Reconstruction

Lesson 2 (2 days)

This lesson will focuses on the early developments of Reconstruction, including the  13th Amendment and the Freedmen’s Bureau. Students will use primary sources, including letters and Bureau records, to describe conditions in the South and the work of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Students will consider the successes of the Freedmen’s Bureau, such as the building of schools and churches, as well as the ongoing struggles with labor relations, violence, and Black Codes.

• Hook: Have students respond to this question, either in writing or in a discussion format. “Imagine that you are a slave who has just been set free. Describe how you are feeling, what you will do next, where you will go, and any challenges you think you might face.”
• Introduction: Describe the 13th Amendment to students, or have them read about it in their textbooks. Also discuss the Freedmen’s Bureau and why it was created. Have students add these terms to their Reconstruction Vocabulary list. Discuss with the class the challenges that the 4 million emancipated slaves would face.
• Video Clip Introduction: Have students watch a mini-documentary on Marshall Twitchell, a representative of the Freedmen’s Bureau working in Louisiana.
• Create charts to use for a Carousel Brainstorm. As a class, generate titles to put at the top of each chart. Each chart will focus on an issue facing the emancipated slaves and the Freedmen’s Bureau.  Examples: Labor, Churches, Schools, Violence, etc. As students are working on the primary sources analysis, hang charts up around the classroom.
• Primary Sources: Working in pairs or small groups, have students evaluate primary sources relating to the Freedmen’s Bureau. Each group will have a different source to analyze. Students will use the Document Analysis Worksheet. When they have finished, they will share their resource with the class. Variation: If time allows, or if some groups can handle it, have them analyze more than one primary source.
• Carousel Brainstorm: Each group will rotate through the posters. On each poster, they will list a piece of evidence or example that shows something they’ve learned about the topic through their primary sources.
• Wrap Up: Have students write a response from the Freedmen’s Bureau to one of the people they’ve studied in their primary sources.

Materials for Lesson 2

• Document Analysis Worksheet from National Archives
  http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons
  /analysis_worksheets/document.html
• Letter from Jourdan Anderson to his former master asking for wages
  http://www.historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6369
• Marshall Twitchell’s account of working for the Freedmen’s Bureau
  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/
  carpetbagger/ps_twitchell.html
• Letter to the Bureau asking for workers
  http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/HIUS403/
  freedmen/fb-contracts.html
• Labor Contract for former slaves
  http://www.freedmensbureau.com/
  georgia/contracts/georgiacontract.htm
• Letters and Newspaper notices about building churches
  http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/HIUS403/
  freedmen/fb-socialservices.htm
• Letters about schools and other services for freedmen
  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/
  schools/ps_highgate.html    
• Personal Narrative of a freedwoman: Library of Congress WPA Narrative. The document and a transcription are available.
  http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=wpa3&fileName=
  33/3301/33011518/wpa333011518.db&recNum=11
• Black Codes: Mississippi Black Code of 1865; will need to be excerpted for students.
• http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/reconstruction/
  section4/section4_blackcodes.html
• PBS video or mini-documentary clip from PBS website

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Differentiation

One way differentiation of instruction is achieved through this unit is through the wide variety of learning strategies and presentation modes used to reach students with different learning styles. Information is presented through visual images, audiovisual clips, and written materials. Students will work independently, with partners, and in small groups. Students will process information and create products using numerous methods: writing from historical perspectives, completing graphic organizers, illustrating their knowledge through drawings, and discussing issues orally. The needs of kinesthetic learners are also addressed through activities such as Carousel Brainstorming, Corners, and a Walking Tour.

In addition to learning styles, this unit is also differentiated for ability levels, interest, and readiness. Lesson 2 contains a wide variety of resources; these can be assigned to groups and individuals based on ability and interest. Students interested in a particular topic can conduct additional research and locate more primary sources. Students with lower reading levels can focus on images rather than text-heavy resources. Stronger readers could be given more challenging resources, such as the text of the Black Codes and amendments.

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