Grade 5 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 19, Lesson 4

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
America Will Be

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 19, Lesson 4: Reconstruction (pp. 494-499)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Rights and Change Attempts to secure rights and independence for freed African Americans led to local and national conflict.

Create a two-column chart on the board. Title one column "Congress's Reconstruction Goals" and the second column "President Johnson's Reconstruction Goals." After students have completed the chart, ask them which, if any, of the goals from each side were achieved.

Discuss with students the opportunities made available to African Americans after the war. Why might it seem dangerous to some people to have African Americans become educated and involved in politics? Then have students predict whether or not they think Reconstruction will be successful. Why or why not?

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Have students write letters from the points of view of African Americans living in the South during Reconstruction. The letters could be written to family or friends living in the North and talk about how life has or hasn't changed since the end of the war. Encourage students to use the text as a guide and to be as accurate as possible.
Divide students into several small groups. Explain that each group will be creating an illustrated timeline of Reconstruction.

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