Great Resources on Women's Voting Rights

We have heard a lot of talk about the power of the women’s vote in this election.  Candidates are making sure that they address issues that are important to women to earn their vote.  It is hard to believe that women were amongst the last to earn the right to vote in the US.  Looking at the suffrage movement gives students the opportunity to understand the different perspectives of the times and look at the current issues surrounding the Voting Rights ACT.

Here are some great resources, links and lesson plans that can tie past and present issues surrounding voting rights:

The Woodrow Wilson Library has lesson plans that include everything from essential questions to assessments.  Lots of links to primary documents included!

Scholastic has some great lesson plans for different age groups, grades 1-2, 4-5, 6-8 with resources and activities. 

Looking for primary documents?  Of course our National Archives has put together great lesson plans and resources in their Teaching with Documents site.

Mr. Donn’s web pages include links to lesson plans, games, and links to Powerpoints on women’s suffrage.

Tom Daccord’s site, Edtechteacher has a great collection of  Best History Sites on women’s history.

This great lesson plan from Edsitement on Pro-and Anti-Suffrage Arguments has students look at women’s suffrage issues from all different perspectives- The Founding Fathers, the family, African Americans, States Rights, husbands, etc.  Check out the other 3 great activities at this site with links to political cartoons, articles, fliers and other primary documents of the day.

Why not follow up this great lesson by letting students discuss the issues by role-playing different points of view using the online SCAN tool and having students decide what should be done.  Check out the free lesson on “Women's Voting Rights."

How is this relevant to today?

Tie these great topics in by looking at the recent discussion on the Voting Rights Act which requires states to get advance approval by the Federal Government before they can change the way they hold elections. 

Look at how women’s issues are affecting voting today.  If women were voting, what issues would become non-issues?

Connect to women’s rights headlines from around the world by looking at the recent shooting of a 14 year old Pakistani girl by the Taliban for championing the education of girls and publicizing atrocities committed by the Taliban.

Do you have any favorite resources or activities to help our students appreciate voting rights? 

10 Great Resources on the Electoral College

As we get closer to the presidential election, the candidates are spending more and more time campaigning in “key states.”  It is frustrating to think that maybe your state “doesn’t count” or maybe even your vote doesn’t count.  Much of this is a result of the Electoral College system.  How can you help your students understand how it works and why we use it?  Here are some great resources, links and lessons that can help them think critically about the issues that surround the electoral college:
This short video:  Electoral College 101 (Op-Ed page of the New York Times -thanks for bringing it to my attention Megan Veschio!) has a great simulation done with 3rd graders demonstrating the popular vote vs the electoral vote using colored pencils vs. markers.  You can see the critical thinking going on in this classroom!

270 to Win is a cool site that shows what states are undecided and what it will take for either candidate to win based on daily polls. 

The New York Times Learning Network has tons of lessons and resources for this years elections including a crossword puzzle on the Electoral College.

Real Clear Politics features maps and polls and how they change and gives students real time data to look at.  Check here for an analysis on “How Likely is an Electoral/Popular Vote Split” in this election?

Check out this free BrainPOP video lesson on Presidential Elections with information and quizzes on the Electoral College.  

Scholastic also offers articles and teacher resources on the Electoral College.

Exploring Constitutional Conflicts offers a great resource on why the framers decided to go with the Electoral College and information to get kids thinking about whether it should be abolished or modified.

Games lessons and activities on the Electoral College can be found on the Congress for Kids site. 

PBS Kids explains why “Being Popular is Not Enough” with lots of other election resources. 

The National Archives also offers lots of resources for  teaching the electoral college.

Why not have your students hold their own debate as they discuss the Electoral College from four different points of view in the in the Free updated SCAN lesson “The Electoral College:  Does Your Vote Really Count?” found at TregoEd?

Check out more ideas on Elections and polling at http://bit.ly/WBuZlP