Lesson Plans

In this lesson, students will read and select important phrases from a scholarly introduction to how voting was incorporated into the US Constitution and how access to the vote has changed. They may also examine related clauses in the US Constitution of 1787; the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments; and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. They will restate the provisions in these documents in their own words to ensure comprehension of how control of access to the polls has changed over the past two centuries. 

This lesson is composed of six modules and a culminating connected activity. Each module focuses on how individuals and groups took a stand to expand the right to vote in a specific state (Arizona, California, Kansas, New Jersey, Louisiana, and New York) among members of a particular group (African Americans, American Indians, and women) between 1859 and 1964. Students will read and assess primary source documents, from letters, flyers, and newspaper articles to press releases and court decisions. They will complete activity sheets to help them understand the actions taken by these individuals and groups. They will then use their critical thinking skills to evaluate how the actions of those individuals and groups could have impacted voting rights across the United States. You may decide to use all six modules or a selection of them based on the time available and the needs of your students.

In this lesson, students will read and assess current news articles on state and federal voting rights issues facing American society today, building on the historical knowledge, document analysis, and critical thinking skills they gained in the previous lessons. Articles are curated by AllSides.com, which  identifies articles written from right, center, and left viewpoints. Use the widget below to access the latest national articles, or click to the linked landing page (at the bottom of the widget) to view articles state-by-state.

The final component of this TCTH voting rights unit is the design, development, and evaluation of a student civic engagement project building on the historical knowledge, document and article analysis, and critical thinking skills they gained in the previous lessons. Students will select one voting rights–related issue of interest to investigate more deeply.

For additional guidance on assigning a successful civic engagement project, visit our main TCTH page.