Voting Rights through Time, one of our most popular resources for secondary classrooms, has just gone through a big revision. The updated kit is now available both online and to order. It includes one brand new case study on Inuit and the right to vote, an updated teacher’s guide, and improvements to all the case studies to add complexity and improve clarity. With the new case study completing the set, there are now five case studies in federal voting rights for students to explore and compare:
- First Nations Peoples
- Inuit
- Japanese Canadians
- Women
- Youth
Each kit now comes with five context cards, case study card sets, timelines and turning point frames. Students use these hands-on materials to work collaboratively, creating a “timeline with attitude” as they learn these stories of inclusion and exclusion in federal voting rights.
The core of the activity has not changed. The kit still uses inquiry pedagogy and historical thinking as its foundation, and there are still printable and blended versions so you can adapt the activity for your learning context. Language learner versions are also still available in both French and English.
Updated Teacher’s Guide
The teacher’s guide has been revised to improve the clarity and sequence of instruction, making it even easier to teach the lesson with limited preparation time.
The guide still includes background information for teachers, but it has been expanded and updated for accuracy and consistency, providing more historical contextual information for each case study. These will help you to respond to students’ questions as they arise in the activity.
Renewed Case Studies
All of the case studies still provide authentic opportunities for developing oral and written language skills, discussion and inquiry.
The new Inuit case study is now available in all formats: print, downloadable and blended. It can be an excellent starting point to learn more about the history, experiences and perspectives of Inuit in Canada. Students will learn, for example, that Inuit were granted federal voting rights in 1950, but about half of the Inuit communities in Canada lacked voting services until 1962. Students will also learn that in 1979 a new electoral district was created in what is now Nunavut. When a federal election was held, all three candidates were Inuit: Tagak Curley, Abe Okpik and Peter Ittinuar, who was elected.
All of the text in the other case studies has been revised to be more accurate, inclusive, and clear for students in both the standard and the language learner versions. In the revision process, we discovered more historical detail that we’ve now included, making the case studies even more compelling.
Finally, the revised youth case study is much more complex than the previous version. For example, students will learn how a 1991 Royal Commission studied in depth the question of lowering the voting age to 16, and suggested that the question of voting age be reconsidered from time to time as society changes.
Voting Rights through Time still raises questions for students, and can provide a launching point for student-led inquiry into further historical or contemporary issues of inclusion in Canada’s democracy. Access or order this free resource to bring this interactive lesson to your students.