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LESSON PLAN
‘ Old Enough to Vote’
Skill
Pairing a Primary & Secondary Source
Read the Article
Youth voter turnout surged in the 2020 election. A look back at how young people gained the right to vote 50 years ago.
Before Reading
1. Set FocusPose this essential question: Why does voting matter in a democracy?
2. List VocabularyShare some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article (see below). Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.
3. EngageHave students share ideas on how their lives are affected by elected officials. Then ask: Is the right to vote important to you? Why or why not?
Analyze the Article
4. Read and Discuss Ask students to read the Upfront article about the youth voting rights movement and the 26th Amendment. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions:
5. Use the Primary Sources
Project or distribute the PDF A Matter of Fairness (or assign it in Google Classroom), which features excerpts from the statement made by Jack McDonald, chairman of the Young Republican National Federation, at a congressional hearing in 1968 on the topic of lowering the voting age to 18. Discuss what makes the letter a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpts and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).
Extend & Assess
6. Writing PromptWhy do you think young people have historically voted at a lower rate than older voters? What can be done to maintain the high youth voter turnout in the 2020 election in future elections? Explain.
7. QuizUse the quiz to assess comprehension.
8. Classroom DebateShould citizens be fined for not voting?
9. Paired TextHave students read the YA edition of One Person, No Vote: How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally. Then, using the discussion guide included in the book, lead students in a discussion about the history of voter suppression in the U.S. and what can be done to protect voting rights.
Download a PDF of this Lesson Plan