Alabama Social Studies SS24.4.15c

Social Studies4th GradeCivil War and Reconstruction

The Standard

SS24.4.15: Identify major events of Reconstruction and evaluate the outcomes of Reconstruction policies.

Explain how Africatown was established, describing the challenges its founders overcame and the ways they built community.

2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain how survivors of the Clotilda founded Africatown near Mobile after emancipation. They describe why the founders bought land together and how they built a community.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain that the founders wanted to return to Africa but could not afford the trip. They can describe how the founders pooled their earnings to buy land, then built homes, a church, and a school.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think the founders chose to come to Alabama. They may also think the founders were given land after emancipation, rather than having to earn money and buy it.
How to Assess It: On an exit ticket, ask: Why did Clotilda survivors establish Africatown near Mobile? Name one challenge they faced and two ways they built their community.

Lesson moves

Give pairs event cards for the Clotilda's arrival, emancipation, land purchase, and community building; have them place the cards in order.
Read a short account of the founders, then ask: Why did buying land together matter to them?
Have students match challenge cards, such as 'no land,' with response cards, such as 'pooled earnings to buy land.'
Use a current map to find Africatown and the Mobile River, then discuss how a neighborhood can keep its founders' history visible.

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