Voting Rights > Overview
search Avoice
Home | About | News | Exhibits | For Educators | Webcasts | Resources email this page
Avoice > For Educators > Voting Rights > Overview Tell us what you think!
Voting Rights
-Overview
-Introductory Essay
For Educators: Voting Rights Act of 1965
Overview
-Activity 1
-Activity 2 Introduction
-Activity 3
Using primary document sources, students will learn about the creation and
ratification of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the history of the Congressional
-Vocabulary
Black Caucus' on-going efforts to ensure the enforcement of the law and the
reauthorization of portions that had an expiration date. Students will also learn
-Unit Resources about the power of voting in a democratic society and why it is important to
protect this right for all citizens.
-Acknowledgements
Grade Level: 8-12
Essential Question: What social and political structures, particularly in the
South, galvanized the protest and advocacy for an eventual ratification of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965?
Learning Objectives
The students will respond to questions that require them to carefully study
primary document sources to gain greater understanding about the impact of
historical events.
The students will engage in research, writing, debate, and role playing to
compare the relevance of past historical events to today's political and social
climate.
National Learning Standards
National U.S. History Standards
Era 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)
Standard 4: The struggle for racial and gender equality and the extension
of civil liberties.
Era 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Standard 1: Recent developments in foreign policy and domestic politics.
National Social Studies Standards
NSS-C.5-8-3 Principles of Democracy
How does the government established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes,
Values, and Principles of American Democracy?
-Who represents you in local, state, and national governments?
-What is the place of law in the American constitutional system?
-How does the American political system provide for choice and
opportunities for participation?
National Standards for Civics and Government
Content Standard V: What are the roles of the citizen in American Democracy?
B. What are the rights of citizens?
E. How can citizens take part in civic life?
National Visual Arts Standards
Content Standard 5: Analyzing contemporary and historic meaning in specific
http://www.avoiceonline.org/voting-edu/index.html[03/14/2013 3:11:10 PM]
Voting Rights > Overview
art works through cultural aesthetic inquiry.
Content Standard 6: Making connections between visual arts and other
disciplines.
Activities
Select an activity below to view full activity guidelines:
Activity 1: Interpretation: What is the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
Activity 2: Obstacles to Participation in the Election Process
Activity 3: Protecting Our Right to Vote
Documents, Resources and Worksheets Used in Voting Rights Act Lesson
Unit
Warm-Up Activity: Know, Want, and Learned (KWL) chart organizer (pdf)
Activity 1: Interpretation: What is the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
Video of President Johnson addressing Congress and Signing Bill (1:59
minutes)
Video of Historians and Political Leaders discussing this historic moment when
the Act was signed and the impact of the Bill (5 minutes)
Text of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (pdf)
Text of the Fifteenth Amendment (pdf)
Photo Analysis Worksheet (pdf)
Compare and Contrast Chart (pdf)
Activity 2: Obstacles to Participation in the Election Process
1963 Voter Registration Literacy Test used in Birmingham, Alabama
Blank 1963 Voter Registration Literacy Test (pdf)
Poll Tax Receipt
Photograph - "Voting Rights Poster and Man on the Grass"
Historical Document Analysis Guide (pdf)
Activity 3: Protecting Our Right to Vote
1975 CBC memo to Caucus Members from Congressman Charles Rangel, CBC
Chair
Handwritten note from CBC member, Parren Mitchell of Maryland
"Voting Rights Extension Act" speech delivered by Barbara Jordan of Texas,
February 19, 1975
Historical Document Analysis Guide (pdf)
Worksheet - Community Connection: Registered Voters in 1965 vs. 1975 (pdf)
contact us | acknowledgments | usage statement
http://www.avoiceonline.org/voting-edu/index.html[03/14/2013 3:11:10 PM]
