Put your students in the shoes of an African American voter in the South in 1960. Students take a voter registration test, then explore Freedom Summer through readings and activities that highlight the violence in Mississippi and Selma, the work of activists like Fannie Lou Hamer, and how growing national pressure led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

What’s Included: 
5 page student friendly article on “Freedom Summer” (Print and Digital)
20 question Literacy Test drawn from real questions (Word + PowerPoint versions)
3 Reflection questions tied to the simulation
Student activity packet with comprehension and analysis tasks
Primary source analysis (Fannie Lou Hamer quote and political cartoon)
Voting Rights Act provisions graphic organizer
Teacher guide + answer keys

What Students Will Learn:
Explain how literacy tests, poll taxes, and voucher systems functioned as tools of disenfranchisement
Identify the goals, strategies, and key figures of the 1964 Freedom Summer project
Describe how Fannie Lou Hamer’s testimony helped build pressure for federal civil rights legislation
Interpret political cartoons as commentary on Jim Crow voting laws
Summarize the key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and explain how they addressed barriers to voting

Grade Level: 8–10
Duration: 90–120 minutes
DOK 1–3
Format: Word Doc