Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

Name: Eric S. Neal

Lesson Title: Freedom and Reconstruction (100 minutes)
Objectives: (What do you want your students to be able to do?)
TSWBAT:
TSWBAT analyze the complex social and political issues facing the the nation
following the Civil War
TSWBAT describe the major changes that occurred during Reconstruction
TSWBAT evaluate the varied and conflicting definitions of freedom from
various racial groups and the social context for those differing interpretations of
freedom
Standards:
1. AH1.H.4.1 Analyze the political issues and conflicts that impacted the United
States through Reconstruction and the compromises that resulted
2. AH1.H.4.2 Analyze the economic issues and conflicts that impacted the United
States through Reconstruction and the compromises that resulted
3. AH1.H.4.4 Analyze the cultural conflicts that impacted the United States through
Reconstruction and the compromises that resulted
4. AH1.H.4.3 Analyze the social and religious conflicts, movements and reforms
that affected the United States from colonization through Reconstruction in terms
of participants, strategies, oppositions, and results.
5. AH2.H.5.1 Summarize how the philosophical, ideological and/or religious views
on freedom and equality contributed to the development of American political and
economic systems through Reconstruction
6. AH2.H.8.1 Analyze the relationship between innovation, economic development,
progress, and various perceptions of the American Dream through
Reconstruction
7. AH2.H.8.2 Explain how opportunity and mobility impacted various groups
within American society through Reconstruction
8. AH2.H.8.3 Evaluate the extent to which a variety of groups and individuals have
had opportunity to attain their perception of the American Dream
9. AH2.H.8.4 Analyze multiple perceptions of the American Dream in times of
prosperity and crisis since Reconstruction.

Materials:
-Laptops/Desktops

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

-Crash Course Video
-PowerPoint
-iPhones
-iMovie
-Notebooks

Initiatory Activity (aka Bellringer, Do-Now, Anticipatory Set)

When students enter my class, they will
Answer the Question: How do you define freedom?
Briefly discuss

Strategies (What methods are you going to use to teach? Please include a detailed
description, step-by-step in numerical order, of the instructional approaches/teaching
strategies that you will use. What will you and the students be doing in this lesson? How
long will each activity take?)
Time

Instructional Activity

Technology

Introductory Video on Reconstruction: Crash

Course
15
Minute
s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nowsS7pMApI
As video is playing, begin a group discussion
online regarding the changed being portrayed
that were occurring during Reconstruction.
Instructions:
Form a chatroom on Todays Meet and invite all
students to participate in the chat. Open up the topic
of Reconstruction, particularly a discussion of the
various changes that occurred during this time
period. Discussion should be student driven for the
most part teacher will insert guided question on
occasion if discussion stalls. Try to minimize

Computer, internet,
overhead projector,
Youtube, Personal
Laptops (if
available), iPhones
if school does not
have laptops.

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

teacher influence though, because the main focus of
the discussion is to ascertain student thoughts, ideas,
and questions.
Teacher: After the video ends, head back to the front
of the class and address any questions asked in the
chatroom that werent addressed and answered by
others. Commend the class on their participation
and highlight great points made throughout the
discussion.
Lastly, reopen the topic of the meaning of freedom.
Ask the class whether their definition of freedom
has changed any after what they learned from the
video. (Great lead in to the below lecture on
Reconstruction and Freedom).
Lecture on Reconstruction
20
Minute
s

It seems counterintuitive but topics

as perceivably straightforward as
individual freedom can be extremely
complicated when you take into
account the varied motives and needs
of different groups. America just
declared peace in a War fought over
the freedom and lives of slaves, so
you would think that the country
would be all about liberty and
equality, but reality is always much
more complicated. So let's take a
look.
Freedom for Freed Slaves:
Following the abolishment of
slavery, the country wrestled with the
issue of how to integrate the now
freed black population into the
greater society. The issue of freedom
was of prime importance.
Many mistakenly believed
freedom to be very
simple...merely the absence
of slavery, but freedom is
much more complicated. As
expressed by James Garfield

Computer,
PowerPoint,
projector

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

in 1865, is it (freedom) the

bare privilege of not being
chained? If this is all, then
freedom is a bitter mockery, a
cruel joke (Foner, 2014,
p.556).
What is Garfield saying? Is
he arguing that freedom
means more than the
eradication of slavery?
For blacks, freedom
definitely meant something
much more, and they relished
the opportunity to
demonstrate this newfound
liberation
Self-Ownership active participation in
mass gatherings and
the purchase of dogs,
guns, and alcohol for
the first time in
history.
Family Stability family members sent
to various plantations
were reunited
Religious Liberty for the first time,
blacks were granted
independence to form
their own churches
while being given
much greater access
to education
Political
Participation - no
right to vote yet but
greater participation
in politics
Economic Autonomy
- black populations
view on freedom was
intimately tied to
landownership.
Without land to

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

cultivate on your own,

black workers will
always be tied to
overbearing plantation
owners.
Main Point - for
blacks, freedom was
an open-ended
process, a
transformation of
every aspect of their
lives and of the
society and culture
that had sustained
slavery in the first
place (Foner, 2014, p.
560).
White Planters - freedom for former
black slave owners was understood
much differently
Defined narrowly
Could not comprehend
freedom meaning the same
thing for blacks as for whites
Did not believe in economic
autonomy
A man may be free
and yet not
independent
Freedmens Bureau (1865-1870)
Conflict brewing between
planters wanting to keep the
slave-based labor system and
blacks wanting land
ownership and economic
autonomy
Goals:
Establish schools
Provide aid to poor
Settle disputes
Secure equal
treatment before
courts
Failed land reform
Although the Freedmens
Bureau and other groups

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

fought for land reform

allowing blacks opportunity
for land ownership, these
efforts ultimately failed
President Andrew Johnson
ordered all federally held
land to be returned to former
owners
Without land ownership
opportunities, most blacks
remained poor workers
having to work for their
former owners.
Sharecropping
Allowed blacks and poor
white families to rent land on
a plantation, with a
percentage of the crop on that
land being given to the
landowner as payment
As prices fell, these
sharecroppers suffered,
ultimately never getting out
of bondage
Urban Growth
As a means of paying
landlords, sharecroppers and
farmers involved in cropliens devoted greater
percentages of their crops
towards cotton.
This increase in cotton
production led to the growth
of urban economies centered
around the transportation and
sell of that cotton
Bankers
Railroad tycoons
Merchants
Presidential Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson - president
following death of Lincoln
Strong proponent of
states rights
Held very racist views
Johnson offered pardon to all

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

white southerners who

declared loyalty to the union
Appointed provisional
governors to establish white
only governments in the
southern states
Returned southern
elite to power
Black Codes
Limited the rights of
blacks
Violated free labor
principles
Turned the north
against south
Radical Reconstruction - issue of
personal freedom vs freedom of
property
Wanted to expand power of
federal government to secure
equal rights for all Americans
Charles Sumner
Thaddeus Stevens
Wanted to take land
from southern
planters and divide it
among formers slaves
Extension of
Homestead Act of
1862
Rejected because it
violated sanctity of
property
Civil Rights Bill
No state could deny
anyone right to make
contracts, bring
lawsuits, or enjoy
equal protection
First concrete attempt
to legalise 13th
Amendment
14th Amendment
Equal Protection of
the law
Reconstruction Act of 1867

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

Johnson rejected the
14th Amendment,
leading congress to
pass the
Reconstruction Act
Temporarily divided
south into military
zones
Created new state
governments granting
blacks ability to vote
Congress attempted to
impeach Johnson but barely
failed to obtained the
necessary votes
Election of Ulysses S. Grant
in 1868
Passed 15th
Amendment
Led to Republican
Party dominance in
nation
New Groups
Black Politicians
Hiram Revels - first
black senator
Pinckney Pinchback first black governor
Carpetbaggers
Northerns who made
their homes in the
South
Scalawags
White republicans in
the South
Opponents to Reconstruction
Ku Klux Klan
Military arm of
Democratic Party
Liberal Republicans
Many northerners,
after a while, believed
the south should be
able to take care of
themselves.
Alienated themselves

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

from Grant over

corruption, believing
they manipulated the
votes of immigrants
Led to resurgence of
racism
Economic depression
of 1870s didnt help
Redeemers
Democrats who took
control of several
southern states,
including North
Carolina
Led to violence
against blacks in those
states
Bargain of 1877
Election pitting Rutherford B.
Hayes (Republican) vs.
Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat).
Election was so close that
both sides had to bargain for
winner
Terms
Republicans
Recognized
Democratic
control over
the South
Placed
southerner as
Postmaster
General
Democrats

Recognized
Hayes as
President

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

Historical Roleplay
Instructions:
Students with this task are to engage in videorecorded role play as a citizen of America during the
Reconstruction time period. Students will be
randomly assigned to one of the following groups:
Freed Black Slave
White Plantation Owner
Black Factory Worker
White Railroad Tycoon
45
Minute
s

The setting is a town hall meeting in 1865 where the

citizens are meeting to discuss their town following
the Civil War. You are a member of a group
advocating for their rights in this town. What issues
does your group face? What greater societal issues
impact your group?
When you feel you have adequately discussed the
topic, nominate someone from your group to be the
speaker. Find a quiet place for your group and
record a brief (3-5 minutes) video advocating for
the rights of your assigned demographic group.
Please tie in details regarding multiple aspects of
society (voting rights, land ownership, educational
opportunity, equal treatment under the law, freedom
Wof religion, sanctity of property rights). When you
have finished, please upload your video to our
schools online class management system.
Grading Scale:
Students will be graded on the quality of their video
discussion (accuracy of information, breadth of
topics covered, relevancy to their particular group).
This is not a movie production class, so students
will not be judged on the quality of their camera

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

work or for the realisticness of their voice acting.

20
Minute
s

Watch each video and discuss what students

have learned from the videos of each of these
groups
After each video, briefly discuss with the class what
they thought. Ask them what separates this groups
needs from other ethnic/social groups. Ask them if
any of the requests made by this group contradict or
impose another group? If so, is that just?
As discussion is occurring, the teacher should create
a google document with a section for each of the
ethnic/social groups assigned and presented. For
each group, list what students have expressed in
terms of freedom in the eyes of that group. After
all videos have been presented, and discussion
concludes, share the google document with the
entire class.

Homework Write an Essay (Group assignment)

Instructions:
Okay class, as I hope you have learned today, the
nation faced a difficult task coming together after
the Civil War. The nation and its citizens faced
complex social and political issues as the nation
tried to balance the needs of a growing diversity of
people.
For homework I want to hear your overall thoughts
about the changing definition and social context of
freedom. Working together in your groups, I want
you to write a 3-page essay on the following topic:
How has the definition of freedom evolved
throughout American history?

Computer,
Projector, internet,
school course
management
system, Google Docs

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

With this prompt, I want you to really think about
what we talked about today regarding freedom
following the Civil War, and compare that
conception of freedom with todays political and
social culture. Are we more free now than we were
150 years ago? Are we less free? Do you see any
correlates between the struggles faced by particular
groups in 1865 and today?
I am sharing a document right now that contains the
prompt I just described (show document on
projector). As a group, download and edit this
document, adding your essay below the prompt. At
the top of the page, above the prompt, you see
where it says Name? Please add the name of every
member of your group.
You are free to any resources you need for this
assignment, just make sure it is an academic
resource (so no Wikipedia). Just please be sure to
cite your sources, and no plagiarism. Also, since this
is a group assignment, everyone needs to contribute
to the assignment.
Since today is Friday, you have the rest of class and
all weekend to complete this assignment. Once you
are finished, have one member of the group share
the essay with me at my school email address.

Assessment (How will you know students achieved the objectives?)

Formative
Participation in Group discussion,
degree of participation by individual
members during Group Role Play
assignment.

Summative

Technology
Todays Meet, computer, laptops or
iPhones, iPhone for Group Role Play

Technology

Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan Template

1. Video Role Play

Assignment
2. Group Essay

iPhone, internet, school course

management system, Google Docs,
online resources