A Brief History of Who Can Vote in the U.S..-Text, Terms, & Questions

It is imperative that our students learn our voting rights history and to help them understand how fundamental voting rights are to a healthy democracy. The 45-page, editable, low-prep resource, A Brief History of Who Can Vote in the United States- Text, Terms, and Questions, provides your middle and high school students with an engaging reading and critical thinking questions that will prompt interesting discussions.

The reading provides a short history of voting in the United States starting with The United States Constitution and requirements for voting, continuing with the 15th, 19th 23rd, 24th, and 26th Amendments, the 1965 Voting Rights Act; the 2013 Supreme Court' ruling  Shelby v. Holder that struck down key parts of the Voting Rights Act, Voting during the Pandemic in 2020, the 2020 General Election, and new attempts to both expand and restrict voting rights in the 2022 and upcoming 2024 elections.

The pdf includes a link to a force copy google doc which you can easily edit to suit your needs.

Included in the resource are the following:

• About this Resource-- a table that includes key information such as the link to the google document so you can make a copy, standards, objectives, learning targets, etc

• An Essential Question: How has the evolution of voting rights in the United States shaped the nation's democratic principles and institutions?

• 3 Guiding Questions: 1. What factors have influenced the expansion and restriction of voting rights throughout U.S. history, particularly in relation to race, gender, and socioeconomic status? 2. How have amendments to the U.S. Constitution, such as the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments, impacted the extension of voting rights and the empowerment of disenfranchised groups? 3. In what ways does voter suppression persist in modern American society, and what strategies have been employed to combat these efforts, particularly in the wake of the 2020 election?

• a detailed lesson plan

• a KWL Chart for students to discuss what they know about voting, elections, the history of voting, etc., what they want to know, and what they learned.

• An informative and engaging reading presented in two different formats (one with 2-columns for easy annotation, and one with the more traditional one-column).

• A Tips for Talking to the Text (annotation) Bookmark

• A short vocabulary activity, critical thinking questions and an answer key.

• The critical thinking questions invite engaging discussions among students and also requires them to reflect on what they think about the answers to the questions.