Read the multimodal social studies passage and answer the questions. Focus on the main idea and supporting evidence, and how text features (headings, word box, timeline, data box, chart, and caption) help explain the author’s ideas about amendments and voting rights.
Voting Rights and the Constitution How amendments expanded who can vote
An amendment is a change or addition to the U.S. Constitution.
Main idea: Amendments are used to fix problems, protect rights, or update rules.
There are two big steps: propose and ratify.
Most amendments are proposed by Congress.
Congress votes.
It takes a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.
After an amendment is proposed, the states must agree.
It takes three-fourths of the states to ratify.
Look at Diagram 1 to review these steps.
Propose: to suggest a new amendment
Ratify: to officially approve an amendment
Representative democracy/republic: people choose leaders to make laws
Poll tax: a fee some people had to pay to vote
1870 — 15th Amendment
1920 — 19th Amendment
1961 — 23rd Amendment
1964 — 24th Amendment
1971 — 26th Amendment
Main idea: Voting rights cannot be denied because of race.
Main idea: Voting rights cannot be denied because of sex (women’s voting rights).
Main idea: People living in Washington, D.C. can vote for President.
Main idea: Poll taxes are not allowed in federal elections.
Main idea: The voting age is 18.
Look at Chart 1 to compare these quickly.
Amendments can protect rights.
Voting rights expanded over time.
Communities can push for change, but it takes agreement across the country.
Cause: Some groups were blocked from voting.
Effect: Amendments were added to protect voting rights for more people.
A timeline helps readers see the order that voting rights expanded over time.
The amendment process allows the Constitution to be improved. Several amendments expanded voting rights, helping the United States become more representative.
Put the amendment process steps in the correct order.
Congress proposes the amendment.
States ratify the amendment.
Match each text feature to its main job in the passage.
| Draggable item | arrow_right_alt | Corresponding Item |
|---|---|---|
Word Box | arrow_right_alt | Show how ideas are grouped |
Timeline | arrow_right_alt | Defines key words |
Cause/Effect Chart | arrow_right_alt | Shows events in order |
Headings | arrow_right_alt | Shows why and what happened |
Which statement best expresses the overall main idea of the passage?
Which TWO details best support the main idea that amendments expanded voting rights?
Use Chart 1: For each amendment (row), mark the correct voting-right change (column).
Race | Sex (women) | Washington, D.C. | Poll taxes banned | Voting age 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15th Amendment | |||||
19th Amendment | |||||
23rd Amendment | |||||
24th Amendment | |||||
26th Amendment |
True or False: The timeline helps the reader understand the order in which voting rights expanded.
