A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction

Author: Elly Greene and Linda Sargent Wood (adapted with permission)

School: Laurel Grove School Curriculum Project

Grade Level: 4th

Time Estimated: 2 days

Overview

In this lesson students will examine how governmental actions during Reconstruction (1865-77) affected individual choices. Students will consider the lives of African Americans in Virginia during this period, noting how national and state political actions impacted the education of African Americans in Virginia. This lesson focuses on the opportunities that Reconstruction opened up for African Americans. Specifically, it provides students the opportunity to learn about a former slave, William Jasper, and his family. It works well after students have learned about slavery and the Civil War in Virginia, and before students study the effects of segregation and "Jim Crow" on life in Virginia—a time during which many of these opportunities vanished.

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