Teacher: Katie Chandler Course/Grade: Social Science, 12th Grade Title/Subject of Lesson: Political Participation

Date(s): March 19, 2012 Period #: 2, 3

OVERVIEW/RATIONALE: This lesson is part of the unit on political participation, which looks at the different methods of participating in the American government, particularly voter participation in general elections. This particular lesson looks at the increasing role of the national government in determining who is allowed to participate by voting and asks students to review important legislation that altered voting eligibility. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to identify the purpose of different types of legislation and explain what type of impact they believe that it had on the following elections. GOALS: Goal: The purpose of this lesson is to provide students with an understanding of different legislation that increased voter eligibility. By the end of the lesson, the students should be able to identify when certain groups in the country were eligible to vote and be able to identify the purpose of the different pieces of legislation. Fit: This lesson comes in the middle of the unit on political participation. Due to the PSSAs and other scheduling conflicts, the unit has been divided, but the students have already discussed different types of participation and the low voter turnout for young people in the United States. This lesson should help students understand the timeline for voter eligibility. Following this lesson, students will research different voting methods and attempts to increase voter participation. OBJECTIVES: 1. Students will be able to define what is meant by political participation. 2. Students will be able to identify and describe important legislation that changed voter eligibility in the United States, particularly, the 15th Amendment, the 19th Amendment, the 26th Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the 23rd Amendment. 3. Students will be able to analyze and discuss the impact of increased voter eligibility on certain elections. VOCABULARY: Students will be able to define and use each of the following in a manner congruent with its use in the current unit. - Voter Eligible Population: the citizens who are actually eligible to vote, because they meet the requirements and are registered to vote.

Voter Age Population: number of citizens in the United States who are eligible to vote, meaning that they are 18 years or older. However, this does not mean that all of those people are actually registered to vote. 15th Amendment: prohibits the government for denying people the right to vote based on their race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 19th Amendment: prohibits the government from denying people the right to vote based on their gender/sex. 23rd Amendment: permits citizens in the District of Columbia to vote in elections for the President and Vice President. 26th Amendment: decreased to eligible voting age to 18 years old. Civil Rights Act of 1964: ended unequal application of voter registration requirements to certain races, particularly African Americans.

MATERIALS: - Teacher Materials: o Political Participation Power Point o Voter Registration Forms o Copies of Legislation - Student Materials: o Class notebook o Copies of Legislation (7 of each) o TABA Chart (33 / 1 per student) o Voter Registration Forms (33 / 1 per student) PROCEDURES: - OPENER (15 MIN.) o Announcements: at the beginning of class, the teacher will remind students about upcoming assignments and extra credit opportunities. o Voter Registration: the teacher will begin class by providing students with voter registration forms and giving them the opportunity to register in Pennsylvania if they want and are eligible. After the students finish the forms, the teacher will ask the students when they were actually eligible to vote in the U.S. - BODY OF THE LESSON (30 MIN.) o Voting Eligibility Jigsaw: the teacher will divide the students into 5 different groups and provide each group with a different piece of legislation that changed voter eligibility in the United States. The students will have 15 minutes to review the legislation and complete that section of the TABA chart given to them. Share Out: after the students review their own piece of legislation, the students will switch groups so that each of the new groups has one student with each of the different pieces of legislation. The students will summarize their piece of legislation and the important information for the rest of the group.

CLOSURE (5 MIN.) o Legislation Review: With approximately 5 minutes remaining in class, the teacher will bring the class back together and the entire class will review all of the different pieces of legislation. The teacher will write notes on the board for each one. How do you think each of these bills impacted elections? o Exit Ticket: which change to voter eligibility do you think had the greatest impact on elections and voter participation in the United States? Why? ACCOMODATIONS o Ensure that all students have enough time to review their piece of legislation and to fill out the TABA chart. The teacher will tell the students how much time they have to finish and will evaluate individual progress. o Ensure that every student can see the Promethean board. o Ensure that each student understands the instructions for the activity. The teacher will check for any questions or concerns.

o The other group members should complete the rest of their TABA chart.

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION: Students summary of their piece of legislation o The teacher will circulate the room, listening to the different groups as they share and discuss the different pieces of legislation. Students completion of their TABA chart