The Civil War made slavery illegal, but all ex-slaves were not totally free. Scholars visit eight different classroom stations to uncover life during the Reconstruction Era in America. Groups discover items such as Black Codes, 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments and the creation of the Ku Klux Klan by examining documents and sources. Using their new knowledge, they formulate an opinion on how African American lives emerged from slavery. 

Concepts

the thirteenth amendment, the fourteenth amendment, the fifteenth amendment, slavery, slave culture, african american culture, the reconstruction era

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Limit group sizes to no more than three to better facilitate collaboration
• Extend the lesson with short video clip on life as an ex-slave after the Civil War: Slave Songs

Classroom Considerations

• Use online resource materials in each station of the lesson

Pros

• Resource contains printable worksheets and materials for classroom use
• Lesson includes supporting questions for teacher use 

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.2 RH.6-8.3