Virginia SOL USII.2.c

Social Studies6th GradeEffects of Reconstruction

The Standard

describing the legacies of Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Hiram Revels, and Frederick Douglass

Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students identify each leader and explain what that person said or did during the Civil War and Reconstruction era. They connect those actions to reunion, citizenship, equality, or national memory.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students match each person to accurate actions and explain the lasting effect. They distinguish military leadership from later work involving reconciliation, education, political representation, and civil rights.
Common Misconceptions: Students may confuse Grant and Lee, or assume both supported the same Reconstruction policies. They may mistake Hiram Revels for an abolitionist or overlook Douglass's work for voting rights after slavery ended.
How to Assess It: Give students five names and five legacy statements to match. Then ask them to explain which person most affected civil rights, using one specific fact.

Lesson moves

Give groups portrait cards and action strips to sort by person, then place the matched sets on a Civil War and Reconstruction timeline.
Ask students to write which person's legacy had the greatest effect on national unity or equality, citing two facts.
Play a five-round Who Am I game using clues about military service, public office, speeches, education, and civil rights work.
Have students examine a monument, stamp, or government portrait and write what part of the person's legacy it presents or leaves out.

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