Unit 4: Unit 4: The Struggle for Equality

For this Unit of Study, students will understand and be able to…

Knowledge:

? Analyze how African Americans fought and struggled for justice during Reconstruction and Jim Crow

? Evaluate the ties of the African American Church to African American Education

Skills:

? Analyze a variety of primary sources to evaluate the lives of Blacks/African Americans during this time period; utilize primary sources to analyze racial attitudes during this era

For this Unit of Study, to support self-discovery, identity development, and civic preparedness/actions, students will explore...

? Why did Blacks lack confidence in traditional American political systems during this time period?

? What methods did African Americans use to overcome White Supremacy during this time period? How do the methods used compare to methods utilized during future periods of activism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries?

4.1 The African-American Experience During Reconstruction (1865-1877)
4.2 The African-American Experience Following Reconstruction (1877-1898)
4.3 The Struggle Against Jim Crow
4.4 The Education and Entrepreneurship of Blacks

Connecticut Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Standards

Inquiry Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools

US.Inq.1.a. Explain how compelling and supporting questions reflect an enduring issue in United States History.

US.Inq.3.b. Organize and prioritize evidence directly and substantively from multiple sources in order to develop or strengthen claims (e.g., detect inconsistencies).                                

US.Inq.3.c. Refine claims and counterclaims by pointing out strengths and limitations of arguments and explanations (e.g., precision, significance, knowledge conveyed).

From CT Core Standards for English Language Arts (i.e., Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

From CT English Language Proficiency (CELP) Standards (i.e., Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking and Language)

CELP.9-12.1.RI.7. Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account

CELP.9-12.4. L.6. Acquire and use accurate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

From Social Justice Standards from “Learning for Justice” Diversity

10. Students will examine diversity in social, cultural, political and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified.

From Teaching Hard History A 6–12 FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING AMERICAN SLAVERY

Key concept 9: Enslaved and freed people worked to maintain cultural traditions while building new ones that sustain communities and impact the larger world.

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE 18 Students will examine the ways that people who were enslaved tried to claim their freedom after the Civil War

18.C Freed African Americans sought to exercise their freedom in several ways, including relocating (leaving the plantations where they had been enslaved); pursuing education (in the numerous schools established after the war); living as families; and participating in politics.

18.D Black voters became influential in Southern elections during Congressional Reconstruction. Between 1865 and 1877, Black men served in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and in state Capitols. More than 600 Black men also served in state legislatures.