This lesson is designed to promote the teaching and learning of democratic principles and the skills of civic deliberation. Students complete a reading (available in English, Spanish, and Audio-English) and engage in a Structured Academic Controversy. Deliberation question: Should our democracy lower the voting age to 16?

Student Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Define franchise.
• Discuss the democratic principles that are involved in setting the voting age.
• Evaluate the reasons to support and oppose lowering the voting age.
• Identify areas of agreement and disagreement with other students.
• Reach a decision, individually and collectively, on the deliberation issue using evidence and
sound reasoning.
• Explain the importance of deliberating this question in a democratic society.

Teaching materials

A and B plus Deliberating Steps Signs

Source

The initiative is conducted by the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago (CRFC), the Constitutional Rights Foundation in Los Angeles (CRF) and Street Law, Inc. with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.