The Evolution of Voting Rights in the United States is a two-week unit designed to give students a simulated experience of the effect the gradual growth of voting rights has had on the various groups living in the United States. Hopefully this unit will reinforce student understanding of several key concepts in American democracy including federalism, ideal vs. real, citizenship, freedom vs. equality. Students will be expected to know the Constitutional Amendments, Congressional Acts, and Supreme Court decisions that have affected people's right to participate fully in the democratic process.
Assumptions
The unit is based on the following assumptions:
1. Students are either 11th or 12th graders enrolled in either an American History or American Government course.
2. Students have been taught appropriate forms for expository writing, including historical process, argumentative (position paper), compare/contrast, cause and effect, and identification and are familiar with the note forms and essay writing process for each.
3. Students are familiar with simulations and are accustomed to playing roles that may require them to adopt the identity of another gender or race.
4. Students are familiar with group work and the individual roles necessary to make group work effective and equitable.
5. Students are familiar with the process of peer and self-evaluation.
6. Students have access to and experience in use of the Internet and researching techniques using this medium.
If the class being taught does not meet the above criteria, extra days must be allowed for specific instruction in the above listed skills to take place.
Motivation
Students generally respond to activities that they see as interesting to them and relevant to their immediate lives. The first day of the unit will be spent discussing an issue that fits this description. In this case the choice is music that will be played as background for studying and research for the next two weeks. Students are encouraged to make a choice, defend that choice, and then participate in voting in order to decide which music shall be heard.
Simulation Game
The game begins on the second day when students are handed a folder that provides them an identity either male or female and belonging to one of six groups, White Male, Female, Black American, Latino/a, Native American or Asian American. They are also given a schedule for the following eight days with corresponding historical dates. If the character they have been assigned could vote in the year given for that day, they will be able to vote for their choice of music on that day. Students come to class that second day assuming they will be able to vote for the music of their choice only to find out that because the date for that day is 1786, only a very few of the class can vote. It is then the students' responsibility to meet in their groups (each member of the group will have the same color folder) and begin research to determine at what point in time (and during the following days) they will be able to vote. Points are given to both the individual and the group for voting correctly. (While this is the basic structure of the simulation, it is possible for variations to spontaneously occur such as lobbying of the members of the class that can vote, deal making between groups, etc. Hopefully class members will be creative in coming up with situations not planned for, yet relevant.)
After each day's vote, students will be debriefed as to who could vote and who could not and why. Student spokespersons (see group responsibility assignments sheet) will be expected to report for their group and know their status as of that date. Groups must be cautioned to look for exceptions and to pay particular attention to the state in which their character resides, as they will sometimes be the exception to the general rule.
Grouping Students
For the purposes of this unit, it has been assumed that the class is a standard class of 36 students. Classes with fewer students will need to have adjustments made in the make up of the roles being played by each member of the group. This is left to teacher discretion.
There are several ways to divide the class into groups and assigning both the character roles and the group responsibility roles. Which method is chosen should take into consideration the ability level of students, the needs of limited English speakers, how familiar students are with group work and role playing and whether it is necessary to avoid conflicts within the class by separating certain students
Random: In this case the teacher randomly hands the colored folders to the students as they enter the classroom, with no prior planning as to who will play which role. Once they meet in their groups, students decide among themselves who will assume which group responsibilities.
Partial Structure: In this situation the teacher decides ahead of time which students will be in which group. The teacher may also assign which character role the student plays or this may be assigned randomly within the group. The students decide who will assume which group responsibilities.
Total Structure: In some instances a teacher may want to totally control which students play which character roles and also assign the group responsibility role for each student. In this situation a teacher can match roles to abilities, assign positions of leadership according to past experience, and assign students to groups wherein they can be most successful.
This is an ambitious unit that takes a great deal of teacher preparation and
knowledge. One must become familiar with the evolution of voting rights in the
individual states as well as on the federal level. Classroom resources must
be readily available for students use, and the teacher must be particularly
careful during the debriefing period. With careful preparation, enthusiastic
motivation, and follow through this unit serves well the objective of having
students "walk in someone else's shoes."
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