Legislative Branch Lesson Plan
PREPLANNING
Unit Goal: All students will, as a grade-level project, establish the framework, operating rules and responsibilities for a student government in this school. These will be written into a constitution the students will create through a constitutional convention in which each class will function as a different state. Each ‘state’ will, through group work, draft proposals for the constitution and elect delegates to the constitutional convention. Students, both in their state meetings and in the constitutional convention, will create the constitution through the processes of proposal, debate, negotiation, compromise, decision-making, and planning much as the framers of the U.S. Constitution worked.
Lesson Objective: Students will work in groups to research and debate questions regarding the legislative branch, and then present their findings to the class through a visual and oral presentation.
INQUIRY AIMS;
How is representation determined in the House of Representatives? In the Senate?
Why is Congress split into two houses?
What does it mean to represent someone? What must the representatives in Congress keep in mind when working with other Senators or Representatives?
What are some jobs/responsibilities of the legislative branch?
Whose vote is more powerful - a Senator or a Representative? Why?
STANDARDS:
Standard 1: History of the United States and New York -- Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government -- Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.
Materials Needed: Decision-Making Skills Vocabulary Chart; State population maps from 1790 census; Chart: 2 houses of Congress; Chart: Jobs/Responsibilities of Congress
MINI LESSON
Motivation/Connection: Previous lessons discussed the rational for the Constitution, including a dissection of the preamble, as well the economic regional differences between the colonies and state vs. federal powers. (3-5 minutes)
Show: State population map from 1790 census.
Discuss: Look at the map and tell me what you see. (Observe) How might the different state populations affect what the different states want in the Constitution? (Infer) Discuss VA plan vs. NJ plan. (5-7 minutes)
Lesson:
Show: Handout: The Making of the Constitution; Chart: The 2 houses of Congress; Chart: Jobs/Responsibilities of Congress
Discuss: The Great/Connecticut Compromise - 2 houses of Congress - Upper House (Senate) with equal state representation and Lower House (House of Representatives with representation based on state population. Jobs/responsibilities of Congress (10 minutes)
PRACTICE/EXPERIENCE
Activity: Working in groups, using handouts, charts, and available books and online resources, as well as group discussions, students will answer the inquiry aim assigned to their group.
Share: Group presentations of answers to their inquiry aim. Audience members will be expected to discuss whether they agree or disagree with each group's findings and state why. After the group presentations, brief journal write: What decision-making skills did the Founding Fathers need to use at this stage of making the Constitution? How? (5-10 minutes)
ASSESSMENT
Criteria for evaluation:
1) Group processes: students were on task, took turns, sought input from all group members;
2) Class participation