First Republic: Voting, Coronelismo, and Coerced Voting - Libras

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⚠️ This material is an adapted History activity in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), designed to explore the First Brazilian Republic, the history of voting in Brazil, coronelismo, and controlled voting (“voto de cabresto”).

Number of questions in the activity:

6 adapted questions + complete answer key, distributed across 3 activity pages.

The sequence begins by developing an understanding of the concept of Republic and gradually progresses to characteristics of the First Brazilian Republic, addressing limitations on voting rights, the coronéis, coronelismo, and voto de cabresto.

Target audience:

The material was developed primarily for deaf students who use Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) in Middle School and, depending on curricular adaptation needs, also High School.

It may particularly benefit deaf students learning Portuguese as a second language (L2), students with Intellectual Disabilities associated with deafness, and students with ASD associated with deafness, as well as students who require greater visual and linguistic support to understand historical content.

It can also be used by History teachers, bilingual teachers, Specialized Educational Support (AEE) professionals, and other educators who work with deaf students.

Format:

PDF designed for color printing, containing:

🔹 6 adapted questions;
🔹 3 activity pages;
🔹 Libras + written Portuguese;
🔹 Libras signs related to historical vocabulary;
🔹 contextualized historical images;
🔹 multiple-choice, identification, and matching activities;
🔹 a visual activity about who was allowed to vote in 1891;
🔹 standard writing version;
🔹 UPPERCASE version;
🔹 BNCC-related skills and learning objectives;
🔹 complete visual answer key.

⏱️ By purchasing this material, you save approximately 8 hours and 24 minutes of work that would otherwise be spent creating the activity, organizing the visual elements, adapting the questions into a bilingual format, and preparing the answer key.

Content covered:

The activity addresses Republic; First Brazilian Republic; history of voting in Brazil; voting rights in 1891; coronéis; local political power; coronelismo; influence of local political leaders; voto de cabresto; and control and pressure over voters, as well as vocabulary related to the content in Libras and written Portuguese.

Important for the teacher:

One of the main features of this adaptation is its focus on linguistic accessibility. Instructions, questions, and answer choices are accompanied by representations in Libras while simultaneously maintaining written Portuguese. This means students do not have to rely exclusively on reading Portuguese to access the activity.

The material also presents signs directly related to the historical content. On the first activity page, for example, students encounter the sign for REPUBLIC while learning that a Republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a king. On the following page, the sign for VOTE accompanies questions related to electoral participation.

The activity can also help students establish connections between Libras → image → written Portuguese word → historical concept. Terms such as Republic, vote, coronéis, emperors, pharaohs, senators, women, children, and illiterate people are associated with their respective representations in Libras.

The content progresses gradually. First, students understand the basic meaning of Republic. Next, they identify the influence exerted over voting during the First Brazilian Republic and recognize the coronéis. They then explore the concept of coronelismo, identify which groups were or were not allowed to vote in 1891, and finally reach the concept of voto de cabresto.

Key Features:

✅ Integrates Libras, written Portuguese, and History, increasing linguistic accessibility to historical content.

✅ Presents specific Libras vocabulary related to the topic, including concepts such as REPUBLIC and VOTE.

✅ Supports connections between sign, image, written word, and historical concept, which may also benefit deaf students learning Portuguese as a second language (L2).

✅ Organizes concepts progressively: Republic → voting → coronéis → coronelismo → electoral participation → voto de cabresto.

✅ Uses multiple-choice questions, character comparisons, and matching activities, reducing the need for extensive written responses.

✅ Maintains relevant History curriculum content while primarily adapting the way students access, receive, and respond to the information.