Overview
About This Unit
This 13-lesson unit, adapted from our Reconstruction Era book and part of a larger collection on the history of the Reconstruction era, is designed to fit within approximately three weeks. In this unit, students investigate the challenges of creating a just democracy in a time of deep division.
The resources included here have been selected and sequenced to deepen students’ ethical and moral reasoning, challenge their critical thinking and literacy skills, and engage them in a rigorous study of history. Each lesson includes guiding questions, pedagogical rationales, historical overviews, resources to use in your classroom (documents, images, videos, websites, etc.), and activity suggestions.
This unit supports Facing History's . The flexible units, C3-style inquiries, and case studies in this collection help you explore themes of democracy and freedom throughout your US history course.
- What can we learn from the history of Reconstruction as we work to strengthen democracy today?
This unit supports a 3 week exploration of the Reconstruction era. It includes:
- 13 lessons
- 45 primary source readings, available in English and Spanish
- 5 handouts, available in English and Spanish
- 5 videos
Preparing to Teach
A Note to Teachers
Before teaching this unit, please review the following information to help guide your preparation process.
In this unit, students will encounter histories of race, racism, and racial violence that are likely to be emotionally challenging and elicit a range of responses. We can’t emphasize enough the importance of previewing the resources in this curriculum to make sure they are appropriate for the intellectual and emotional needs of your students.
It is difficult to predict how students will respond to such challenging readings, documents, and audio material. One student may respond with emotion to an account or source, while others may not find it powerful in the same way. In addition, different people demonstrate emotion in different ways. Some students will be silent. Some may laugh. Some may not want to talk. Some may take days to process difficult stories. For some, a particular firsthand account may be incomprehensible; for others, it may be familiar.
We urge teachers to create space for students to have a range of reactions and emotions. This might include allowing time for silent reflection or writing in journals, as well as facilitating structured discussions to help students process content together. Specific strategies are mentioned in the lesson activities, but we encourage you to explore the additional Related Materials below.
Some students will not want to share their reactions to emotionally challenging content in class, and teachers should respect that in discussions. For their learning and emotional growth, it is crucial to allow for a variety of student responses to emotionally challenging content.
Related Materials
- Teaching Strategy Color, Symbol, Image
- Teaching Strategy Graffiti Boards
- Teaching Strategy Found Poems
Journals help students develop their voices and clarify their ideas as they keep a record of their thinking and learning that will ultimately help them answer the essential question being considered. There are a number of ways that you might incorporate reflective journal writing into this curriculum, and we recommend that you spend time answering the questions posed in our description of the teaching strategy (Journals in a Facing History Classroom) in addition to making note of the many creative suggestions found there for using journals in your classroom. While journals provide an important space for thoughtful reflection, you might also use them as a means of assessing students’ intellectual and emotional engagement with the material. If you choose to do so, it is important at the outset of the unit that you establish clear expectations and procedures for how and when you will assess journals and communicate this information to your students.
Related Materials
- Teaching Strategy Journals in the Classroom
In Lesson 12 in this unit, the n-word appears in two primary sources (the readings A Teacher Describes Violence and Intimidation (1875) and Election Day in Clinton, Mississippi (1875). In these documents, we have chosen to let the word remain as it originally appeared, without any substitution.
In life and in school, many students will encounter language that has been historically used to perpetuate racism and/or dehumanize people. Such language might be used to intentionally cause offense, it might be something they encounter in lessons, when reading literature or historical texts, and it might also be something that some marginalized groups have reclaimed and now use to express familiarity and friendship.
Teaching a text that includes racist slurs, derogatory words and/or anachronistic language can elicit fear and anxiety in educators. As educators, we know that unless we prepare to address language with intention and care, we risk causing harm and creating inhospitable classroom environments where students may feel like they do not belong, and where they cannot learn. Some racist and dehumanizing terms, such as the n-word, have the power to destabilize a classroom environment if they are encountered without adequate preparation or groundwork. In her talk Why It’s So Difficult to Talk about the ‘N’ Word, Dr. Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor states: “I hear from students that when the word is said during a lesson without discussion and context, it poisons the entire classroom environment, the trust between student and teacher is broken (11.31).” 1
Such terms can also make students who belong to the groups targeted feel uncomfortable and singled out. In her talk, Dr. Stordeur Pryor goes on to state that, “My black students tell me that when the word is spoken or quoted in class, they feel like a giant spotlight is shining on them (12.32).” 2
The dehumanizing power and loaded history of the n-word cannot be ignored, nor can the impact it can have on students if not handled sensitively. We advise against speaking this word out loud in the classroom, but if it appears in texts or resources that are being used, it is necessary to acknowledge it, understand its problematic nature, and set guidelines for students when reading aloud or quoting from the text (e.g., to say “the n-word” when students encounter the word spelled out in full in a text). Otherwise, the presence of this word might both harm students and distract them from an open discussion on a particular topic. If you realize that you will be asking students to hear, process, and discuss passages with dehumanizing language on a regular basis, however, it is important to reflect on the purpose of the text and its cost to students’ emotional well-being.
- 1Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, Why It’s So Difficult to Talk about the ‘N’ Word, TED video (filmed December 2018, posted March 2020), 19:12.
- 2Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, Why It’s So Difficult to Talk about the ‘N’ Word, TED video (filmed December 2018, posted March 2020), 19:12.
Related Materials
- Reading A Teacher Describes Violence and Intimidation (1875)
- Reading Election Day in Clinton, Mississippi (1875)
-
Link
Why It’s So Difficult to Talk about the ‘N’ Word
Save resources to create collections for your class or to review later. It's fast, easy, and free!
Sign Up
Have a Workspace already? Log In
Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans
This unit is made up of the following 13 lessons. Each lesson includes activities and student materials for 1–2 class periods.
Lesson
SaveThe Power of Names
Students begin their study of Reconstruction by examining the relationship between the individual and society through an exploration of names.
Lesson
SaveEnacting Freedom
Students consider what it means to be free by learning about the choices and aspirations of freedpeople immediately after Emancipation.
Lesson
SaveThe Devastation of War
Students learn about the aftermath of the Civil War and examine primary source documents that provide insight into the difficult task of reuniting the nation.
Lesson
SaveHealing and Justice
Students examine President Andrew Johnson's plan for Reconstruction and the debate it provoked with Congress while reflecting on deeper issues of healing and justice.
Lesson
SaveThe Union As It Was
Students examine documents that shed light on life in the South under the policies of Presidential Reconstruction in 1865 and 1866.
Lesson
SaveRadical Reconstruction and the Birth of Civil Rights
Students learn about the responses to Johnson’s policies by Republicans in Congress and examine the fourteenth amendment that overturned Presidential Reconstruction.
Lesson
SaveExpanding Democracy
Students reflect on the revolutionary changes that occurred because of the landmark legislation and amendments passed during the Reconstruction era.
Lesson
SaveThe Struggle over Women’s Rights
Students learn about the debate within the women’s rights movement over the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments.
Lesson
SaveEquality for All
Students explore some of the limitations of Reconstruction's transformation on US democracy and learn about groups who demanded that the promise of equality be made a reality.
Lesson
SaveBacklash and the KKK
Students learn about the violent responses to the transformation of US democracy that occurred as a result of Radical Reconstruction.
Lesson
SaveShifting Public Opinion
Students examine the factors that led many northerners to turn against federal policies passed during the Reconstruction era that protected freedpeople.
Lesson
SavePolitical Violence and the Overthrow of Reconstruction
Students learn about the period of violence in the South from 1873-1876 and examine its role in influencing elections and ending Republican control of Southern state governments.
Lesson
SaveThe Unfinished Revolution
Students explore the legacies of the Reconstruction era today, reflect on the idea of democracy as a continuous process, and consider how they can best participate in the ongoing work of strengthening our democracy.
Materials and Downloads
Quick Downloads
Get all the materials you need to teach this 3-week unit in Google Doc format. This includes both teacher guidance and student materials.
You're exploring:
Unit
The Reconstruction Era 3-Week Unit
Additional Resources
Related Facing History Resources & Learning Opportunities
Deepen your understanding of this topic with these additional resources from Facing History & Ourselves.
Book
SaveThe Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy
This resource guides students through a deep exploration of the pivotal era of American history when a nation divided by slavery and war was challenged to rebuild.
Professional Learning
Make Good the Promises of Reconstruction: A Conversation and Virtual Exhibition Tour with Candra Flanagan
On-Demand
Virtual
Listen to this recorded conversation with Candra Flanagan, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, as we explore the museum’s exhibition, “Make Good the Promises: Reconstruction and Its Legacies.”
Professional Learning
Teaching Reconstruction: A Conversation with Dr. Kidada Williams
On-Demand
Virtual
Join us for this recorded conversation with writer and historian, Dr. Kidada Williams, as we discuss her research on African Americans’ fight for liberty and equality during and after the Civil War and Reconstruction era.
Professional Learning
Reexamining Reconstruction: A Conversation with Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries
On-Demand
Virtual
Examine how the Reconstruction Era is remembered and the impact of its legacy on contemporary society with Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Associate Professor of History at The Ohio State University and scholar of African American history and contemporary Black politics.