The U.S. House of Representatives has been a popularly-elected body with its membership reconstituted every two years throughout its history. More >
The following essential questions provide a framework for exploring this unit’s main ideas and themes:
The materials and suggested lesson plan below satisfy the following New Jersey Student Learning Standards: 6.1.12.CivicsDP.13.a: Analyze the effectiveness of national legislation, policies, and Supreme Court decisions in promoting civil liberties and equal opportunities (i.e., the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Equal Rights Amendment, Title VII, Title IX, Affirmative Action, Brown v. Board of Education, and Roe v. Wade). 6.1.12.CivicsPR.10.a: Analyze how the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to define and expand individual rights and use evidence to document the long-term impact of these decisions on the protection of civil and human rights. 6.1.12.CivicsPI.14.c: Analyze how the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to define and expand individual rights and use evidence to document the long-term impact of these decisions on the protection of civil and human rights.
Content: To meet this goal, we provide resources and information designed to explore the important role that younger generations play in society and in politics. Included are timelines, biographies of key figures, and external resources to help spark classroom discussions on youth enfranchisement.
Context: “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote” was a slogan first heard during WWII after the creation of the first peacetime military draft in U.S. history. The saying was adopted by student activists during the Vietnam War era in protest of being old enough to be drafted but not old enough to vote. In 1971, the 26th amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, bringing the highest amount (55%) of 18 to 29 year-old voters to the polls in American history Instructions: Use the timeline to introduce the class to the history of the amendment. If time permits, divide the class into groups and have them read the 26th Amendment and explore Nixon’s speech at the amendment ceremony, located in the ‘Resources’ section on the sidebar.
Instructions: Have students break into groups and explore the arguments made by the Supreme Court. Either individually or in groups, have them read the majority opinion or the dissent to defend the legal reasoning for their respective sides. Then, have them answer the discussion questions below.
Split students into groups, and have them analyze the graph and read the Vox.com article about why young people don’t vote. Then, have them answer discussion questions in this activity and choose one of the experiential learning activities below to work on. Discussion Questions:
Suggested experiential learning activities for learners (Choose one of the following):
Here are links to the materials presented in the activities that can be used anyway you see fit! Activity 1: 26th Amendment & Voting Age, 2020 National Youth Voter Turnout, Timeline Activity 2: Key Figures Activity 3: Arguments, Voting, Elections, and Representation Activity 4: Graph, Vox.com article |