Lesson Overview:
Students use a variety of sources to research the role and historical importance of voting U.S. elections. Students will learn about rules of voter eligibility, registration, and voter participation. Using this information and their research, students will then create an election campaign poster that encourages voter participation.
Length of Lesson:
Four 45-minute class periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 6-8.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- learn general facts about the voting process, and its importance in a democratic form of government.
- use political terms to improve vocabulary.
- organize facts and create timelines that demonstrate historical voting facts.
- become familiar with the importance of voter registration and voting rights.
- use research skills to locate information on the U.S. Constitution and the amendments that altered voting rights.
- identify how the government plays a role in students' daily lives.
- design a plan of action to boost awareness of voter registration and voter participation.
- create a campaign poster to encourage voter participation.
Supplies:
- Paper
- Pens, pencils
- Poster board, Bristol board, canvas or watercolor paper
- Colored markers, colored pencils, or paints
- Computer with Internet access
- Compass
- Rulers or straight edge
Instructional Plan:
Warm Up
Ask the students if they have ever wondered how the U.S. president is elected? Do they know who is eligible to vote for a U.S. president? Do they know that throughout history those eligibilities have changed?
Discuss these questions and have students share their knowledge. Use the Critical Thinking: Who is Eligible to Vote? worksheet, completing the first two columns. This can be made into a transparency for the overhead projector. For column two, have them begin to locate appropriate sources for this information. List these sources on the board or chart paper.
Explain that the right to vote is a privilege and is an important element of a democratic government. Also mention that compared to voter participation rates of citizens in other democracies, participation in U.S. elections is low. Explain that students will be asked to devise ideas to improve voter participation.
Introductory Activity
Review the list of informational sources that was compiled during the warm up activity. Assist the students with any additional resources they may have overlooked. (Books, encyclopedias, textbooks, websites, computer software, photographs, and works of art are some of the sources that should be on their list.)
Explain to students that they will work with partners to conduct research on who is eligible to vote in the U.S. Each team member will select at least two sources to locate specific facts about voting and the democratic process. Then both partners will read and take notes from the sources used. Partners should share information with one another, but each partner will submit an individual project.
Each partner will design and illustrate his own campaign poster that supports an idea or belief in the democratic process and the right to vote.
Discussion
Lead a discussion to answer the following questions. These are the same questions which will be given to the students on a worksheet later in the lesson.
- Could a woman vote in 1780? Why or why not?
- In what year was a woman eligible to vote in a presidential election?
- In 1812, could an American Indian vote? Why or why not?
- If Martin Luther King was alive in 1804, could he have voted in a presidential election? Why or why not?
- Which constitutional amendment(s) allowed women the right to vote in presidential elections?
- Are you allowed to vote in a presidential election? Why or why not?
Have a copy of the U.S. Constitution available for students to read or allow them to visit the following web sites to view a copy on their own:
U.S National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/
Ben's Guide to U.S Government
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/index.html
Explain to students that in the U.S. only about half of the eligible voters actually vote in presidential elections. Discuss with students the importance of exercising the right to vote and connect this discussion with the fact that many people who lived long ago did not have the right to vote. Discuss how these individuals fought for many years to gain this right. Information on women's struggle to vote can be reviewed at The Suffragettes.
Discuss that individuals who participate in the election process are exercising the rights they are granted in the U.S. Constitution. Voting is fundamental to the constitutional democracy in the U.S. If students understand the importance of
voting as a form of positive political participation, they can better understand why those who are eligible to vote should vote.
Guided Activity
Provide students with a copy of the worksheet, Questions on Voter Eligibility. This worksheet lists the questions used in the earlier discussion. Students will answer these questions through recall of class discussions and, if needed, by conducting further research. They should be given ample time to complete the assignment. Allow students to visit the LBJ Kids-Voting Rights Timeline to use as a reference. This Web site will provide information to answer some of the worksheet questions and will also be a resource for the next activity in the lesson.
When the worksheets are completed, guide students in developing a timeline that provides them with historical references and factual information on how voting and voting rights have changed over history. They may create the timeline on a computer or draw it on a sheet of paper.
When working on the timeline, have students visit Inside the Voting Booth developed by the PBS Democracy Project. Students can use information from this site in their timeline.
Following the timeline activity, ask students if they think all people eligible to vote should vote. Why or why not? Have students discuss with a partner why they think people choose not to vote and write these ideas in a list to be shared with
the class. Then ask students to think of ideas that will encourage more people to vote on Election Day. Have each team keep a list of ideas to be shared with the class.
Allow enough time for students to arrive at several thoughtful ideas and theories. Have each team choose a favorite theme or method that they believe will increase voter participation. Explain to students that they will now create and illustrate a poster to encourage people to vote. The poster should illustrate the theme or method that the students have selected.
Provide copies of the Vocabulary: Principles of Design and Elements of Art. Using the Key: Principles of Design and Elements of Art, review and discuss the terms with the students, showing examples whenever possible. Have students prepare and assemble the materials they will need to make the posters.
Allow them to use various media or choose specific materials that your school may have available. Each student should select one idea for promoting democracy or for encouraging greater voter participation and illustrate that choice. The following
sites can be used to assist in explaining the elements of two-dimensional design, graphic design and art critiques:
2-D Design
http://daphne.palomar.edu/design
ARTiculation
http://www.brigantine.atlnet.org/GigapaletteGALLERY/websites/
ARTiculationFinal/MainPages/index.htm
Have students present their posters to their classmates. After the posters are displayed, ask students to list all the different ideas and strategies for increasing voter participation that were illustrated. Are students able to look at the posters and understand what theme or method for increasing voter participation was used? Assist in guiding the students through a critique of the posters. Discuss how good graphic design and stimulating color schemes can make a positive impact on an individual's choice. Consider what makes some posters more visually stimulating than others. Assess the posters from two perspectives: the impact of getting people to vote and the artistic composition.
Conclude the lesson by going back to the Critical Thinking: Who Is Eligible To Vote? worksheet used at the beginning of the lesson. Look at the first column. Was the students' prior knowledge accurate? If necessary, correct any inaccurate information. Then, look at the second column and ask students how they used research and analysis skills in an effective way. Finally, have students complete the third column of the chart, using small group and class discussion to evaluate their posters and their learning process.
Assessment:
Use the Assessment Rubric to assess your students' work.
Sources:
Web:
Authors:
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Rebecca Holden, Educator
Virginia Beach, VA
