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The Voting Rights Reading Room worksheet preview

Worksheet

The Voting Rights Reading Room

Students examine a library exhibit about amendments and the work of Americans who expanded voting rights over time.

Grade 5Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toCIV.5.4

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 C3 Framework standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 14 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 5
Subject
Social Studies
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students describe how amendments expanded voting rights over time.
  • Students explain how organizers, voters, and other Americans helped expand voting rights.
  • Students use evidence to connect constitutional changes with civic action.

How to use

Read the library exhibit passage together, study the timeline, and ask students to cite details when comparing the two exhibit plans.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

CIV.5.4

Describe how amendments and the work of many Americans expanded voting rights over time.

Preview

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Name Date

The Voting Rights Reading Room

Compare constitutional changes with the work of Americans who pushed for voting rights.

Read the exhibit plans

Read the passage about two plans for a public library exhibit. Then answer the questions.

Votes and Voices at Oak Street Library

At Oak Street Public Library, Ms. Chen's fifth-grade team is planning an exhibit called Votes and Voices. The exhibit will explain how voting rights expanded in the United States. The students have two possible plans. Choice A is a timeline of amendments. Choice B is a set of short cards about people and groups who worked for change.

The timeline begins with the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870. It said that the right to vote could not be denied by the United States or a state because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, said voting could not be denied because of sex. The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, prohibited poll taxes in federal elections. The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18.

The timeline does not tell the whole story. After the 15th Amendment, some officials and groups used poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation to block Black voters. Black voters and their allies challenged these barriers in court, registered voters, marched, wrote, and testified. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, a law passed by Congress, also helped enforce the 15th Amendment and blocked certain discriminatory voting practices.

Choice B includes people such as Susan B. Anthony, who organized meetings, wrote, and petitioned for women's suffrage. Ida B. Wells, a Black journalist and organizer, fought racial injustice and worked for women's suffrage. Fannie Lou Hamer registered voters and testified about unfair treatment. Native American citizens and advocates also worked for fair access to voting. Young Americans organized and argued for a voting age of 18. These efforts took place over many years, and no single person won voting rights alone.

Ms. Chen asks the team to compare the choices carefully. A timeline can make the dates and constitutional changes easy to follow. People cards can show that an amendment or law did not automatically remove every barrier. Together, the two choices can show both changes in government rules and the work of Americans who pressed those rules to be honored.

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1.
What is the main idea of the passage?
  • A. Amendments made library exhibits unnecessary.
  • B. Voting rules were identical from the nation's beginning.
  • C. Voting access expanded through constitutional changes and people's efforts.
  • D. Only presidents decided who could vote.
2.
Match each amendment with the change described in the passage.
  1. 15th Amendment
  2. 19th Amendment
  3. 24th Amendment
  4. 26th Amendment
  1. A. Lowered the voting age to 18
  2. B. Prohibited poll taxes in federal elections
  3. C. Protected voting from denial because of sex
  4. D. Protected voting from denial because of race
3.
Use the passage and timeline. The 15th Amendment was ratified in

 .

4.
Why would showing both exhibit choices give visitors a fuller understanding?
  • A. One shows rule changes, while the other shows people's work and barriers.
  • B. One proves that people did not matter after an amendment was ratified.
  • C. One lets visitors avoid learning when the changes happened.
  • D. One shows that only the newest amendment affected voters.
5.
Underline the two details that show people worked for voting rights in addition to amendments.

The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920.Fannie Lou Hamer registered voters and testified about unfair treatment.Young Americans organized and argued for a voting age of 18.The 24th Amendment prohibited poll taxes in federal elections.

Compare the evidence

Use details from the passage and timeline to classify, revise, and sequence the information.

6.
Sort each card into the correct group.
The 15th AmendmentFannie Lou Hamer's testimonyThe Voting Rights Act of 1965The 19th AmendmentYoung Americans organizing for a voting age of 18The 24th Amendment
An amendment to the ConstitutionA law or people's action
7.
A label says, “The 15th Amendment gave every Black citizen a fair chance to vote immediately.” Which revision best uses evidence from the passage?
  • A. Keep the label because an amendment ends each barrier at once.
  • B. Change the label to say that the amendment lowered the voting age.
  • C. Remove the label because amendments do not affect voting.
  • D. Add that barriers continued and Black voters and allies challenged them.
8.
Match each person or group with the work described in the passage.
  1. Susan B. Anthony
  2. Ida B. Wells
  3. Fannie Lou Hamer
  4. Young Americans
  1. A. Organized for a voting age of 18
  2. B. Registered voters and testified about unfair treatment
  3. C. Organized meetings and petitioned for women's suffrage
  4. D. Fought racial injustice and supported women's suffrage
9.
Which change would make Choice A, the amendment timeline, more complete?
  • A. Remove the dates and show only the most recent amendment.
  • B. Add examples of organizers and barriers after amendments.
  • C. Replace the amendment names with portraits of presidents.
  • D. Show only the amendment that changed the voting age.
10.
Use the word bank. The 24th Amendment prohibited
Word bank: poll taxes · literacy tests · registration cards

  in federal elections.

11.
Which list puts the four amendments in order from earliest to latest?
  • A. 19th, 15th, 24th, 26th
  • B. 15th, 19th, 24th, 26th
  • C. 24th, 19th, 15th, 26th
  • D. 15th, 24th, 19th, 26th
12.
What did Susan B. Anthony and Fannie Lou Hamer have in common?
  • A. Both served as presidents before working for voting rights.
  • B. Both wrote the 24th Amendment for Congress.
  • C. Both began their work after the 26th Amendment.
  • D. Both organized and spoke to challenge limits on voting.

Make the case

Write answers using evidence from the passage and timeline.

13.
Which exhibit plan should the library use: Choice A, Choice B, or both? Make a claim and support it with two details from the passage or timeline.
14.
Choose one amendment and one example of Americans working for change. Explain how they fit together in the story of expanded voting rights.

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