Summer Institute for Teachers

Summer Teachers Institute

Stay tuned! We'll have information soon on plans for a 2026 Summer Teacher's Institute. 

Get excited! Learn more about previous institutes in this 2023 USCB article "USCB Partner in Hosting African American Historic Sites Professional Learning Opportunity for SC Teachers."

 

Reconstruction Era Lesson Plans (South Carolina)

Discover a wealth of lesson plans on the Reconstruction Era made by South Carolina teachers for South Carolina classrooms from the 2023 and 2024 Summer Institutes:

 

Navigating Reconstruction in the Modern Classroom

What are the difficulties facing K-12 teachers teaching the Reconstruction Era in classrooms across the United States? Discover the Zinn Education Project's "Erasing the Black Freedom Struggle."

This 44-page report represents a comprehensive effort by the Zinn Education Project to understand Reconstruction’s place in state social studies standards across the United States, examine the nature and extent of the barriers to teaching effective Reconstruction history, and make focused recommendations for improvement.

Here are some additional articles discussing the challenges of navigating Reconstruction in the modern classroom, as well as resources teachers can use to present a more complete picture of this complex period:

- by Kevin M. Levin
- by Hilary N. Green

 

History of the Summer Teachers Institute

Summer institutes were held in 2023 and 2024 as a partnership between the Institute with the Study of the Reconstruction Era (ISRE) and the (SCCAAS) under the name “Sins of Omission: Beaufort, South Carolina, Civil War and Reconstruction.” During the week-long institutes South Carolina teachers were exposed to historic sites and primary sources that would help illuminate the rich history of the Reconstruction Era in South Carolina. Historical experts and curriculum specialists assisted participants craft lesson plans that have since been made available online and can be used by teachers in classrooms throughout the state.

The Summer Institute began in 2015 as “America’s Reconstruction: The Untold Story” and was initially funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities as a multi-week professional development opportunity for teachers from across the nation. The three week program combined field trips and seminars by top historians to help illuminate the complicated and compelling story of Reconstruction in Beaufort, South Carolina. 

ISRE works with many wonderful partners for our Summer Teachers Institutes including, but not limited to, the SC Council for African American Social Studies, Reconstruction Era National Historic Park, Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, Penn Center, the Mather Institute, First African Baptist Church, Tabernacle Baptist Church, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (Edward Wallace Camp #21) and many others including Beaufort-area historians, community leaders and cultural heritage experts.

 

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