Unit 2
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History of Racial Injustice in the United States

Unit Plan

Slavery, Reconstruction, and the Rise of Jim Crow

Activities

Teaching with E.L.O.N.  (Enriched Learning Opportunity Nexus) that seamlessly integrates AI 
Unit 2
Essential Question:
How did the end of slavery and the failures of Reconstruction contribute to the rise of institutionalized racial segregation in the United States?

Week 1: The Civil War and Emancipation
​Topics:
  • The Civil War as a turning point in U.S. racial history
  • The Emancipation Proclamation and its limits
  • Freedpeople’s experiences during and after emancipation
Key Texts/Resources: Activities:
  • Document Analysis: How does Frederick Douglass depict slavery and the fight for freedom?
  • Primary Source Deep Dive: Close read the Emancipation Proclamation—what promises does it make, and what are its limitations?
  • Discussion: How did the Civil War shape ideas of freedom and racial equality?

Week 2: Reconstruction Amendments and Black Codes
Topics:
  • The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
  • Resistance to Black freedom: Black Codes and early legal challenges
  • The origins of convict leasing
Key Texts/Resources: Activities:
  • Group Analysis: Break down the Reconstruction Amendments—how did they expand rights?
  • Primary Source Analysis: Dissect the Mississippi Black Code—how does it undermine the spirit of the amendments?
  • Critical Thinking: Why did the U.S. government allow systems like Black Codes and convict leasing to persist?

Week 3: The Rise of Jim Crow and Legalized Segregation
Topics:
  • The birth of Jim Crow laws across the South
  • The spread of racial segregation and disenfranchisement
  • The ideology of "separate but equal"
Key Texts/Resources: Activities:
  • Case Study: Analyze the majority opinion and Justice Harlan’s dissent—what are the key differences?
  • Debate: Should the 14th Amendment have prevented segregation?
  • Timeline Activity: Group project to create a detailed timeline tracing key moments from the end of the Civil War to the rise of Jim Crow laws.

Week 4: Resistance, Survival, and the Legacy of Jim Crow
​Topics:
  • African American resistance and resilience during Jim Crow
  • Cultural responses: Black institutions, press, and activism
  • The long shadow of Jim Crow in U.S. history
Key Texts/Resources: Activities:
  • Primary Source Review: How does Ida B. Wells document and resist racial violence?
  • Visual Analysis: Annotate photos and signs from the Jim Crow era—how was segregation enforced in daily life?
  • Socratic Seminar: How do the legacies of Jim Crow shape modern racial inequality?

Ongoing Unit Components:
  • Weekly Reflection Journals: Students will reflect on how the failures of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow connect to current systems of racial injustice.
  • Vocabulary Building: emancipation, Reconstruction, Black Codes, convict leasing, Jim Crow, segregation, dissent, 14th Amendment.
​The following activities include AI tools that enhance student engagement, provide data-driven insights, and facilitate personalized learning. 
Week 1: The Civil War and Emancipation
Group Activity: AI-Assisted Documentary Creator
  • Task: In groups, students will use Canva’s AI Video Generator or Piktochart Video to create a short documentary explaining how emancipation unfolded during the Civil War, using quotes from Frederick Douglass and the Emancipation Proclamation.
  • AI Tool: Canva AI Video / Piktochart Video (with AI templates)
  • Integration: Students input research findings and AI helps auto-generate video scripts, visuals, and narration.
Individual Activity: AI Chatbot Roleplay
  • Task: Students will interact with ChatGPT or Perplexity AI to role-play an interview with a freedperson from the Civil War era, focusing on their hopes and challenges.
  • AI Tool: ChatGPT / Perplexity AI (with historical prompt)
  • Integration: The chatbot will simulate historically grounded responses based on primary sources, which students will analyze for historical accuracy.

Week 2: Reconstruction Amendments and Black Codes
Group Activity: AI Timeline Generator
  • Task: Using TimelineJS and ChatGPT, students will input events (e.g., passing of the 13th-15th Amendments, enforcement of Black Codes) and use AI to help expand on each event’s historical context and visual components.
  • AI Tool: TimelineJS + ChatGPT
  • Integration: AI generates brief descriptions, images, and quotes for each timeline event.
Individual Activity: AI-Powered Comparative Analysis
  • Task: Students will use Claude AI or ChatGPT to compare the Mississippi Black Codes to the language in the 14th Amendment.
  • AI Tool: Claude AI / ChatGPT
  • Integration: AI helps outline similarities, contrasts, and legal contradictions, which students will refine into a comparative essay.

Week 3: The Rise of Jim Crow and Legalized Segregation
Group Activity: AI Debate Coach
  • Task: Groups will prepare for a formal debate on "Could Plessy v. Ferguson have been overturned earlier?" using Google Bard or ChatGPT’s Debate Coach feature.
  • AI Tool: Bard AI / ChatGPT with custom debate prompts
  • Integration: AI will assist students in anticipating counterarguments, generating evidence-based rebuttals, and refining arguments.
Individual Activity: AI Dissent Analysis
  • Task: Students will feed Justice Harlan’s dissent into QuillBot or ChatGPT and ask the AI to help paraphrase, summarize, and identify key rhetorical devices.
  • AI Tool: QuillBot / ChatGPT
  • Integration: AI-supported analysis will serve as the basis for an annotated reading and reflective writing.

Week 4: Resistance, Survival, and the Legacy of Jim Crow
​Group Activity: AI-Generated Gallery Walk
  • Task: Using DALL·E (AI image generator) or Canva’s AI Image tool, groups will create visual interpretations of resistance strategies (e.g., Black press, community organizing, mutual aid societies) during Jim Crow.
  • AI Tool: DALL·E / Canva AI Image
  • Integration: Students input text prompts (e.g., "Black women journalists in 1890s Chicago") to generate visuals and pair them with historical quotes for a classroom gallery walk.
Individual Activity: AI-Powered Modern Connections
  • Task: Students will use Perplexity AI or ChatGPT to research and reflect on how the legacies of Jim Crow laws continue to affect modern systemic inequality.
  • AI Tool: Perplexity AI / ChatGPT
  • Integration: AI helps students synthesize historical knowledge with contemporary issues, culminating in a reflection journal.

Optional AI Tools for Ongoing Support:
  • Notion AI: For organizing research notes and drafting collaborative documents.
  • Otter.ai: For automatic transcription and summarization of group discussions.
  • Grammarly AI: For improving writing clarity and grammar across all assignments.
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