act of 1862 changed the US and the lives of the people during that time, class members examine primary source materials including letters, broadsides, and images. They then assume the voice of a...
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The Called Themselves the K.K.K.; The Birth of an American Terrorist Group
How did Ku Klux Klan develop and flourish in the US? How did the government respond to acts of terrorism conducted by the KKK following the Civil War? How does the government respond to acts of terrorism today? This resource launches a...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Interracial Democracy
Radical Reconstruction, the 10-year period referred to after Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867, saw the establishment of manhood suffrage, men voting without any racial qualifications. Southern states also rewrote their...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Forty Acres? The Question of Land at the War's End
Should land be redistributed to former slaves after the Civil War? This essential question guides a lesson on the Reconstruction Era, as learners analyze primary sources (linked), recording responses on a worksheet (linked). To model the...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Was Reconstruction a Revolution?
Young scholars interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Reconstruction lesson, students research details pertaining to Congress's role in Reconstruction. Young scholars use the provided...