Freedom Was In Sight! Teaching Materials

Welcome to the teaching resources page for Freedom Was In Sight! A Graphic History of Reconstruction in the Washington, D.C., Region.

These resources were created by high school teachers with high school classrooms in mind. All are welcome to use them. 

Using a Graphic History to Decode the Past 

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This lesson plan helps teachers introduce students to learning from a graphic history text; it includes resources on visual literacy and a worksheet students can use to decode Freedom Was In Sight! 

The One Pager: A Creative Way to Assess Student Learning

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This assessment assignment asks students to synthesize what they have learned by designing and illustrating a single page that includes text and images related to the unit or chapter of study

Teaching Freedom Was In Sight using an Essential Question and Enduring Understandings 

Here we provide mini-lessons and primary sources that teachers can use to supplement existing lessons and units on topics including the Civil War and Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, and African American History/African American Studies. 

Create Your Own DBQ Assignment 

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These resources were created by Krystal Davis and Jon Elfner, with input from Kate Masur. Please send any feedback or questions to kmasur[at]northwestern.edu. 

Krystal Davis has over 13 years experience teaching U.S. History and African American History, and she piloted the Advanced Placement African American Studies course.  Krystal values student engagement and diverse evaluation strategies. She holds a Master’s Degree in History from Chicago State University and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Saint Francis.

Jon Elfner has been teaching all levels of U.S. History, including Advanced Placement, for over 25 years. Jon holds a Master’s Degree in Teaching from Dominican University and a Master’s in History from DePaul University. 

Jon and Krystal both teach at Homewood Flossmoor High School in the south suburbs of Chicago.