I am currently an overwhelmed teacher assistant at a middle school who has been tasked with creating an entire unit on Reconstruction. I have not looked at much of this content since high school and I definitely could use some help. What are some topics, concepts, or events that are integral to the study of this time period? What do I really need to talk to my students about to help them better understand this era in American History?
There are more in-depth treatments of the subject, but a fantastic source (upon which I relied heavily for my PhD exams) is Michael Perman's Emancipation and Reconstruction. Great book, mercifully short. A couple of hours with it should give you a solid enough base for the middle school set. And more.