Civil Rights Movement: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 Simulation
- Bulk Pricing:
- Buy in bulk and save
- Contributor:
- Shawneen Morrison
- Grade Level:
- Middle School and High School
- Product Type:
- Simulation
- File Type:
- Doc and PDF
- Pages:
- 25
- Answer Key:
- Yes
Description
This simulation, created by Shawneen Morrison, has students begin by taking actual literacy tests. In case they do well on the tests, they are subjected to a second, highly subjective verbal test. Then, to punctuate the futility of battling unfair Jim Crow laws, they take a third test that they inevitably fail. After this outrageous experience, students learn about the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which 15 states were subject to its restrictions, the Supreme Court case that struck down the enforcement authority for the Act because it was outdated, and how discriminatory voting practices have markedly increased since that case.
Next, students switch roles to try to devise ways of disenfranchising voters and even play an interactive, online game to do so.
Finally, students are challenged to draft a modernized enforcement provision for the Act that will protect voting rights from contemporary efforts to skew the electorate.
Included in this Product:
➢ Complete Lesson Instructions
➢ Detailed Instructor Background Notes
➢ Four Versions of a Short Literacy Test
➢ A Verbal Literacy Test
➢ A Long-Form Literacy Test
➢ Student Handout- Excerpts from the Voting Rights Act of 1965
➢ List of Modern Disenfranchising Techniques
➢ Links to Supplementary Materials Including an Interactive Game
Created by Shawneen Morrison - Visit My Store