Congressional Representation for Minorities Grades 9-12

Transcription

1 Congressional Representation for Minorities Grades 9-12 Introduction This lesson asks students to look at a map of minority population distribution and another map of Congressional districts for their state. They will then find out how the voting records of representatives from districts with large and small minority populations are ranked by two major organizations representing minorities and will see if there are correlations between these voting records and the districts' populations. Note: This lesson requires access to the Project Vote Smart Web site, but you can be the one to collect data from this site if your students don't have access to the Internet. It can also be done in groups. Time Frame: 2-3 class periods Objectives and Standards Students will: Answer questions comparing the Ethnic Distributions and Congressional Districts maps &cid=262:state-thematic-maps). Use a Web site to find out how representatives from six districts in the state have been ranked by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), and record the data in a table. Analyze the data by answering questions about it. Write paragraphs explaining the data they've found and the conclusions they've drawn. National Social Studies Standards: 3: People, Places, and Environments: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of people, places, and environments. 6: Power, Authority, and Governance: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance. 10: Civic Ideals and Practices: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic. National Geography Standards:

2 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective. 3: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface. 10: The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics. 12: The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement. 18: How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future. Maps and Materials Needed Materials Needed: Student Handout (one copy for each student) Ethnic Distributions: cid=262:state-thematic-maps (one copy for each student; download and print the PDF file; it will also be very helpful if you can make a color transparency to project to the class, as the ethnic distributions are expressed in colors). Congressional Districts: cid=262:state-thematic-maps (one copy for each student; download and print the PDF file) Procedure 1. Ask students if they've heard politicians mention the "African American vote" or the "Hispanic vote." What do these terms mean? Mention that it's important for politicians to try to get minorities to vote for them and that, in the process, they often take positions that appeal to minority groups. Minority groups, when discussed in political terms, are often lumped into large, generalized categories such as the "African American vote" or the Hispanic vote," even though these groups are in truth much more diverse than these categories imply. Still, specific minority groups tend to vote in certain ways and to take certain positions on the issues. 2. Tell the class that they're going to look at some maps that will provide information about their state's minority population and Congressional districts. They'll be asked to analyze the information they see on these maps and to find out how the Congresspeople from several districts in the state tend to vote on issues that tend to be of interest to minorities. 3. Give each student or pair of students a copy of their state's Ethnic Distributions &cid=262:state-thematic-maps) and Congressional Districts &cid=262:state-thematic-maps) maps. Ask them to answer the questions in section 1 of the handout to interpret the information on these maps.

3 4. Ask students to choose two Congressional districts that have the largest African American populations, two that have the largest Hispanic populations, and two that are primarily White, Non-Hispanic. Ask them to write the district numbers in the appropriate row of the table in section 2 of the handout. 5. Go to the Project Vote-Smart Web site at ( and follow the directions in section 2 of the handout to find out about the Congressional districts they've chosen (if you don't have easy access to computers, you can do these steps yourself or select a few students to do it). 6. Have students write in the table on the handout how each of the six representatives is ranked by the NAACP and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA). 7. Ask students to analyze the data from the table by answering the questions in section 3 of the handout. 8. Have students write two paragraphs: one explaining the results of their study, and one stating the implications of these results and the conclusions they have drawn from analyzing the data. Assessment Suggestions Check to make sure that students have: Completed section 1of the handout, demonstrating an accurate interpretation of the two maps. Followed directions to find the representatives on the Project Vote Smart Web site. Accurately completed the table in section 2 of the handout. Completed section 3 of the handout, reflecting careful consideration of the information in the table. Written thoughtful paragraphs that clearly explain the data they've found and their conclusions concerning that data.

4 Congressional Representation for Minorities Student Handout 1. Look at the Ethnic Distributions and Congressional Districts maps &cid=262:state-thematic-maps), and answer the questions below: a) Which Congressional districts have the greatest proportions of African Americans? Why do you think this is the case? b) Which Congressional districts have the greatest proportions of Hispanics? Why do you think this is the case? 2. Choose two Congressional districts that have the largest African American populations, two that have the largest Hispanic populations, and two that are primarily White, Non-Hispanic. Write the district numbers in the second row of the table below. Then follow these directions to complete the rest of the table: African American Hispanic White/Non-Hispanic District District District District District District NAACP rating NAACP rating NAACP rating NAACP rating NAACP rating NAACP rating Go to the Project Vote-Smart Web site at In the left margin, select Issues and Legislation. Under Issues and Legislation, choose Issue Organizations. From the Pick a national issue drop down menu, select Civil Liberties and Civil Rights and click GO.

5 Under Issue Organizations for Civil Liberties and Civil Rights click on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People link to find the district representative s NAACP rating. Choose a year. From the table, scroll down to the state, then the district to find the representative s name and write it in the third row of the handout table. Write down the rating percentage in the fourth row of the handout table. Repeat these steps to find the rating information from the national Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), and input in the fifth row of the handout table. 3. Look carefully at the table you've filled in, and answer these questions: a) In which districts did the representatives score the highest NAACP ratings? b) In which districts did the representatives score the highest s? c) Do these results match your expectations about the way representatives from districts with large minority populations would vote on the issues? What conclusions can you draw from this data?