Reporting on Reconstruction: Research Activity Using the EJI Report

Sometimes teaching students how to write academically includes having them read academic writing. Students read someone else’s history essay and pull it apart. Using the Equal Justice Initiative’s “Reconstruction in America” report, they find the claims it makes about Reconstruction and the evidence it uses to back them up. Then they form their own answer to the big question.

What’s inside

• A guide to the EJI report’s six chapters and their individual topics, so students can choose at least three to read

• A template for each topic: the big claim, the supporting evidence, and a thesis statement previewing the argument

• A final one-paragraph prompt: Evaluate the extent to which the Reconstruction Era succeeded in building a better society for Black Americans.

• An extension list on land, health, education, politics, and women, with podcasts, articles, and video

Details: 60-75 minutes | Grades 8-12 | PDF, 5 pages (students need internet access to read the report)

Content note: the report covers racial terror and violence during Reconstruction, so preview the topics before assigning.

Also part of the Unit 5: Civil War & Reconstruction plan.