Eighth Grade Social Studies Curriculum Guide provided through the Teaching American History Grant for the Winthrop Olde English Consortium South Carolina: One of the United States Unit Title: Reconstruction and the Development of the Industrial United States. Pacing Suggestions: Three Weeks Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions: Explain the legacies of the Civil War and Reconstruction. What was the political, social, physical, and economical impact of Reconstruction? What Constitutional questions were answered by the Civil War? Standards Correlation: Standard 8-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the impact of Reconstruction on the people and government of South Carolina. Assessment I Introduction This activity is designed to give the 8 th grade student a comprehensive view of the various plans designed to reconstruct the south. By creating their own Reconstruction plan, the student will think deeply about political, social, economic, and physical issues that the nation faced as the Civil War came to a close. Students will draw on knowledge gained through various activities and lessons presented in class concerning Reconstruction. Timeframe This being a culminating activity, information will be taken from the three- week unit. Time to complete the activity may vary based on how much work the teacher allows the students to complete in or out of class. Materials Students will textbook, supplementary materials, power-point and study guide. Instructions The students will be placed in cooperative groups on the first day of the activity. The teacher will facilitate discussion of the various plans of Reconstruction and their effect on rebuilding the physical destruction in the south, race relations and enfranchisement questions, economic concerns, and political/ military issues. The students will each be given a chart outlining five Reconstruction Plans. As each plan is discussed with the students, the students will fill in the chart. This information will give them the background knowledge to help them formulate their own plan of Reconstruction for the southern states. As
these plans are discussed, the teacher will act as a facilitator to launch discussions of how each plan dealt with enfranchisement, rebuilding the physical destruction in the south, labor questions, and social concerns. The teacher will also facilitate discussion on the positive and negative effects that each plan had on labor, physical destruction, race relations, sectionalism and politics. Upon conclusion of this activity, the students will work independently on a plan of their own creation, of how to best conduct the peace, or Reconstruct the south. (see worksheet and instructions) Differentiation for Diverse Learners/ Levels of Ability To differentiate for diverse learners and different levels of ability, the teacher may keep the groups used in discussion and let the students work together in these groups to create a Reconstruction Plan, with each student contributing ideas, creativity, and labor. Although the more advanced student will write their plan in essay form, students of a lower ability level might perform better on this activity, if a blank chart is given to them and the students simply fill out how they would deal with the problems listed under the Policy heading. For example, the worksheet lists Lincoln s Plan, Andrew Johnson s, Wade/ Davis, the Radical Republicans, and the Port Royal Experiment. Next, there would be a column stating Your Plan. The student will simply fill in those spaces. Scoring Rubric see attached Content: Textbooks: Call to Freedom and South Carolina: The History of an American State Reconstruction Power- point and Study Outline Political Cartoon entitled Worse than Slavery and accompanying worksheet activity. Unit 4, Reconstruction readings from Focus on US History: The Era of Civil War and Reconstruction, pages 73-77 Primary source document entitled sharecropping Activity 1 Introduction The first activity is a power point presentation concerning the Reconstruction. It gives a general overview of the social, economical and political events of the time period nationally and in South Carolina. The teacher should engage the class in discussion as the power point is being presented. A study guide is included that the students should fill out as the material is covered. Timeframe Depending on the depth of discussion, this activity should not exceed two days. Materials power point presentation entitled Reconstruction (included on CD)
Activity 2 - Power point study guide outline entitled: Reconstruction: Power point Study Guide (see attached) - Power point study guide outline key entitled: Reconstruction: - Power point Study Guide Key (see attached) Instruction This should be a whole class activity, with the teacher facilitating discussion with the students. Differentiation for Diverse Learners/Levels of Ability For students that might be resource, the key can be given to them ahead of time and they can simply follow along and concentrate on discussion. Informal and Formal Assessment Suggestions Informal assessment can be given through verbal questioning and review as material is covered. At the end of the power point, a question and answer period may follow. Formal assessment can be a simple quiz at the end of the power point concerning the major issues the country and state faced during Reconstruction. Suggestions for Extension Activities and/or Assessments This activity can be used throughout the unit to highlight certain issues, or to identify certain people. This can be used as a supplement to any textbook readings done throughout the unit. Introduction The students are to read pages 75-77 entitled Reconstruction, from Focus on U.S. History: The Era of Civil War and Reconstruction. Based on material covered in the Civil War unit concerning life in the south, particularly South Carolina before the Civil War, the power point and the readings, the students will complete the activity entitled: The South, Before and After. Timeframe This activity should take no longer than one class period. Materials Pages 75-77 and worksheet entitled, The South, Before and After from Focus on History: The Era of Civil War and Reconstruction and a key. (See attached) Instruction This activity can be whole class, individual work, pairs or group work depending on class level and ability. Differentiation for Diverse Learners/ Levels of Ability In a class that contains children of a higher ability level, this can be expanded into an essay activity, or the teacher can embellish instruction with primary source materials from pre and post war South Carolina to compare and contrast life before and after the War. If the class is of a lower ability level, the teacher might want to go over the activity with the students in order to help them facilitate ideas and answers. Grouping lower ability level students with higher ability students in pairs and allowing the pairs to discuss possible answers is another option to consider. Informal and Formal Assessment Suggestions Having the students share some of their answers with the class, or engaging in discussion with the students after the activity are good informal assessment options. A strong formal assessment could be to have the students write a fictional one- page
letter to a loved one describing their life in the post-war south and incorporating answers from their sheets in the final product. Suggestions for Extension Activities and/ or Assessments See fictional letter activity mentioned above. Activity 3 Introduction The following activity is a map activity. It has a two- fold purpose, to reinforce the student s map skills and to help students to better understand the way in which the former Confederate states were carved up and occupied by the Union army. This map is a very good one. It highlights the 5 different military districts and includes the dates of each state s readmission into the Union and the date in which the Conservatives or the former ruling elite took back their states. Timeframe This activity should take no more than a day to complete. (One class period) Materials- A map entitled Reconstruction, 1865-1877 - A worksheet to accompany the map entitled, The Military Occupation of the South: Map Activity and accompanying key. (See attached) Instruction This activity can be given individually, in pairs or groups. Differentiation for Diverse Learners/ Levels of Ability In a class of lower ability level, the map can be enlarged by Overhead projector and the map can be done whole class. Informal and Formal Assessment Suggestions Informal Assessment can be done by going over the answers with the students after the class- work has been completed. Formal assessment can be done by a map quiz. Suggestions for Extension Activities and/or Assessments The students can be placed into five groups and each group can be assigned one of the five districts. If the class is very large, each group can be given one of the ten states included in the map. In the library or computer lab each group will research their district or state and report on what life was like for former Confederates, freemen, women, Occupying soldiers, etc. Students could include who the military governor was, and how he ran the district/ state. When completed, each group could report their findings to the class. This could be assessed either formally or informally. Activity 4 Introduction This activity is designed to give multiple perspectives of the Reconstruction Period. It encourages the student to think from the perspective of various key characters of the period. It is called Reconstruction and You. Timeframe This activity should take no more than one class period to complete. Materials The worksheet activity entitled, Reconstruction and You.
Activity 5 There is no key. This is an activity with no right or wrong answers. Instruction This sheet can be done in with the whole class, individually, groups or pairs. Differentiation for Diverse Learners/ Levels of Ability The power point done previously could be shown while students are working on the activity. It contains many of the terms found in the activity. Also for some students use of the textbook will be helpful. Informal and Formal Assessment Suggestions Informal assessment can be done by question and answer, elaboration and facilitation by the teacher during and after the activity. Formal assessment could be done by grading the assignment based on how well thought out the responses are, or giving an announced quiz on terms such as scalawag, and carpetbagger etc. Suggestions for Extension Activities and/or Assessments The students could choose one of these characters and write a poem or a speech relating their point of view about life during Reconstruction. Introduction This activity will help the student to become familiar with editorial cartoons. Editorial cartoons from various newspapers tell the student much about what life was like during a given time period. Timeframe No more than two days. Materials Harper s weekly cartoon featuring the Ku Klux Klan and a member of the White League. It is entitled Worse than Slavery. (See attached) The teacher may also use a list of sample questions entitled, Sample Questions for Socratic Seminar. Instruction This activity is called a Socratic Seminar. The students are to be placed in a circle with the teacher in the middle. The teacher has a list of pre-prepared questions to facilitate discussion. The teacher s job during the seminar is only to facilitate, to stimulate discussion between students. In order to keep the students from talking over one another, the teacher will have a small ball. The teacher throws the ball to a student with his/her hand up that wants to speak. Only the student with hand upraised is to speak. When he/ she is done, the ball is thrown back to the teacher. It is okay to let the discussion flow, and to leave the pre- prepared questions behind. They are only to jump start discussion if needed. To prepare the students for the discussion, let them study the cartoon, and ask themselves how they feel about it. No one is to shout at others or be insulting. It is strictly a respectful way to encourage dialogue and promote thought. Do not give your own opinion. You are only a facilitator. Differentiation for Diverse Learners/ Levels of Ability Make sure that preprepared questions are of various levels of difficulty. Start with a very broad question that some of those students that are not used to thinking at a deeper level will feel comfortable with. This will encourage these students to challenge themselves and to think more deeply without being embarrassed by being singled out. Another strategy to help those of a
Activity 6 lower ability level is to give them the pre-prepared questions the night before, have them read them for homework. Also, give them the cartoon the day before the seminar to start them thinking about it. Throwing the ball around also helps to hold the interest of some of those with short attention spans. Informal and Formal Assessment Suggestions Informal assessment is best done during a Socratic Seminar by simply observing who is participating, and who is not, or who looks confused. Question the students at the end and go back and explain some of the concepts and conclusions that the students formed. Formal assessment can be given through a classroom participation grade. It is important that students be good writers. The teacher could have them write about how they felt about the cartoon by the end of the seminar. One other formal assessment is to have the students bring in a cartoon from a local paper, and explain in an essay, what it says about their society today. Suggestions for Extension Activities and/ or Assessments (See above) Introduction The following activity is a reading passage put together from several sources. It highlights industrial development in the south and in particular South Carolina. The reading also touches on the changing aspects of agriculture in late 19 th century. It culminates in the industrial might of the United States leading it into an imperialistic 20 th century, highlighted by U. S. involvement in the Spanish- American War. This reading can be supplemented by the use of the student s United States and South Carolina textbook. Timeframe This activity should take no longer than one class period or one day of instructional time. Materials A reading sheet entitled, South Carolina and the Second Industrial Revolution, and an accompanying worksheet and key. (see attached) Instruction The teacher will read the material to the students, with them, or allow them to read to each other or by themselves. Upon completion of the reading, the students will answer the questions on the worksheet. Differentiation for Diverse Learners/ Levels of Ability Depending on the ability level of the class being taught, students may work independently, in pairs, groups or as a whole class. The teacher can read the material to the entire class if the class is a class with low level readers. Students with difficulty writing can be given a copy of the key, after the work is done to insure that they answered each question properly. Also, when going over this sheet, make a transparency, put it on the overhead for those that need to see words spelled etc. Informal and Formal Assessment Suggestions As previously mentioned, this can be gone over informally. By moving around the room and monitoring work the teacher can make note of who is struggling, and who is not and help them one- on- one. Formal assessment can be a quiz or test.
Suggestions for Extension Activities and/ or Assessments Primary source readings could be assigned as follow- up activities. For example, primary source documents concerning working conditions in textile mills. You could assign the words of a tenant farmer regarding the hardships of a tenant s life. Class discussion could follow.