Exploring Civil Rights in 7th Grade Humanities
Mrs. Figueroa鈥檚 and Mrs. Mattay鈥檚 7th grade Humanities classes participated in a two-part activity about post-Civil War life in the United States as a conclusion to their Reconstruction unit. During the first part, students analyzed a series of statements, such as:
- Teachers can drink soft drinks and eat during class but students cannot eat or drink, except during lunch hours.
- Students are encouraged to participate in curriculum development and the creation of disciplinary practices.
- Students are free to set their own schedules for the school year, with or without assistance from administration and/or parents.
- Students are not allowed to use the restroom, except during scheduled breaks.
After the teacher read the statement, students moved along a life-size spectrum ranging from 鈥淣o Rights鈥� to 鈥淭he Same Rights as Adults鈥�. At the conclusion of the first activity, students discussed the rights they wished they had compared to what rights they should have in a school setting.
During the second activity, students moved along the spectrum as the teacher read Reconstruction-Era key terms. This time, the spectrum ranged from 鈥淣o Citizenship/No Rights鈥� to 鈥淢ore Citizenship/More Rights鈥�. Sample terms include Jim Crow Laws, Slave Codes, Poll Taxes and Literacy Tests, Freedmen鈥檚 Bureau, Johnson鈥檚 Plan for Reconstruction, and Lincoln鈥檚 Assassination. Students had a great discussion in which they paralleled the two activities and reviewed the key events, people, and legislation of the Reconstruction Era.