To what extent did Reconstruction help African Americans? Did African Americans get trapped in a situation similar to slavery, or did they make any progress during this period?
Objectives
Students will:
Identify a thesis statement and evidence in an essay.
Engage diverse viewpoints, perspectives, and ideas to understand pluralism within an American identity.
Employ historical thinking and reasoning to understand and analyze complex issues.
Appreciate the complexities of American history and government by engaging in multiple perspectives.
To prepare for this lesson, students should have a good understanding of creating a thesis and providing evidence.
To activate students’ prior knowledge, ask students to create a t-chart on paper or create one together on the board. The categories are Thesis Statements and Evidence.
Sort the following items or create your own. Answer questions and clear up misconceptions as you go.
Thesis Statements
Evidence
Saturday is the best day of the week.
The Constitution is the basis for American government.
The Civil War was the most important war in American history.
56% of students agree that tacos are the best school lunch meal.
The Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal.”
Antietam is still the bloodiest one-day battle in American history.
Engage
Use the Step In, Step Out, Step Back framework to ignite student interest and begin to frame the inquiry.
Students can write their answers to each of the following questions on sticky notes and place them in an assigned area when they are done, such as a table, chart paper, or white board.
Display the quote: “The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.” W.E.B. Du Bois, 1935.
Step In: Du Bois wrote this in a piece reflecting on Reconstruction in 1935. Based on what you know, what do you think he might have felt, believed, known, or experienced when he wrote this?
Step Out: What would you need to learn to understand Du Bois’s perspective better?
Step Back: What do you notice about your own perspective? How does it affect your understanding and assumptions of this quote?
Give each group a copy of the Point Counterpoint essay and highlighters.
Ask students to read both argument A and argument B within the Point Counterpoint Essay. These two arguments take different stances on the question.
Then, assign students to work together to highlight the thesis and two pieces of supporting evidence for each argument.
Assist students in dividing roles for the assignment. You can suggest that students assign a reader for each argument in the Point Counterpoint Essay and a recorder to highlight for the group.
Assess & Reflect
Thesis and Supporting Evidence
Each student should complete the organizer on their own. It will ask them to examine the arguments, thesis statements, and evidence supplied.
AND/OR
Exit Ticket: I used to think, Now I think
Ask students to reflect on the opposing perspectives they read and their own growth by completing an exit ticket.
