Law Lens

This worksheet helps students in Grades 5 and 6 strengthen reading comprehension, paraphrasing, and historical reasoning by analyzing an excerpt from the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Students restate the law in their own words, explain its importance, identify who it aimed to protect, and reflect on issues of fairness and equality in the post-Civil War era.

Learning Goals

• Paraphrasing & Comprehension (Grades 5-6) – Students translate complex legal language into clear, understandable statements.
• Understanding Civil Rights Legislation – Learners analyze the purpose and impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
• Reflecting on Fairness & Equality – The activity encourages consideration of rights, justice, and societal change.
• Historical Reasoning – Students connect the law to broader Reconstruction-era efforts to protect formerly enslaved people.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary ELA and social studies standards.
• Builds Critical Thinking – Reflection questions promote evaluation of fairness, equity, and social impact.
• Supports Legal Literacy – Helps students interpret foundational civil rights legislation in historical context.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Ideal for independent work, discussion, assessment, or enrichment.
• Low-Prep Printable – Ready for classroom or homeschool use.

Rewriting a passage builds paraphrasing skills, which support comprehension. Students practice pulling meaning from complex historical language. Reflective questions strengthen critical thinking about rights and fairness. These activities help learners understand how laws shape civil rights across time.