Lesson Plan

Alabama Tenant Farmers and Sharecroppers, 1865 to Present

Subject Area

Social Studies

Grade(s)

Overview

This lesson explores the reasons for the development of the tenant farming and sharecropping system in the post-Civil War era. Using primary sources (pictures and labor contracts), the lesson presents some of the situations that caused the system to develop. It covers the lifestyle of the farmers and investigates the reasons for the decrease in the system of tenant farming and sharecropping after the Depression and World War II.

This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.

Author Information: Vicki Looser (Cohort 1: 2009-2010); Lanett High School; Lanett City Schools Lanett, AL

Content Standards

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 10 - United States History I

SS10.US1.16
Explain the transition of the United States from an agrarian society to an industrial nation prior to World War I. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.h., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

Unpacked Content

Vocabulary

Manifest Destiny
migration
immigration
urban
rural
assimilation

Knowledge

Students know:

The reasons for and impact of Manifest Destiny Changes that occurred in rural American society during this time period, the reasons for these changes, and the results of them.
The impact of legislation and social pressures on specific groups, such as American Indians.
The ways various immigrant groups compare.

Skills

Students are able to:

Evaluate a historical time period in order to determine its causes and impact.
Compare social groups in order to determine the impact of political, social, and economic pressures on each.
Trace the movements, migration and immigration, of various groups on a map and describe the impact of these movements on the group and society.

Understanding

Students understand that:

Changes that took place throughout American society in the years prior to World War I.

Interdisciplinary Connections

Learning Objectives

Primary Learning Objectives

The student will be able to:

• List the reasons for the development of the tenant farming and sharecropping system;

• Describe the lifestyles of the tenant farmer and sharecropper;

• Discuss the reasons for the decline of the system of tenant farming and sharecropping;

• Analyze primary sources (pictures, labor contracts) and comprehend the role of primary sources in examining historical events.

Procedures/Activities

Engagement/Motivation Activity:

Before:

Show the first two pictures on the Alabama Tenant Farmers PowerPoint. Discuss each picture, asking questions such as:

• What do you see in the picture?

• Who are the people in the picture?

• What are they doing?

• Where do you think they are?

• What time period do you think this picture represents?

During:

After discussing the pictures, use the next slide to guide your comparison of the two pictures. Both photos were taken about 1890. Students may observe larger numbers of people in the first photo with multiple ages of people in both photos. The main goal of this activity is for students to decide how the lives of the freedmen had or had not changed.

Step 1 Pass out primary documents (linked above) to the students. This may be a paired, small-group, individual, or class activity. Each student or group should get a copy of one labor contract, the contract for the six African Americans, and one receipt for the teacher's pay. The students should use the Farmer Primary Source Document Analysis Sheet to answer questions based on the information in the documents.

Step 2 Once the students have evaluated their documents, the class should share the information and discuss the plight of the tenant farmers and sharecroppers in Alabama.

Step 3 Show the remainder of the PowerPoint presentation. The students should take notes on the reasons for the development of the system, problems with the system, and reasons for the decline of the system.

After:

Step 4 Assuming the role of a sharecropper or tenant farmer in the post-Civil War era, the students will write a letter to a relative describing their week including details about work, food, hardships, sickness, housing, and pay.

Learning Activity (Before)

Learning Activity (During)

Learning Activity (After)

Assessment Strategies

• The students’ letters should be assessed using the rubric.

Acceleration and Intervention

Acceleration

• Students could evaluate additional photographs of the period.

• Students could write a letter to the Governor of Alabama about the plight of the tenant farmers and sharecroppers.

• Students could put together a photo essay of pictures relating the life of the tenant farmers and sharecroppers using Photo Story, a free program which can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/search.aspx?q=photo%20story

Intervention

Provide the students with a copy of the PowerPoint to assist them in taking notes.

• Prepare a check-off list of possible answers for the main parts of the PowerPoint notes.

• Transcribe the primary documents (contracts and receipts) to make them more readable for the students.

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

91 to 120 Minutes

Background and Preparation

Background/Preparation

• The teacher should become familiar with the material by reading the article on sharecropping located at http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1613.

• Students should be familiar with the Congressional plan for Reconstruction and the role of the Freedmen’s Bureau during Reconstruction.