PF-Facing History and Ourselves: Teaching the Reconstruction Era

Engaging Curricula for TASC Instruction: Facing History and Ourselves

Series Overview: Facing History and Ourselvesis a nonprofit educational and professional development organization that provides curricula resources and training that empower teachers to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, human rights, and civic participation. This year, the Literacy Assistance Center will work with Facing History and Ourselves to offer a four-part series introducing Facing History’s approach to pedagogy, and to equip teachers with the tools and strategies they need to help students become thoughtful, responsible citizens.

Session 2: Teaching the Reconstruction Era

Description: Facing History has produced a series of videos and accompanying lessons that will introduce a rigorous study of the Reconstruction era into American history classrooms. Their video series includes interviews with scholars of the Reconstruction era who provide insight into this complex history and address questions of freedom, justice, equality, and citizenship that are at the heart of the Reconstruction.

How does society rebuild after extraordinary division and trauma, when the ideals and values of democracy are most vulnerable?

The study of the Reconstruction Era in American history is essential to the understanding of citizenship and democracy in the United States today. In this workshop, participants will explore this significant period in U.S. history, when Americans were faced with the challenge of restoring a nation amid the social and political upheaval of the civil war.

In this session, participants will:

• Discover new interdisciplinary teaching strategies that reinforce historical and literacy skills.

• Explore themes such as historical memory, justice and civic participation in a democracy, and learn writing strategies to help support students through the essay-writing assignment introduced in the unit.